34 | New Scientist | 1 January 2022
contributes so much to both
science and art. Atkins used
the then recently invented
“cyanotype” process to
photograph algae and ferns,
thereby creating the first
photo book in history.
Barriers to good observation
are more often social than
practical. History isn’t short of
remarkable female astronomers,
but before the 1960s, women
invariably needed the right
relative or the right husbandto champion and support their
work. The Sky Is for Everyone:
Women astronomers in their
own words is a testament to the
period that all changed. Edited
by astronomers Virginia Trimble
and David Weintraub, it is an
inspiring anthology of writings
by trailblazing female
astronomers from 1960 to today.
And finally: close observation,
fresh thinking and a concern
for the environment all come
together in Dust: A history and
a future of environmental disaster
by Jay Owens – for my money,
the most enticing of the books
we know are due in 2022.
Owens explores dust as a
method for seeing the world
anew, from space dust to
sandstorms, from the domestic
to the digital and from efforts
at industrialisation to the latest
speculative technologies for
cooling the planet. Though dust
may often be the harbinger of
environmental disaster, Owens,
like many of the writers here, still
makes room to draw out stories
of hope, of salvage and of repair. ❚when the Titanic sank and is still
going strong; from the many
living things that have never
evolved to die, and succumb only
through unfortunate
circumstances; or from one species
of jellyfish that can revert back to
its polyp stage when threatened
and, remarkably, “age again”?
A related question is how
bodies, communities and systems
regenerate. This is a pressing issue
in regenerative medicine, in
developmental biology and
in neuroscience. In What Is
Regeneration?, philosophers
of science Jane Maienschein
and Kate MacCord point out
that this rapidly growing field of
study also promises to transform
our ability to understand and
repair the damage to ecosystems
brought on by climate change.
In an acid test of our willingness
to see clearly and embrace reason,
there is Endless Forms: The secret
world of wasps, behavioural
ecologist Seirian Sumner’s bid
to make us love an animal that is
older, cleverer and more diverse
than its cuddly cousin the bee.
Learning that nearly every
ecological niche on land is
inhabited by a wasp, and that there
are wasps that live inside other
wasps, may make you fall in love
with the things. But then again...Observation points
Another component of great
science is, of course, observation –
a skill we should all nurture if we
want to appreciate our brief time
on the planet.
Rolf Sachsse, a curator based
in Bonn, Germany, has gathered
together the very best of the
remarkable work of English
botanist and photographer
Anna Atkins (1799-1871) in
Anna Atkins: Blue prints. It is
a sumptuous celebration of the
sort of close observation that“ What can we learn
from the shark that
was 286 years old when
the Titanic sank and is
still going strong?”The best films and TV
Towards the end of 2021, a
glut of movies and shows that
had been delayed by covid-19
finally hit the screens. Next
year, that trend continues with
a plethora of sci-fi offerings.
Paramount Plus (which
is due to launch in the UK in
2022) has a double treat for
fans of the Star Trek franchise.
Patrick Stewart (pictured)
stars in a new series of Star
Trek: Picard, which returns in
early 2022. Later in the year,
the first season of Star Trek:
Strange New Worlds will
bring back fan favourites
such as Spock, Uhura and
Number One.
Over in the Star Wars
universe, Obi-Wan Kenobi
starring Ewan McGregor
and Hayden Christensen
will premiere on Disney+.
The streaming service will
also bring back Diego Luna
as Cassian Andor from
Rogue One in Andor.
Back on Paramount Plus,
a new show, Halo, based on
the hit video game series, will
also be released in early 2022.
Set in the 26th century, it will
focus on a war between
humans and aliens, with
Pablo Schreiber set to play
the legendary Master Chief.
From Westworld creators
Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy,
comes a new high-concept
series for Amazon Prime
Video called The Peripheral,
based on a book by William
Gibson. It focuses on adetective (played by Chloë
Grace Moretz) who believes
that she witnessed a murder
in cyberspace.
On the big screen, the
threats are more tangible.
February sees the release of
Moonfall, in which Halle Berry
stars as a NASA executive and
former astronaut who must
take action when the moon
breaks its orbit and is set to
collide with Earth.
Space thriller 65 is set for
release in April. Few details
have been released, except
that the main character,
played by Adam Driver,
arrives on another planet
to discover he isn’t alone.
On a lighter note, Disney
Pixar’s Lightyear comes to
cinemas in June. Set in the
Toy Story universe, it traces
the origins of Buzz Lightyear —
the “real” astronaut that was
immortalised as a children’s
toy in the cartoons.
It is also a big year for
long-awaited sequels. Avatar
2 finally arrives at the end of
the year, more than 10 years
after James Cameron
introduced us to the world of
Pandora. And Jurassic World:
Dominion will roar onto big
screens in June for one last
adventure starring Chris Pratt
and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Whatever else this year
brings, we certainly won’t
be short of entertainment.Swapna KrishnaJAMES
DIMMOCK
/CBS