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This week's magazine

16 September 2023

Issue 3456

New Scientist issue 3456 cover
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Editor's picks

PRP04M Cannabis brain and marijuana neurological effect on thinking as a human organ made of weed leaves as a pot or herbal medicine patient and effects.

Health

Cannabis for medical use is soaring but the research is lagging behind

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Is CBD a wonder drug or waste of money? Here's what the evidence says

Health

Is CBD a wonder drug or waste of money? Here's what the evidence says

Features
Disinformation wars: The fight against fake news in the age of AI

Society

Disinformation wars: The fight against fake news in the age of AI

Features
Flowers in a prairie field with mountains in the background

Environment

Can massive solar power expansion regenerate the US’s iconic prairies?

Features

Table of contents

Leaders

PRP04M Cannabis brain and marijuana neurological effect on thinking as a human organ made of weed leaves as a pot or herbal medicine patient and effects.

Health

Cannabis for medical use is soaring but the research is lagging behind

With more of us turning to cannabis and its compounds for medical reasons than ever before, we need solid research to tell us what it really does to the body and mind

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3D render modern white porcelain ceramic toilet bowl with stainless steel bidet shower spray and toilet-roll holder in a bathroom. Teal green granite wall tiles, Morning, Sunlight, Clean, Marble floor; Shutterstock ID 2205794535; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Technology

Smart toilets could leak your medical data, warn security experts

Toilets that collect health data could be hacked to reveal extremely sensitive information and should be regulated as medical devices, say security experts

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Mathematics

Mathematicians find 12,000 solutions for fiendish three-body problem

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Physics

Pumps that beat like the heart could increase energy efficiency

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Humans

Mysterious ancient stones were deliberately made into spheres

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Life

Gannets prefer to roll either right or left when they dive

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Humans

Terracotta Army shoes reveal secrets of ancient Chinese footwear

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Technology

GPT-4 wins chatbot lawyer contest – but is still not as good as humans

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Life

Our ultra-mobile arm joints may have evolved for climbing down trees

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Technology

Quantum batteries that charge wirelessly might never lose efficiency

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Life

Spotted salamander eggs hatch more easily if nibbled by predators

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Environment

Earth has just seen its hottest three-month spell on record

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Health

New type of brain cell discovered that acts like hybrid of two others

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Technology

Electrically charged mist could help capture carbon from power plants

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Health

Human kidneys have been partially grown in pigs for the first time

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Space

Asteroid hit by NASA spacecraft is behaving unexpectedly

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Health

Westerners sleep later on weekends than people in Asia

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Life

Huge rewilding project will release 2000 white rhinos across Africa

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Earth

Tonga volcano unleashed underwater flows that reshaped the seafloor

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Life

Ancient mini koala may help solve mystery of early marsupial evolution

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Humans

Cave art pigments show how ancient technology changed over 4500 years

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Environment

Risk of mass deaths as heatwaves start to pass survivability threshold

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Health

Covid-19 linked to elevated risk of type 1 diabetes in young children

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Life

Red imported fire ants with painful bites have taken hold in Europe

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51¶¯Âþ Live

A note from our editor on 51¶¯Âþ Live 2023

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Analysis

Society

Can the UK’s new ARIA science agency deliver ‘moonshot’ technologies?

Originally dreamed up by Dominic Cummings, the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) has been tasked with a high-risk, high-reward approach to research funding

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Technology

Developing the 'sharenting' habit prenatally has consequences

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Physics

How soap operas can help us understand special relativity

Comment

Aperture

cf. Mycena (???) Reserva Los Cedros, Cotacachi, Ecuador

Life

Fascinating photos of fungi show their diversity

Mycologists Danny Newman and Roo Vandegrift spent more than a decade scouting for fungi in the threatened Los Cedros reserve in Ecuador. See some of their finds here

Regulars

Features

Flowers in a prairie field with mountains in the background

Environment

Can massive solar power expansion regenerate the US’s iconic prairies?

Renewable energy development is transforming the US countryside. It could be a chance to restore the iconic prairies if rural opposition can be overcome

Features

Health

Is CBD a wonder drug or waste of money? Here's what the evidence says

Features

Society

Disinformation wars: The fight against fake news in the age of AI

Features

Culture

Close up of digital eye with layered graphics

Comment

The Coming Wave review: How AI reshapes our world

How powerful is artificial intelligence? Where has it sprung from? Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave is one of four disquieting books which set out to explore AI's hold on the world

Culture

Comment

Ten Trips review: What tripping taught an academic about psychedelics

Culture

Comment

51¶¯Âþ recommends You're Wrong About and Monolithic Undertow

Culture

Comment

Starter Villain review: Big questions laced with absurdist humour

Culture

More

E036X7 Constellation Cygnus (Cyg), one of the modern constellations from

Space

It's a great time to see the Cygnus constellation – here's how

You can currently see Cygnus and its lovely stars, including stunning double star Albireo, from almost anywhere in the world, says Abigail Beall

Regulars

Puzzle #239: What is the quickest way to break up this chocolate bar?

Regulars

Tom Gauld on taking time to smell the roses

Regulars

Twisteddoodles on AI taking our jobs

Regulars

Regulars

Can the dead use phones? 51¶¯Âþs explore this unanswered question

Can the dead use phones? 51¶¯Âþs explore this unanswered question

Feedback is intrigued to learn that a grant has been awarded for study into "After-death communication with cell phones", but has a number of questions to ask - not least where the dead get their service from

Regulars

Regulars

Letters

Regulars

The last word

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