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Editor's picks

Humans

A brief history of the human genome

Humans

‘Super-recognisers’ have amazing memory for faces

Earth

Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale’s gut

Technology

Reality checker: How to cut nonsense from the net

Table of contents

News

Health

Paying for healthcare benefits only the rich

As Mitt Romney does a U-turn on "ObamaCare", research shows a universal system makes populations healthier

Dawn departs Vesta to become first asteroid hopper

Earth

GM corn loses its edge against pests

Physics

Higgs boson gets peer-review seal of approval

Technology

How Facebook could help swing the US election

60 Seconds

Earth

Shale gas won’t make Europe energy-independent

Health

Attack on dengue intensifies with two new weapons

Physics

Fiendish ‘ABC proof’ heralds new mathematical universe

Health

Swine flu evolves under the radar

Physics

Heavy photons are too light to be behind dark matter

Earth

Lush Antarctic past suggests more monsoons in future

Health

Inferior lizard tails weaken hopes of regrowing limbs

Physics

Moving plane exchanges quantum keys with Earth

Health

Subconscious cues might help you heal faster

Life

Metallic blue fruit shines brightest of all

Health

Muscles that do nothing can keep you warm and thin

Space

Astrophile: Lucky strike turns a dark cloud into a star

Earth

Could we geoengineer the climate with CO2?

Physics

Water-repellent balls make liquid boil with no bubbles

Life

Arctic foxes took ice bridge to reach Iceland

Environment

Brain scans show how crows distinguish friend from foe

Health

Mother’s milk no match for virus that triggers asthma

Health

Detecting a subway bioterror attack

Technology

Talking cars help each other see around blind corners

Life

Dinosaur-inspired upgrades add bite to wind turbines

Technology

Sea cameras scan the waves for smugglers

Technology

Wired is the new wireless: Spreading the web in China

Technology

Smart PC desktop knows when to leave you alone

Opinion

Technology

The impossibility of total vigilance against terrorism

Some terrorist threats are too small to spend billions on watching out for them

Technology

Truth v lies, tech tools fight the nonsense

Health

Is medical science built on shaky foundations?

Life

Meet the world’s first transhumanist politician

Earth

Let’s use evolution to turn us green

Aperture

Don’t mess with the world’s largest jellyfish

See more: To see the image this article refers to, keep checking Picture of the Day on our news blog Short Sharp Science

Features

Humans

A brief history of the human genome

From the first cells to the dawn of our species, take a whirlwind tour through 3 billion years of evolution

Humans

‘Super-recognisers’ have amazing memory for faces

Earth

Heaven scent: The grey gold from a sperm whale’s gut

Technology

Reality checker: How to cut nonsense from the net

Culture

Coping with the noisy neighbours

See more: An illustrated version of this article will be published within the next two weeks on our CultureLab books and arts blog

Geological clues from Noah’s flood?

Eyes on the sky: get lost in the wonders of the air

Are you really making your own decisions?

More

Enigma Number 1715

Regulars

Feedback: Electrons are so good for your feet

Feel-good electrons, ice cream that does your head in, two-dimensional pop stars, and more

This Week’s Letters

Offbeat offshoot

On the bounce

Cell breakdown

Whiff of mystery

Browse past issues

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8 September 2012

1 September 2012