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Editor's picks

Physics

The surprise theory of everything

Health

The five most promising new cancer treatments

Space

Space tourism: the ultimate boarding pass

Humans

Lethal weapons and the evolution of civilisation

Table of contents

News

Physics

Manipulators of quantum world win physics Nobel

Haroche and Wineland found ways to handle quantum objects without destroying them, paving the way for today's atomic clocks and quantum computing

Space

SpaceX gets serious with first crucial supply mission

Life

Cloning and stem cell Nobel for Gurdon and Yamanaka

Technology

Secure crypto-algorithm wins gold-standard status

60 Seconds

Earth

Hungry Africa’s breadbasket needs to grow

Health

Meningitis outbreak sparks call for regulation

Earth

European nuclear power plants ill-set for disaster

Earth

Hidden green benefits of genetically modified crops

Earth

Climate war looms over US coal exports to China

Physics

Black-hole laser edges closer to testing Hawking

DNA’s half-life identified using fossil bones

Health

Mouse eggs created from stem cells for the first time

Space

Exomoons may give us first glimpse of habitable worlds

Health

Failed malaria drug regains its potency

Health

Oxytocin helps people with alcoholism beat cravings

Space

Astrophile: Supernova impostor explodes for real

Environment

Zoologger: The spiders hit by fatal courtship muddles

Physics

Quantum measurements leave Schrödinger’s cat alive

Star-shaped waves emerge from wobbly oil

Physics

Tiny ruler is golden ticket to see diseases in action

Health

Neck implant eases chronic migraine

Earth

World’s most northerly lake comes back to life

Technology

First evidence for Iran’s parallel halal internet

Technology

Gesture-sensing interfaces to rival keyboards and mice

Technology

Predictive text errors inspire AI comedians

Technology

Robot learns using IKEA-style instructions

Physics

Ada Lovelace: My brain is more than merely mortal

Opinion

Earth

Future farms need to use every trick in the book

Genetic modification of food plants has great potential, if used in conjunction with other farming techniques

Technology

Internet isolation isn’t the way to go, Iran

From sculpture to science: We can learn from art

Earth

Endangered animals caught in the tourist trap

Analysis

Technology

Satellite broadband gets millions more Africans online

The launch of a new satellite will provide broadband access for millions in Africa, without having to rely on fault-prone undersea cables

Aperture

Scorpion raising: Nurtured under a deadly sting

Juvenile scorpions are tended by their mother – riding on her back, under the venomous sting – until they are big enough to survive on their own

Features

Physics

The surprise theory of everything

Forget quantum physics, forget relativity. Inklings of an ultimate theory might emerge from an unexpected place, says physicist Vlatko Vedral

Health

The five most promising new cancer treatments

Space

Space tourism: the ultimate boarding pass

Humans

Lethal weapons and the evolution of civilisation

Culture

Feeding the world will require tough choices

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

Life

Sure, Darwin was clever, but…

Earth 2.0: the hunt for places like home

Antony Gormley: I engineer experience

More

Enigma Number 1719

Regulars

Feedback: In fruitloopery’s house are many mansions

The marvels of the holographic body-field, the wonders of infoceuticals, archetypal healing modes, and more

This Week’s Letters

On the bounce

Age marker

Hair-brained?

Lazy power

Eyes right?

Browse past issues

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29 September 2012

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8 September 2012

1 September 2012