Comment
Why open-source software can be both good and bad
News
This week's magazine
22 July 2026
Issue 3605
On the cover
Editor's picks
Mind
What the world’s happiest countries can teach us about joyful living
Features
Environment
How to unlock unlimited geothermal energy, anywhere we want
Features
Mind
How to maximise the mental health benefits of your vacation
Features
Physics
Strange paraparticles could be reality’s missing ingredient
Features
Table of contents
News
Space
We’ve found a rocky, temperate planet’s atmosphere for the first time
Astronomers have only previously found atmospheres around exoplanets that are very large or incredibly hot – but now they have found one adorning a world that may well be right for life
News
Space
Sugar molecules found in interstellar space for the first time
News
Mind
Neurostimulation restores feeling in paralysed hand for months after
News
Physics
Can consciousness be quantum? We may now have an answer
News
Health
Restoring ability to remove zombie cells may keep us sharp as we age
News
Humans
Hunter-gatherers introduced fish to a mountain lake 7000 years ago
News
Health
Best treatment for multiple sclerosis may be antivirals
News
Health
Nicotine pouches may cause receding gums
News
Technology
Why a Ukrainian cruise missile is flying with hobby drone hardware
News
Technology
Stealth drone spins so fast that it disappears
News
Environment
Cloudy skies have slowed global warming – but that may be changing
News
Technology
The US-China AI arms race has taken an unexpected turn
News
Health
Game that reduces dementia risk may clear amyloid from men’s brains
News
Life
Hard but lightweight ‘bio-metal’ material discovered in sea worm jaws
News
Humans
Ancient Egyptian princesses buried with weapons may have been fighters
News
Life
Congolese monkey with mask-like face and strong BO is new to science
News
Health
Four children with terminal brain cancer saved by new cell therapy
News
Health
Supplement that binds to microplastics may remove them from our body
News
Humans
Maya mathematician’s name decoded alongside astronomical formula
News
Life
Queen’s powerful smell suppresses rivals in naked mole rat colonies
News
Features
Physics
Strange paraparticles could be reality’s missing ingredient
Neither matter nor force, paraparticles would be something else entirely. Fresh hints that they exist are raising hopes that they could explain reality at its deepest level
Features
Environment
How to unlock unlimited geothermal energy, anywhere we want
Features
Mind
What the world’s happiest countries can teach us about joyful living
Features
Mind
How to maximise the mental health benefits of your vacation
Features
Culture
Comment
Sunshine can help with some serious health problems, argues a new book
While Europe’s heatwave makes us run for shade, the intriguing In Defense of Sunlight reveals sunlight’s health-giving effects – in moderation, says David Robson
Culture
Comment
91av recommends Anish Kapoor’s show at the Hayward Gallery
Culture
Comment
This twisty sci-fi thriller is a fantastic debut from Isabel J. Kim
Culture
More
Sponsored
Drug discovery Is changing. Drug development must change too.
In this 91av CoLab podcast, experts from global life sciences leader Cytiva explain the hidden, high-stakes science of purification that is required to close the gap between drug discovery and the pharmacy shelf.
Advertising
Sponsored
More than a gut feeling
Advertising
Mathematics
The sneaky maths trick for solving problems without answering them
Comment
Physics
Do we owe our existence to weird ‘virtual’ particles?
Comment
Humans
How humans evolved to be twice as big as our ancestors
Comment
Tom Gauld on artificial cells
Regulars
Twisteddoodles on children’s flexible ears
Regulars
Regulars
Comment
Why do fictional geologists keep getting killed off in movies?
Feedback is surprised to learn that geology is a particularly deadly speciality to pick if you're a fictional character, with a new study revealing an "alarming rate" of mortality for geologists in films
This Week’s Letters
Letters
Is it true that fresh air heats up faster than stale air? If so, why?
Last Word
How do fish recognise others of their own species? Part 2
Last Word
Are flies following a strategy when they keep hitting a window? Part 2
Last Word
This week’s new questions
Last Word
