Technology
We should decide how AI shapes the future, not tech firms
Comment
This week's magazine
15 August 2026
Issue 3608
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
News
Environment
Could geoengineering ‘ice arches’ help preserve Arctic sea ice?
Researchers are investigating whether artificially thickening ice blockages between Canada and Greenland could prevent huge amounts of sea ice from flowing south to melt
News
Space
Most-detailed-ever image of sun reveals roiling waves for first time
News
Mathematics
Why winner of biggest prize in maths has decided to work on AI instead
News
Mathematics
OpenAI announces solutions to 10 longstanding maths problems
News
Health
Three factors in midlife can delay the onset of dementia by 13 years
News
Health
Postbiotic supplement boosts body’s own GLP-1 and weight loss
News
Mind
Do leftovers taste better the next day? Sometimes, according to science
News
Environment
Drought and heat push Europe’s power grid to breaking point
News
Life
Gene-edited dogs lack the protein that causes allergies
News
Health
Swallowing faecal capsules reduces peanut allergy in six adults
News
Humans
Ancient Egyptians may have built a massive dam near the Red Pyramid
News
Technology
DeepMind AI gives an extra day of warning ahead of deadly cyclones
News
Space
SpaceX crash site on moon revealed by South Korean orbiter
News
Life
Large predators reduce car accidents by keeping deer off roads
News
Environment
Canadian wildfires are reducing solar power generation in Europe
News
Life
Should you stop using preventive flea treatments on your pets?
News
Life
Darwin proved right about gnat-trapping carnivorous plant
News
Environment
Why sitting under a parasol is barely cooler than being in the sun
News
Features
Health
The shock revelation that light bulbs are wrecking your metabolism
Since the 2000s, our light exposure has changed drastically as we make our buildings more energy-efficient. Now, we’re discovering how this may mess with our mitochondria, contributing to diabetes, dementia and more
Features
Physics
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Features
Mathematics
Why mathematician Terence Tao thinks AI must spark a rapid revolution
Features
Culture
Comment
A new book reveals what evolution can teach us about the best diet
Besieged by confusing and contradictory advice on which diets are healthiest for us, Chris Simms enjoys a clear-eyed view from evolutionary anthropologist Daniel Lieberman in his new book
Culture
Comment
I reread The Road 20 years on. It was even more devastating
Culture
Comment
If this brilliant cosmic horror show passed you by, rectify that now
Culture
More
Sponsored
From the mine to the grid
How Komatsu machines help build Atlassian Williams F1 Team’s FW48
Advertising
Technology
Why full-fledged quantum computers might always be five years away
Comment
Health
Peptides are the latest wellness trend – but do they work?
Comment
Earth
Exploring the world’s northernmost caves – in pictures
Regulars
Physics
The once-impossible black holes that could break thermodynamics
Comment
Tom Gauld on failed science clip art
Regulars
Twisteddoodles on how to handle memes featuring medical symptoms
Regulars
Regulars
Comment
Does shapewear make us less prone to taking risks? Weirdly, maybe yes
Feedback is a little nonplussed by an experiment that involved wearing (or not wearing) compressing shapewear, and then playing cards
Feedback
This Week’s Letters
Letters
What is the optimal way to ice a cocktail?
Last Word
What changes will occur on Earth as the moon moves further away? part 2
Last Word
At what point does my family tree stop doubling and start decreasing? part 2
Last Word
This week’s new questions
Last Word
