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This week's magazine

15 April 2023

Issue 3434

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On the cover

Culture
The Power of Language review: What speaking many languages can do
Features
Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination
How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?
The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it
News
An AI dedicated to drawing hands could help all the other AIs improve
Apps that identify plants can be as little as 4 per cent accurate
We don't have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories
Monkeys with human-like hands can be fooled by sleight-of-hand magic
Solar flares made in the lab could teach us about the real thing
Exoplanets with a permanent day side may sometimes flip into night
A macroscopic amount of matter has been put in a quantum superposition
Regulars
How to stop procrastinating and start getting things done
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Editor's picks

Our top articles from the latest magazine

Stylish designer chairs with fresh plants isolated on abstract colorful background. Psychologist consultation. Collage banner design. Copy space. Place to meditate, relax or interview; Shutterstock ID 1692412636; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Health

We must treat therapy with scientific rigour to see if it works

Leader

Subscriber-only
How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Mind

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Features

Subscriber-only
The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Life

The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Features

Subscriber-only
Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Mind

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Features

Subscriber-only

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

We must treat therapy with scientific rigour to see if it works

The number of people seeking psychotherapy is on the rise, but the field has long been seen as unscientific. It is time to approach it with the same diligence as we do other treatments

Leader

Subscriber-only

Stylish designer chairs with fresh plants isolated on abstract colorful background. Psychologist consultation. Collage banner design. Copy space. Place to meditate, relax or interview; Shutterstock ID 1692412636; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

News

Technology

An AI dedicated to drawing hands could help all the other AIs improve

Weird hands have become a well-known way to identify an image generated by artificial intelligence, but that could be set to change

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Male crazy ants have two different sets of DNA in their bodies

News

Free

Mind

Neural engineering rewires the brain using light to change behaviour

News

Subscriber-only

Physics

A macroscopic amount of matter has been put in a quantum superposition

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Ancient droppings may help save kakapo parrots from extinction

News

Subscriber-only

Health

Keto diet may treat epilepsy by changing the gut microbiome

News

Subscriber-only

Space

Exoplanets with a permanent day side may sometimes flip into night

News

Subscriber-only

Technology

Ultraviolet camo made from natural plant dyes could help bird hunters

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Three species of extremely primitive spider discovered in China

News

Free

Technology

Apps that identify plants can be as little as 4 per cent accurate

News

Free

Technology

Underwater pendulums could calm waves and reduce coastal erosion

News

Subscriber-only

Life

Wild African elephants may have domesticated themselves

News

Free

Mind

We don't have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories

News

Free

Physics

Light interacts with its past self in twist on double-slit experiment

News

Free

Analysis

Life

Why we need to be honest with children about the brutality of nature

It can be hard to explain the realities of the natural world to children, but we need to acknowledge the suffering of wild things, says Richard Smyth

Comment

Subscriber-only

Why we need to be honest with children about the brutality of nature

Technology

How I found a new home online at Mastodon, after giving up on Twitter

Comment

Subscriber-only

Health

Should more countries vaccinate children against chickenpox?

Analysis

Free

Aperture

Comment

Photos of solar sheep and an eco-winery capture Italy’s green journey

From sheep grazing in a field of solar panels to natural wine chilling, Islands of Energy by photographer Luigi Avantaggiato captures the greening of Italy at every scale

Regulars

Free

The sheep return to the stable after grazing at the "Buon Pastore" dairy in Sant'alberto, Ravenna, Italy. The dairy and sheep farm work in synergy with the "Solar Farm" energy park, a 35 MW photovoltaic field capable of producing approximately 47,000 MWh of electricity, or the equivalent consumption of 18,000 families. Sheep graze among the solar panels, helping to maintain agricultural areas and turf.

Features

Mind

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Psychotherapy has never been more available and yet, with so many options, it can be hard to know where to start. Thankfully, researchers are getting to grips with what really works and why

Features

Subscriber-only

How do we know that therapy works, and which kind is best for you?

Mind

Physicist David Wolpert on how to study concepts beyond imagination

Features

Subscriber-only

Life

The shocking decline of Earth’s microbiome – and how to save it

Features

Subscriber-only

Culture

Comment

The Power of Language review: What speaking many languages can do

Through staving off dementia symptoms, boosting brainpower and even being a different version of yourself, speaking many languages is a great strategy for life, argues a new book from Viorica Marian

Culture

Subscriber-only

Good day or good morning in different languages; Shutterstock ID 643120366; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Comment

Sleeping Beauties review: The strange nature of nature's inventiveness

Culture

Subscriber-only

Comment

Don't Miss: Mrs Davis, an AI comedy for the GPT-4 age

Culture

Subscriber-only

Comment

LOLA review: Great sci-fi film is rich in ideas, but poor in budget

Culture

Subscriber-only

More

Mind

How to stop procrastinating and start getting things done

Procrastination can steal hours of our time, but the latest research has some answers about how to reduce it, finds David Robson in his new 60-second psychology column

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Distraught woman having salad for dinner while working on computer in the evening at home. ; Shutterstock ID 1581071689; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Puzzle #217: Can Neville escape the deadly, flesh-eating moat monster?

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Tom Gauld: The infinite monkeys take a break

Regulars

Free

Twisteddoodles: Science has found that 60% of birdsong is rap battles

Regulars

Free

Regulars

Helluva twist: Did Dickens create the first android in literature?

Feedback explores electrifying new research linking the antagonist of Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield "to the electrically-sparked monster" in Frankenstein

Regulars

Subscriber-only

Helluva twist: Did Dickens create the first android in literature?

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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