Issue 3488 | Magazine cover date: 27 April 2024

27 April 2024

Issue 3488

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On the cover

Culture

A radical new book sets out to hunt for 'pure consciousness'

Features

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

A new kind of experiment at the LHC could unravel quantum reality

The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever

News

Your genes may influence how much you enjoy listening to music

Ancient humans lived inside a lava tube in the Arabian desert

Why we need to modernise our emotional relationship with cancer

Will Amazon's robotic revolution spark a new wave of job losses?

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Digital generated image of huge sphere made out of wasted plastic on blue background.

Environment

Let's not trash recycling technologies that could end plastic waste

Leader

Free

Physics

A new kind of experiment at the LHC could unravel quantum reality

Features

Subscriber-only

A fish merchant's stall in an indoor market.

Health

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

Features

Subscriber-only

RGY487 Used plastic crushed, Prepared to be re-melted into recycled plastic pellets

Environment

The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever

Features

Subscriber-only

Leaders

Environment

Let's not trash recycling technologies that could end plastic waste

Some environmental campaigners claim that attempts to create a circular economy for plastics are doomed to fail – but the arguments can be disingenuous

Leader

Free

News

Technology

Intel reveals world's biggest 'brain-inspired' neuromorphic computer

A computer intended to mimic the way the brain processes and stores data could potentially improve the efficiency and capabilities of artificial intelligence models

News

Free

Earth

Extreme heat in 2023 linked to drastic slump in growth of marine life

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Colonies of single-celled creatures could explain how embryos evolved

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Ancient marine reptile found on UK beach may be the largest ever

News

Free

Health

Skin-deep wounds can damage gut health in mice

News

Subscriber-only

Environment

Wind turbines based on condor wings could capture more energy

News

Free

Mind

Your genes may influence how much you enjoy listening to music

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Sleeping bumblebees can survive underwater for a week

News

Free

Humans

Ancient Maya burned their dead rulers to mark a new dynasty

News

Free

Humans

Early humans spread as far north as Siberia 400,000 years ago

News

Subscriber-only

Humans

Ancient humans lived inside a lava tube in the Arabian desert

News

Free

Patterns produced by 'polygon billiards'

Mathematics

Particles move in beautiful patterns when they have ‘spatial memory’

News

Subscriber-only

rainstorm in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Environment

What is cloud seeding and did it cause the floods in Dubai?

News

Free

Illustration of the reward pathway in the human brain

Health

Cocaine seems to hijack brain pathways that prioritise food and water

News

Free

Life

Nocturnal ants use polarised moonlight to find their way home

News

Subscriber-only

Health

Dietary changes relieve irritable bowel syndrome better than medicine

News

Free

Physics

Single atoms captured morphing into quantum waves in startling image

News

Subscriber-only

Space

Knot theory could help spacecraft navigate crowded solar systems

News

Subscriber-only

Environment

Geoengineering could save the ice sheets – but only if we start soon

News

Subscriber-only

Technology

Ships smuggling Russian oil spotted in satellite images by AI

News

Subscriber-only

Apr 10, 2024 Researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking method capable of detecting drug substances from fingerprints lifted from crime scenes, which could provide fresh insights into unsolved cases. The technique is sheath-flow probe electrospray ionization. Supplied by Meg Cox M.A.Cox@lboro.ac.uk

Chemistry

Drug residue can be detected in fingerprints left at crime scenes

News

Subscriber-only

Analysis

2R6BX6F Illustration of symbolic representations of good and evil AI morality.

Technology

Why curbing chatbots' worst exploits is a game of whack-a-mole

AI companies are trying to impose safety measures on their chatbots, while researchers are finding ways around them all the time. Where will this end, asks Alex Wilkins

Comment

Subscriber-only

Health

Why we need to modernise our emotional relationship with cancer

Comment

Subscriber-only

Technology

Will Amazon's robotic revolution spark a new wave of job losses?

Analysis

Subscriber-only

Aperture

Journey's End by Diane Tuft Taken from Entropy by Diane Tuft (Monacelli) Great Salt Lake, UTAH, US

Earth

These photos show how a warmer climate is damaging Earth's waters

Photographer Diane Tuft has documented how global warming is affecting bodies of water around the world

Regulars

Free

Features

Health

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

The balance of omega fatty acids in the food we eat affects our health. But what does the evidence say about claims you should be seeking to reduce omega-6 intake as well as boosting omega-3s?

Features

Subscriber-only

Physics

A new kind of experiment at the LHC could unravel quantum reality

Features

Subscriber-only

Environment

The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever

Features

Subscriber-only

Culture

C5C65E Long exposure of subway train ride

Comment

A radical new book sets out to hunt for 'pure consciousness'

Thomas Metzinger's The Elephant and the Blind explores deep meditation, which can take us to states where the sense of self vanishes, arguing that this may be crucial in cracking consciousness

Culture

Subscriber-only

Comment

This one-room sci-fi thriller should take its MacGuffin more seriously

Culture

Subscriber-only

squaring pieces of wood chassis; Shutterstock ID 93543097; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Mathematics

Vindication for maths teachers: Pythagoras's theorem seen in the wild

For all the students wondering why they would ever need to use the Pythagorean theorem, Katie Steckles is delighted to report on a real-world encounter

Regulars

Subscriber-only

BrainTwister #17: Semi-one numbers

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Tom Gauld on Atlas bearing the weight of the heavens on his shoulders

Regulars

Free

Twisteddoodles on Gen Z slang for the lab

Regulars

Free

Regulars

The next frontier of forensic science: blood splatter in microgravity?

Feedback is pleased to see that researchers are looking into the urgent issue of which angle blood might travel at following a violent act in space

This week's magazine

27 April 2024

On the cover

Environment

Let's not trash recycling technologies that could end plastic waste

Physics

A new kind of experiment at the LHC could unravel quantum reality

Health

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

Environment

The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever

Table of contents

Leaders

Environment

Let's not trash recycling technologies that could end plastic waste

News

Technology

Intel reveals world's biggest 'brain-inspired' neuromorphic computer

Earth

Extreme heat in 2023 linked to drastic slump in growth of marine life

Life

Colonies of single-celled creatures could explain how embryos evolved

Life

Ancient marine reptile found on UK beach may be the largest ever

Health

Skin-deep wounds can damage gut health in mice

Environment

Wind turbines based on condor wings could capture more energy

Mind

Your genes may influence how much you enjoy listening to music

Life

Sleeping bumblebees can survive underwater for a week

Humans

Ancient Maya burned their dead rulers to mark a new dynasty

Humans

Early humans spread as far north as Siberia 400,000 years ago

Humans

Ancient humans lived inside a lava tube in the Arabian desert

Mathematics

Particles move in beautiful patterns when they have ‘spatial memory’

Environment

What is cloud seeding and did it cause the floods in Dubai?

Health

Cocaine seems to hijack brain pathways that prioritise food and water

Life

Nocturnal ants use polarised moonlight to find their way home

Health

Dietary changes relieve irritable bowel syndrome better than medicine

Physics

Single atoms captured morphing into quantum waves in startling image

Space

Knot theory could help spacecraft navigate crowded solar systems

Environment

Geoengineering could save the ice sheets – but only if we start soon

Technology

Ships smuggling Russian oil spotted in satellite images by AI

Chemistry

Drug residue can be detected in fingerprints left at crime scenes

Analysis

Technology

Why curbing chatbots' worst exploits is a game of whack-a-mole

Health

Why we need to modernise our emotional relationship with cancer

Technology

Will Amazon's robotic revolution spark a new wave of job losses?

Aperture

Earth

These photos show how a warmer climate is damaging Earth's waters

Features

Health

How to get the right balance of omega-3s and omega-6s in your diet

Physics

A new kind of experiment at the LHC could unravel quantum reality

Environment

The incredible new tech that can recycle all plastics, forever

Culture

Comment

A radical new book sets out to hunt for 'pure consciousness'

Comment

This one-room sci-fi thriller should take its MacGuffin more seriously