6 March 2021 | New Scientist | 1On the
coverFocus on coronavirus
7 The threat from
the Brazilian variant
41 How our abuse of
nature causes pandemics
10 When will we
be back to normal?News
Views
Features
15 Efficiency paradox
Climate goals are at risk
because of the rebound
effect of energy efficiency17 Think again
AI that remembers its past
beats video game high scores19 In the swing of things
Human ancestors may have
swung like chimps after all25 Comment
We need better names
for coronavirus variants,
says Mark Pallen26 The columnist
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
on solving a cosmic conflict28 Letters
Saving nature is up to all of us30 Aperture
Unexpected beauty caught
in cancer research photos32 Culture
The compelling, divided
world of Tribes of Europa51 Citizen science
Find killer diseases hidden
in mountains of images52 Puzzles
Try our crossword, quick
quiz and logic puzzle54 Almost the last word
How long is the gap between
the past and the future?55 Tom Gauld for New Scientist
A cartoonist’s take on the world56 Feedback
Mint mistakes and a long covid
“detox”: the week in weird36 Friendship-ology
The fundamental laws that
explain why some friendships
fade and others last41 Spillover
The covid-19 pandemic was
precipitated by our disruption
of ecosystems. But how exactly?46 Double time
Did time flow both forwards and
backwards after the big bang?The back pages
18 Enter the biosphere Fake moon base is nearly self-sufficientVol 249 No 3324
Cover image: Anđela Janković36 The fundamental
laws of friendship
And what they mean for you46 Two-way time
Did time also flow
backwards from
the big bang?JU^
HUANZO
NG/XI
NHUA
NEWSAGEN
CY
/PAIMAGESNews
34 For All Mankind, reviewed
16 Neanderthal language
16 Real-life warp drives
12 Date set for end of the worldThis week’s issue
46 Features
“ Complexity
doesn’t just
give time its
direction –
it literally
is time”