31 August 2019 | New Scientist | 1On the
cover42 Are we alone?
We can finally answer the
biggest question in the cosmos30 Selling happiness
How positive thinking
became big business12 Quantum teleportation
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Features
6 Brexit hate speech
The UK government is
using AI to predict spikes in
Brexit-related hate crimes7 Polio success
Wild polio virus has been
eradicated in Nigeria, but
the battle isn’t over yet20 Dawn of the pyrocene
Arctic wildfires could spur
a powerful feedback loop23 Comment
Genetic medicine tests the
limits of patient confidentiality,
says Laura Spinney24 The columnist
James Wong delves into claims
that fruit is bad for you26 Letters
Using biomass to make fuel
is a criminal waste28 Aperture
Shipping glints from space30 Culture
The psychology of happiness
feeds a vast industry51 Maker
Build a mini weather station52 Puzzles
Quick crossword, a riddle of ages
and the quiz53 Feedback
Sexy pavement lichen and a robot
priest: the week in weird54 Almost the last word
Readers explain why water
hydrates and dogs roll over56 The Q&A
Niamh Nic Daeid on a paradigm
shift in forensic science34 Bad back?
The most common treatments
for chronic back pain may be
making it worse38 Refreezing the Arctic
If we want to save the frozen
north, we may have to bring
the ice back ourselves42 Are we alone?
After millennia of guesswork,
we can finally start finding out for
certain, says Sarah RugheimerThe back pages
8 Coastal erosion Crumbling cliffs prompt communities to retreatVol 243 No 3245
Cover image: Belovodchenko Anton/Shutterstock34 Bad back?
There’s a back pain epidemic.
Most treatments make
things worse.
Here’s why, and what
you can do38 Refreezing the Arctic
Three ways to engineer
the ice cap backJASONBYE^ FORNEW^ SCIENTISTNews
5 Amazon on fire 10 Koala microbiome 17 Spy gliders
14 Pollution and mental health 13 How old is your brain?This week’s issue