Issue 2958 | Magazine cover date: 1 March 2014

This week's magazine

1 March 2014

Issue 2958

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On the cover

Features

20,000 megawatts under the sea: Oceanic steam engines

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Technology

Society turns to steampunk to fix its climate woes

Opinion

Life

Sharp thinking: How shaping tools built our brains

Features

Earth

Rewilding: Bring in the big beasts to fix ecosystems

Features

Health

Curry cure: Chillies are the hot new thing in medicine

Features

Earth

20,000 megawatts under the sea: Oceanic steam engines

Features

Leaders

Health

How can you ensure that your life is worth living?

Dramatic advances in communication with people in a minimally conscious state have provoked questions central to our ideas about what makes life worth living

Opinion

Earth

When is an artificial ecosystem no longer a fake?

Opinion

Technology

Society turns to steampunk to fix its climate woes

Opinion

51��

Space

Incoming 'Moby Dick' asteroid goes missing near Earth

A whale of an asteroid has gone missing. The 270-metre space rock known as 2000 EM26 was slated to skim past Earth early on 18 February, coming within 3.4 million kilometres of our planet. But when a robotic telescope service trained its eye on the predicted position, the asteroid was nowhere to be found. Astronomers …

51��

Earth

Warmer world may wreak havoc with the Atlantic

51��

Life

Dog brains respond to calls just like human brains

51��

Technology

ButtonMasher: 80,000 spar to control same �ʴǰ�é��ǲ� game

51��

Health

New cache of fresh neurons found in human brains

51��

Life

Zoologger: Sabre-toothed frog is an evolutionary loner

51��

Space

Fresh hint of dark matter seen in neutrino search

51��

Earth

UK's carbon plans make up for oil and gas splurge

51��

Technology

Electric heart sock could kick out pacemakers

51��

Earth

European Commission sues UK over polluted air

51��

Earth

Cost of natural disasters doubles in China

51��

60 Seconds

51��

Technology

Brain zap rouses people from years of vegetative state

51��

Life

Healing by faeces: Rise of the DIY gut-bug swap

51��

Life

Pancreatic cancer's killer trick offers treatment hope

51��

Space

India unveils its first home-grown astronaut capsule

51��

Physics

Prime number enigma could be solved by simple networks

51��

Life

Origin of organs: Thank viruses for your skin and bone

51��

Mystery Voynich manuscript gets preliminary alphabet

51��

Physics

Quantum electric dewdrops produced for first time

51��

Technology

Location-aware Wi-Fi lets fans be part of the show

51��

Technology

Solar DNA tests detect cancer without electricity

51��

Life

Sensor backpacks for oysters say when they are happy

51��

Technology

One Per Cent

51��

Health

Virus that caused flu pandemic dominates again

51��

Technology

Virtual currency 'Riecoin' tackles prime number enigma

51��

Technology

Phone's Wi-Fi hotspot acts as SOS beacon in disasters

51��

Health

Greek austerity tragedy shows where not to make cuts

51��

Life

Racial categories aren't hardwired in our minds

51��

Opinion

Health

The world needs to talk about child euthanasia

Belgium has become the first nation to legalise euthanasia for children of any age. Other countries need to face the issue too

Opinion

Health

'My hospital helps women raped in east Congo's wars'

Opinion

Life

I'm breeding biodegradable batteries from viruses

Opinion

Aperture

Life

If the giant tusks don't get you, the bad breath will

(Image: Paul Nicklen/National Geographic Creative) BEFORE J. R. R. Tolkien was dreaming up hobbits and constructing languages for elves to speak, he worked at the Oxford English Dictionary, where he was assigned words beginning with W. "Walrus", Tolkien proposed, came from the Old Norse hrossvalr , meaning "horse-whale". This is unlikely to be foremost in …

Regulars

Features

Life

Sharp thinking: How shaping tools built our brains

Video: Tool making gives insight into early human mind How did we become the smartest creatures on Earth? The story of our ancestors' mental leaps can be found in stones – a modern-day flint-knapper is our guide SPARKS fly as stone meets stone, and shards of rock ricochet off the furniture around me. Each strike …

Features

Earth

Rewilding: Bring in the big beasts to fix ecosystems

Features

Health

Curry cure: Chillies are the hot new thing in medicine

Features

Earth

20,000 megawatts under the sea: Oceanic steam engines

Features

Culturelab

Life

Can these pop-sci self-help books make you smarter?

Use it or lose it? Some activities may increase general intelligence (Image: Erich Lessing/Magnum) Mind-reading, prediction and intelligence – these three books promise three superpowers. But do they make Kate Douglas a better person? SELF help. Now try to keep an open mind. This is the world's bestselling genre, with around 45,000 titles in print. …

CultureLab

Big bad ideas: What's worrying our greatest minds

CultureLab

Regulars

Feedback: Amazing interplanetary future

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Amazing interplanetary future SUCCUMBING, as we expected, to temptation and seeking entertaining mis-predictions in 51�� 's 1964 vision of The World in 1984 (25 January) , Feedback starts with the low-hanging fruit. In 1964, Wernher von Braun was Director …

Regulars

51����

This week's magazine

1 March 2014

On the cover

Technology

Society turns to steampunk to fix its climate woes

Life

Sharp thinking: How shaping tools built our brains

Earth

Rewilding: Bring in the big beasts to fix ecosystems

Health

Curry cure: Chillies are the hot new thing in medicine

Earth

20,000 megawatts under the sea: Oceanic steam engines

Table of contents

Leaders

Health

How can you ensure that your life is worth living?

Earth

When is an artificial ecosystem no longer a fake?

Technology

Society turns to steampunk to fix its climate woes

51����

Space

Incoming 'Moby Dick' asteroid goes missing near Earth

Earth

Warmer world may wreak havoc with the Atlantic

Life

Dog brains respond to calls just like human brains

Technology

ButtonMasher: 80,000 spar to control same �ʴǰ�é���ǲ� game

Health

New cache of fresh neurons found in human brains

Life

Zoologger: Sabre-toothed frog is an evolutionary loner

Space

Fresh hint of dark matter seen in neutrino search

Earth

UK's carbon plans make up for oil and gas splurge

Technology

Electric heart sock could kick out pacemakers

Earth

European Commission sues UK over polluted air

Earth

Cost of natural disasters doubles in China

60 Seconds

Technology

Brain zap rouses people from years of vegetative state

Life

Healing by faeces: Rise of the DIY gut-bug swap

Life

Pancreatic cancer's killer trick offers treatment hope

Space

India unveils its first home-grown astronaut capsule

Physics

Prime number enigma could be solved by simple networks

Life

Origin of organs: Thank viruses for your skin and bone

Mystery Voynich manuscript gets preliminary alphabet

Physics

Quantum electric dewdrops produced for first time

Technology

Location-aware Wi-Fi lets fans be part of the show

Technology

Solar DNA tests detect cancer without electricity

Life

Sensor backpacks for oysters say when they are happy

Technology

One Per Cent

Health

Virus that caused flu pandemic dominates again

Technology

Virtual currency 'Riecoin' tackles prime number enigma

Technology

Phone's Wi-Fi hotspot acts as SOS beacon in disasters

Health

Greek austerity tragedy shows where not to make cuts

Life

Racial categories aren't hardwired in our minds

Opinion

51��

51��

ButtonMasher: 80,000 spar to control same �ʴǰ�é��ǲ� game