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This week's magazine

30 May 2026

Issue 3597

New Scientist issue 3597 cover
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Editor's picks

2JKWR5N The nucleus cells would come from the association of several bacteria.

Life

Capitalism has warped our understanding of ecology and life’s origins

Comment
How a radical new view of life could reveal its origin – and aliens

Life

How a radical new view of life could reveal its origin – and aliens

Features
D6H4GB Implanted blastocyst, artwork

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Embryos made without sperm or eggs reveal why many pregnancies fail

Features
Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything

Physics

Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

2JKWR5N The nucleus cells would come from the association of several bacteria.

Life

Capitalism has warped our understanding of ecology and life’s origins

The ideas of survival of the fittest and winning at all costs are closely entwinned with Darwinism, but they shouldn’t be. A rethink from a more communal perspective is in order

Comment

News

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Women’s better memories may delay Alzheimer’s diagnosis by years

Women appear cognitively normal for almost three years longer than men after their brains start to develop Alzheimer’s disease, making it harder to diagnose and preventing early treatment

News

Physics

Odd “butterfly” molecule could lead to new parts of the quantum realm

News

Environment

Wind-assisted cargo ships could more than halve shipping emissions

News

Mind

Flotation tanks deployed to combat PTSD after devastating wildfires

News

Humans

Mystery of the ancient giant stone jars of Laos may have been solved

News

Life

Colossal claims an artificial eggshell will help it bring back the moa

News

Environment

Solar farm on the ocean outperforms land-based solar in Taiwan

News

Life

We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms

News

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Women’s body temperature rises from age 18 to 42 but we don’t know why

News

Environment

Putting CO2 into rocks and getting hydrogen out is climate double win

News

Mind

Epic dreaming is leaving people exhausted and distressed

News

Mathematics

Mathematicians stunned by AI's biggest breakthrough in mathematics yet

News

Space

Mercury may have gained all of its unexpected water in a single day

News

Mind

Political anger affects the body differently to other forms of anger

News

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Experimental mRNA vaccine may protect against multiple Ebola viruses

News

Space

Mars astronauts may do laundry by blasting clothes with a plasma beam

News

Life

Weird and wonderful sea pen found on Mystery Ridge

News

Aperture

Earth from Above author returns with astonishing freshwater images

Environment

Earth from Above author returns with astonishing freshwater images

From Kenya's Tree of Life to a Svalbard glacier, these stunning photos are taken from a new book by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, whose The Earth From Above was a smash hit 25 years ago

Regulars

Features

Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything

Physics

Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything

A rewrite of quantum mechanics that includes the force of gravity could finally achieve one of physicists’ biggest goals and reveal the ultimate fuzziness of time

Features

Life

How a radical new view of life could reveal its origin – and aliens

Features

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Embryos made without sperm or eggs reveal why many pregnancies fail

Features

Culture

PERUGIA, ITALY - NOVEMBER 24: Amanda Knox (C) is led away from Perugia's court of Appeal by police officers after the first session of her appeal against her murder conviction on November 24, 2010 in Perugia, Italy. American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of the murder of Ms Knox's former British flatmate Meredith Kercher in 2007. Their trial took place in December 2009 with Knox and Sollecito receiving sentences of 26 and 25 years respectively. Rudy Guede, an unemployed man from Ivory Coast, was also convicted of the Meredith Kercher's murder. The case is also forming the basis for a film currently being shot in Italy entitled 'The Amanda Knox Story', with American actress Hayden Panettiere cast as Amanda Knox. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Life

New Scientist recommends Turi King's expert book about DNA's secrets

From clearing people convicted of murder to identifying a monarch's remains, Michael Le Page is fascinated by The Secrets of Our DNA, an insider's must-read book

Culture

Comment

Unsettling dance piece explores how AI is warping human relationships

Culture

Comment

The late Ian Watson's sci-fi The Embedding is intriguing – but dated

Culture

Comment

Our verdict on Luminous by Silvia Park: a fascinating take on robots

Culture

More

Space

The hidden pockets of the universe where the future can cause the past

Inside some very special black holes, there may be a boundary called a Cauchy horizon. Columnist Leah Crane explores the place beyond which physics breaks and anything is possible

Comment

Technology

The future of robot armies is here – and it’s not what you think

Comment

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How ageing on Earth mimics the effects of space travel

Comment

How play shapes future thinkers

lego-education-2

Tom Gauld on scientific hubris

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on how to lure unsuspecting academics

Regulars

Regulars

Is there a word for the Wiki page for the Ship of Theseus paradox?

Comment

Is there a word for the Wiki page for the Ship of Theseus paradox?

Feedback has been flooded with answers (both correct and inspired) after wondering if there is a word for something that is an exemplar of the thing it describes.

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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