New Scientist - 14.09.2019

14 September 2019 | New Scientist | 1

On the cover

14 The answer is 42 And finally

we know what the question is

7 Vaping scare Alarm spreads

as hundreds fall sick in US

9 We’re still evolving But not

necessarily in a good way

34 The hidden truth about

space-time A new way to think

about the fabric of reality

12 Winding back the clock

Biological age reversed in

human trial

14 Cold-blooded geese 42 What

counts as addiction? 5 Another

moon landing goes wrong

16  Whales have accents

News

Views

Features

6 Climate summit preview

What to expect from this

month’s major conference

15 Near miss in Earth orbit

We need better ways to

avoid pile-ups in space

20 Anti-encryption law

Australia’s regulations raise

widespread concern

22 Comment

Facebook should hand over data

on elections, says Timothy Revell

23 The columnist

Graham Lawton on when to

stand up for sacred values

26 Letters

Health apps need to be

a regulated public good

28 Aperture

An epic model that could

save the Mississippi delta

30 Culture

Can capitalism be transformed

into a force for good?

32 Culture columnist

Chelsea Whyte enjoys

crowdsourced medicine on TV

51 Maker

Create a pest-proof bird feeder

52 Puzzles

Quick crossword, a number

puzzle and the quick quiz

53 Feedback

A whale of a saving and crocodile

fears: the week in weird

54 Almost the last word

Food fatigue and human fossils:

our readers respond

56 The Q&A

Dean Burnett on why teenagers

saved the human race

34 The hidden truth

about space-time

Sean Carroll reveals the

quantum origins of reality

39 Earth’s life-support

system is broken

But there’s still room

for cautious optimism

42 What counts

as addiction?

The science behind a rapidly

spreading diagnosis

The back pages

Vol 243 No 3247

Cover image: Mario De Meyer

This week’s issue

THERE are only four weeks to

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Running at London’s ExCel Centre

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you are interested in the multiverse

or the microbiome, deep history

or the deep future. We had 40,

visitors last year, and we hope even

more of you will come this time.

The stellar line up for 2019

includes the incredible Lee Berger,

talking about his latest findings on

ancient humans, neuroscientist

Gina Rippon on the male and

female brain, astrophysicist Avi

Loeb on extraterrestrial life, and

distinguished diplomat Christiana

Figueres on the next steps on

climate change. You will be able to

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action and visit our after-dark

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Do explore what’s on at

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Come and join us at New Scientist Live

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39 What are the limits

to Earth’s  stability?