This week's magazine
16 May 2026
Issue 3595
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ
Environment
There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise
Satellite measurements show that in the early 2010s sea level rise suddenly accelerated to a rate of 4.1 millimetres per year, possibly in response to an increase in the rate of global warming
Technology
Tiny ‘metajets’ could use light to steer sails for interstellar travel
Environment
Fire is spreading in the Chernobyl exclusion zone after drone crash
Life
Doubling their genomes may have helped plants survive mass extinctions
Technology
Backlash builds over NHS plan to hide source code from AI hacking risk
Humans
Neanderthal ‘kneeprint’ found next to mysterious stalagmite circle
Environment
A vast dam across the Bering Strait could stop the AMOC collapsing
Mind
Slow breathing can calm the mind without any need for mindfulness
Space
Stars in massive clusters are born faster than those in smaller ones
Health
PCOS postpones perimenopause and allows pregnancies at older ages
Humans
Dating over 50 is probably on the rise – but we know little about it
Physics
Pressure from individual particles measured for the first time
Humans
Huge study of ancient British DNA reveals only minor Roman influence
Environment
Deforestation could trigger Amazon tipping point in the 2030s
Humans
Bronze Age Britons fashioned copper-mining tools out of old bones
Physics
300-year-old experiment could become world’s best dark matter detector
Environment
Huge landslide in Alaska caused 481m-high tsunami
Health
Coffee’s mood-boosting effects aren’t just down to caffeine
Technology
Quantum computers simulated their biggest molecule yet – with help
Life
Extinct relative of koalas discovered in Western Australia
Space
Tiny frozen world unexpectedly appears to have an atmosphere
Features
Physics
Where did the laws of physics come from? I think I’ve found the answer
The rules governing gravity and other laws of nature seem like eternal truths, but cosmologist João Magueijo has always questioned their origins. Now, he has a bold new proposal
Environment
Can cloud seeding save us from water bankruptcy?
Mind
Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum
Culture
Life
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ recommends visiting the blooming corpse flower at Kew
The books, TV, games and more that ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ staff have enjoyed this week
Environment
Suzanne Simard on the wood wide web, connectedness – and Avatar
Life
¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism
More
Mathematics
The mathematician who doesn’t exist
A secret society of French mathematicians has been revolutionising the field of mathematics under a pseudonym for nearly a century. Columnist Jacob Aron finds that this mythic collective provided maths a rigorous and useful foundation, and did some real harm along the way
Health
Honey has been used as medicine for centuries – does it really work?
Space
The problem of cosmic inflation and how to solve it
Tom Gauld on the correct use of abbreviations
Twisteddoodles on signing people up for a medical study
Regulars
Comment
When ChatGPT went full goblin mode
Feedback, prone to fixations, is pleased to learn this is an issue that also applies to AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which had to be sternly ordered to stop mentioning gremlins and the like