This week's magazine
5 December 2015
Issue 3050
On the cover
Editor's picks
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Should we be worried that genes can be edited so easily?
Life
Meet the weird amphibian that rules the underworld
Technology
Want a computer that never crashes? Don’t let bugs freak it out
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Have we found the key to eradicating viruses like HIV or herpes?
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Is a new dawn of widespread gene therapy on the horizon?
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Will CRISPR gene-editing technology lead to designer babies?
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Is quantum physics behind your brain’s ability to think?
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Editing life: A guide to the genetic revolution on our doorstep
Table of contents
News
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Northern Ireland abortion laws deemed to breach human rights
Belfast's High Court has ruled that banning abortions of fetuses with fatal abnormalities is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights
Physics
Chinese satellite to shine a light on mysterious dark matter
Earth
Critical Paris climate summit kicks off – but can it deliver?
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UK must curb 2-for-1 food promotions to crack obesity epidemic
Earth
UK scraps carbon-storage plans, making green targets unreachable
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Why has Peter Sutcliffe been in Broadmoor for so long?
Earth
60 seconds
Scans prove there’s no such thing as a ‘male’ or ‘female’ brain
A welcome blow to the myth of distinct male and female brains
Physics
LHC might soon see hints of new quark dark matter particle
Earth
Massive crevasse in the ice forces early move for Antarctic base
Space
How to encrypt a message in the afterglow of the big bang
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Ultra-marathon runners’ brains shrank while racing across Europe
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Opinion split over ‘on demand’ drug that reduces risk of HIV
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Having trouble giving up smoking? Blame your genes
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Cancer’s genetic tipping point reveals who’d benefit from chemo
Space
A threesome may explain behaviour of galaxy’s most bizarre star
Physics
Weirdly tilted planet knocks formation theory out of line
Humans
Stone Age Picasso made oldest known drawing of human settlement
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Blood gushes from virtual leg injury to help train combat medics
Life
Hundreds of giant dinosaur footprints found in Scottish lagoon
Earth
Sword and dagger arachnid fights may explain weapon evolution
Sponsored
How virtual wards will pave the way for stay-at-home hospitals
Technology
Man with no limbs controls robotic hand using muscle whispers
Humans
Computers learn to create photos of bedrooms and faces on demand
Technology
Are jetpacks about to finally break into the mainstream?
Technology
One Per Cent
Opinion
Earth
Climate as a cause of Syria’s conflict? It’s far from settled
World leaders and commentators including Prince Charles talk up climate change as a factor in Syria's war, but its role is debatable, finds Fred Pearce
Earth
Why I’m climbing to Earth’s doomed equatorial glaciers
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We have a duty to use my gene-editing technology responsibly
Letters: Open minds and quantum boxes
Features
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Is quantum physics behind your brain’s ability to think?
From consciousness to long-term memories, the human brain has some peculiar computing abilities – and they could be explained by quantum fuzziness
91É«Ç鯬
Editing life: A guide to the genetic revolution on our doorstep
91É«Ç鯬
Will CRISPR gene-editing technology lead to designer babies?
91É«Ç鯬
Is a new dawn of widespread gene therapy on the horizon?
91É«Ç鯬
Have we found the key to eradicating viruses like HIV or herpes?
91É«Ç鯬
Should we be worried that genes can be edited so easily?
Life
Meet the weird amphibian that rules the underworld
Technology
Want a computer that never crashes? Don’t let bugs freak it out
Culture
Humans
How do we learn to be citizens of a smart info-state?
Grappling with the new information state, two diametrically opposed books leave us smarter about what it means to be a digital citizen
Environment
Exploring the world of parrots that dazzle and delight
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The surprising value of viewing traumatic experiences
Regulars
Feedback: a calling card for water fruitloopery
Plus: square pegs in a round hose, nominative determinism, million dollar question answered, magnetic brace dampens wanderlust, and more