21/28 December 2019 | New Scientist | 1
Welcome all to your bumper holiday edition of the
magazine. I hope you will agree that we have stacked the
treats pretty high this year, whether you are interested in
runaway stars, a dodo mystery, an intimate history of
roundabouts, mixing yourself a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster...
or simply in looking back over an extraordinary decade of
science, technology and planetary change. I really hope you
enjoy the issue and, on behalf of all the staff here, I would
like to thank you, our very wonderful readers, for making
New Scientist part of your lives.
Emily Wilson, Editor
News
Pull-out
Features Views
Review of
the year
6 Time travel paradox
Finite number of parallel
histories solves classic problem
9 Oral rejuvenation
Anti-ageing drug gives old
mice more youthful mouths
12 Japan’s exoskeletons
How technology is helping
older people to remain in
the workforce for longer
47 A peeling activity
How to craft a satsuma-skin
stegosaurus – and more!
20 The Greta effect
The year the world woke
up to climate change
23 The tech backlash
Big tech’s inevitable fall
from grace in 2019
29 Preview of 2020
The scientific delights –
and dangers – to come
33 Comment
Expanding beyond Earth will
change us, says Martin Rees
36 Aperture
The snowy travails of the
spotted nutcrackers of Bulgaria
38 Culture
The first English translation of
a new short story from Cixin Liu
42 Letters
Why failure can be glorious
89 Stargazing at home
Spot Santa’s sleigh
90 Puzzles
A bumper celestial crossword
and five festive teasers
92 Quiz of the year
Test your knowledge of the
science stories from 2019
95 Feedback
The winners of our inaugural
awards for absurdity
96 The Q&A
Janelle Shane on the delights
of AI strangeness
44 Scientific guide to chit-chat
A masterclass in conversation
for the most social time of year
52 The very friendly octopus
Far from being loners, some
cephalopods like company
54 Stars behaving badly
A guide to the Milky Way’s
most outlandish inhabitants
57 Frankincense in peril
It used to be a gift for kings, but
now everyone wants a piece
60 How Rudolph beats jet lag
Reindeer’s real superpowers are
more impressive than fiction
62 Tonic’s sparkling history
From medical miracle to gin’s
ideal accompaniment
65 Why people hate
roundabouts
They’re safer, cleaner and more
efficient, yet still face resistance
68 The return of the Zeppelin
Helping the steampunk fantasy
of vacuum airships take flight
70 Snow’s surprising life
It may appear cold and empty,
but it hides a vibrant ecosystem
72 When truffles go to war
Unearthing the violent lives
of our most expensive fungi
74 Who killed the last dodo?
A unique specimen with
a mysterious past
77 How to mix the perfect
Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster
Brewing science fiction’s most
intoxicating beverages
80 A slice of the auction
How scientific memorabilia
can be good for the wallet
82 The case for a £1.75 coin
Radical solutions to save the
future of cash
The back pages
Vol 244 No 3261/
Cover image: Rob Snow
Contents
44 Features
“ We consistently
underestimate how well
we are perceived by others”
Holiday
special