9 November 2019 | New Scientist | 1On the
cover38 Meet the first animals
Enigmatic creatures from
before life’s big bang42 Seeing around corners
How shadows can help us
piece together the invisible14 Three-body problem
AI takes on Isaac Newton’s
most fiendish puzzleNews
Views
Features
6 On the origin of two legs
Did apes first become bipedal
in a surprising place?9 Fighting fake news
The problem with Facebook’s
plans to tackle misinformation10 There it is
The newly discovered type
of neuron that keeps track
of objects in space21 Comment
Who owns the code of life?22 The columnist
Graham Lawton examines
our progress so far on saving
the planet24 Letters
We must deal with the roots
of domestic violence28 Aperture
A futuristic solar farm in a
desert high above sea level30 Culture
The chasm between scientists
and those who reject science51 Stargazing from home
How to spot Mercury52 Puzzles
A cryptic crossword,
a puzzle and a quick quiz53 Feedback
Speed-reading without opening
a book: the week in weird54 Almost the last word
Why are some people interested
in science? Readers respond56 The Q&A
Henning Beck says mistakes
are crucial for our success34 The healing power
of your mind
Hypnosis appears to alleviate
anxiety and chronic pain.
Is it time to take it seriously?38 Meet the first animals
The enigmatic creatures of early
Earth are rewriting life’s history42 Seeing around corners
The intriguing science of
perceiving the invisibleThe back pages
12 The Amazon’s secrets Experimenting high above the canopyVol 244 No 3255
Cover image: Dan Page34 The healing power
of your mind
Why hypnosis is finally
being taken seriously by
modern medicine18 Home of the future
What a truly eco house
could look likeSE
BA
STIANBRILL/MPI-CNews
7 The shape of the universe
16 Elephant menopause
10 Alien water 10 How our brains
remember where things areThis week’s issue
42 Features
“ A 3-D image
of a room
can be
constructed
from the
shadow
cast by a
houseplant”