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This week's magazine

20 January 2024

Issue 3474

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Editor's picks

Out of Your Mind Science series. Arrangement of spiral of human silhouette face line and abstract elements on the subject of consciousness, the mind, artificial intelligence and technology; Shutterstock ID 1783516466; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Mind

Leave no stone unturned in search for an explanation of consciousness

Leader

Subscriber-only
Illustration of sperm cells swimming. There is a worldwide decline in sperm counts, but we now have a better idea about how to fix the problem

Health

Sperm counts are down worldwide and researchers are discovering why

Features

Subscriber-only
Can quantum hints in the brain revive a radical consciousness theory?

Mind

Can quantum hints in the brain revive a radical consciousness theory?

Features

Subscriber-only
Two boats from the Ocean Cleanup project collect plastic and garbage from the ocean

Environment

Is cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch worth the effort?

Features

Subscriber-only

Table of contents

Leaders

Out of Your Mind Science series. Arrangement of spiral of human silhouette face line and abstract elements on the subject of consciousness, the mind, artificial intelligence and technology; Shutterstock ID 1783516466; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Mind

Leave no stone unturned in search for an explanation of consciousness

A solid theory of human consciousness eludes us, which is why seemingly fringe ideas such as those that rely on quantum effects in the brain are still worth pursuing

Leader

Subscriber-only

News

Policeman checking woman driver for alcohol intoxication

Technology

Your unique breath ‘fingerprint’ could be used to unlock your phone

When we exhale, we reveal distinctive information about the shape of our airways, which could serve as an ID test for unlocking smartphones – and unlike some other biometric ID tests, this one can’t be hacked after we die

News

Subscriber-only

Technology

AI comes up with battery design that uses 70 per cent less lithium

News

Free

miniature hydroelectric turbine

Environment

Microturbines can generate electricity from drinking water pipes

News

Subscriber-only

Technology

NASA unveils X-59 plane to test supersonic flight over US cities

News

Subscriber-only

Artist's impression (not to scale) illustrates the path of the fast radio burst FRB 20220610A

Space

Mysterious radio burst came from group of galaxies in distant universe

News

Free

Space

Prototype rocket engine burns itself up for fuel as it flies

News

Free

Captorhinus aguti

Life

Oldest known skin fossil is from 300-million-year-old reptile

News

Free

Life

Some corals change sex each year so they can find mates

News

Subscriber-only

mountain-yellow frogs being translocated

Life

California frog reintroduction is rare victory against fungal pandemic

News

Subscriber-only

Health

Multiple sclerosis genes may have arisen to ward off animal infections

News

Free

Technology

Chinese social network fails to curb abuse by showing users' locations

News

Subscriber-only

Humans

Ancient cities discovered in the Amazon are the largest yet found

News

Free

The sun

Space

The sun could contain a tiny black hole that formed in the big bang

News

Subscriber-only

A numbat searching for termites in a fallen log. Poor night-time vision is part of the reason why the animals have to seek out food in the heat of the day

Life

Numbats are overheating because Australia is getting too hot for them

News

Free

Technology

First unhackable shopping transactions carried out on quantum internet

News

Subscriber-only

Venus

Space

Molecules vital for life could survive in Venus’s acid clouds

News

Subscriber-only

Mind

Some brain regions shrink in pregnancy and regrow after the birth

News

Subscriber-only

A crater on the Yamal Peninsula, northern Siberia

Earth

Siberia’s mysterious exploding craters may be caused by hot gas

News

Subscriber-only

Environment

Hydropower generation in western US set to fall as climate gets drier

News

Subscriber-only

Space

Strange ‘magic islands’ on Saturn’s moon Titan may be porous icebergs

News

Free

Life

Four new octopus species discovered by deep-sea submersible

News

Free

Analysis

Health

Covid-19 variant JN.1 may be the mildest form of the virus yet

JN.1, the covid-19 variant that is dominant in much of the world, is more infectious than its predecessors, but appears to be causing less severe illness

Analysis

Subscriber-only

The Iceland Ocean Cluster House

Environment

How an Icelandic scheme aims to use fish entirely and eliminate waste

Comment

Subscriber-only

Life

Does the birth of a cloned monkey mean we could now clone people?

Analysis

Free

Science alone won't end cervical cancer, even though we have a vaccine

Health

Science alone won't end cervical cancer, even though we have a vaccine

Comment

Subscriber-only

Aperture

2021_ManateeHabitat

Life

Diving with manatees in Mexico's unexplored caves

See stunning shots of cave diver Klaus Thymann's search for manatees in a flooded cave system on the Yucatán peninsula

Regulars

Free

Features

Two boats from the Ocean Cleanup project collect plastic and garbage from the ocean

Environment

Is cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch worth the effort?

Efforts are underway to tidy up the ocean's biggest plastic hotspot. But this cleanup operation could be damaging a unique ecosystem and doing little to stop the overwhelming plastic problem

Features

Subscriber-only

Can quantum hints in the brain revive a radical consciousness theory?

Mind

Can quantum hints in the brain revive a radical consciousness theory?

Features

Subscriber-only

Illustration of sperm cells swimming. There is a worldwide decline in sperm counts, but we now have a better idea about how to fix the problem

Health

Sperm counts are down worldwide and researchers are discovering why

Features

Subscriber-only

Culture

Multiple exposure image of an illuminated Melbourne skyline, Australia.

Comment

The Allure of the Multiverse review: The science behind the sensation

From the ancient Counter-Earth to the modern many-worlds interpretation, physicist Paul Halpern's guide explores the rich science of multiverses. Makers of blockbusters, take note

Culture

Subscriber-only

Female Artist Drawing with Paint Brush Energetically, Enthusiastically Talented Female Artist Drawing with Paint Brush Energetically Enthusiastically, She Creates Modern Masterpiece of Oil Painting. ; Shutterstock ID 1540650212; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Comment

Sleepless review: Exploring the creative possibilities of the night

Culture

Subscriber-only

The Days - Sub 8_Episode 1_SON0296.

Comment

New Scientist recommends The Days and Werner Herzog's memoir

Culture

Subscriber-only

Him review: A provocative retelling of the story of Jesus

Comment

Him review: A provocative retelling of the story of Jesus

Culture

Subscriber-only

More

Planted new trees in a park in an urban environment.

Life

Why staking a new tree can do more harm than good

New Year, new tree? You can ignore advice to stake out your sapling – and get better results in the process, says James Wong

Regulars

Subscriber-only

3D illustration, brain shaped maze. Concept image of study and brain behavior.; Shutterstock ID 2177110871; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

BrainTwister #3: Page turner

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Tom Gauld on Artbot Version 2.0

Tom Gauld on Artbot Version 2.0

Regulars

Free

Twisteddoodles on how to handle a visit from the bomb squad

Twisteddoodles on how to handle a visit from the bomb squad

Regulars

Free

Regulars

What voodoo dolls can teach us about toxic masculinity

What voodoo dolls can teach us about toxic masculinity

Feedback's eyebrows are raised by a study in which participants first "have their masculinity threatened", and then play an online game involving voodoo dolls and guns

Regulars

Free

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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