This week's magazine
18 November 2020
Issue 3309
On the cover
Editor's picks
Table of contents
News
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Moderna coronavirus vaccine trial produces best results yet
Early results suggest the Moderna vaccine is even more effective than the Pfizer vaccine, including in older people, boosting hopes that we might end up with several vaccines against covid-19
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We can’t be certain the coronavirus vaccines will stop the pandemic
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Heidi Larson interview: How to stop covid-19 vaccine hesitancy
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What are mRNA vaccines and how useful will they be?
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Living electrodes for linking brains to computers tested in rats
Space
Satellites with flashing LEDs could help avoid catastrophic collisions
Humans
Our supposed earliest human relative may have walked on four legs
Space
Repeated radio bursts from nearby star suggest such signals are common
Life
Some male spiders tie up females before mating to avoid being eaten
Technology
This touch-sensitive glove is made from stretchy optical fibres
Technology
Gel layer inspired by camel fur could keep food and medicines cool
Life
‘Godzilla’ wasps drag caterpillars out of water to lay eggs in them
Life
Lizards that lost their legs re-evolved them as the climate got wetter
Space
Dust storms on Mars are tossing water from its atmosphere into space
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Bacteria found in yogurt may help bone fractures heal fasterÂ
Analysis
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We need to be more careful when talking about suicide and the pandemic
Worries that the pandemic would lead to a rise in suicides haven’t come true. We must now avoid creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, says Clare Wilson
Comment
California’s latest erosion of gig worker rights could be going global
Features
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What will it take to get a covid-19 vaccine to the world?
Once a vaccine is approved, the race is on to overcome the biggest logistics challenge in history to distribute it around the globe
Humans
Systemic racism: What research reveals about the extent of its impact
Technology
Emotion-detecting AIs are here – do they work and how should we feel?
Culture
Vaccine misinformation can be fatal – how can we counter it?
Stuck by Heidi Larson is a book about the devastating effects of vaccine misinformation. Its lessons on how emotions and culture play a part are particularly important now
Life
Another Round review: Would we benefit from always being a bit drunk?
Don’t Miss: Can we halt a sixth mass extinction?
Humans
Away review: An exquisite animated film created entirely by one person
More
Environment
How to grow delicious blackcurrants despite climate change
Blackcurrant bushes struggle with increasingly warmer winters brought on by rising temperatures, but there are new varieties that will fare better, says Clare Wilson
Twisteddoodles on when there’s the wrong type of doctor in the room
Tom Gauld’s on why 10001 days is not as long as it seems
Regulars
Watch out cybercriminals! UK military ditches punch-card secret codes
Using punch-cards for cryptographic keys, plus the UK’s fax problem and when AI gets confused, in Feedback’s weird weekly round-up