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This week's issue

On the 10Howta stay

salaalter lockdawn
30Featmes
cover From travetnng to work "The good
to seeing a friend • we
news JS
30 0.. big clmlata d1anC9
l c.ar..mion In crtas
Why the Piilldemit could
be the turning point for The unseen toll on wildlife don't need
global warming
41 The huntfor Antarctica's
such drastic
.HDolsawld-19 lostmeteorites t 7 Howfast action on
attadc:the bn*l'I' are you ageing"? Anew test
The worrying rtse cf can tell 1-1 The law on the climate
moon 17 Howbites from
neurological syrT1ltcms
bees makefta.vers bloom
change as
24Space Fotr:e, Tevil!IM!d we did on
covid-19"

News Features
14Lunll'd91onacr 30 0.. big ctn.te cNnce
Tlle US wants to lay down the 'M:lrkl IM!ather chief Petteri
law of the land fur the moon Taalas on seizing the moment

15 Mallllldinctlans 341 DollS cavld-19

Earth's ma;or die-offs now attadc: the bn*IP
all linked to global warming New Insights Into the disease's
hidden neurob;iital effects
17 Liva fast, die JIDlllllll
Blood testltlat measures the 41 lht i.tfor Antarctica's
speed of ageing could indica1e lost mmorttes
healltl problems in laterlife Fmding the rocks that hold
the secrets of Earth's origins

Views
The back pages
21 Thi! ailumnlst
Abattle to save a bog has given 59Pllzzles
me hope, says Graham Lawton Cryptic crossword and the quiz

ZZL9Hars SIMOre puales

Readers diswss armchair Can )QJ 5Cllve the age-old
seiel'IC2 and global threats challenge of the 1tiple jump?

Z4cutlunl M cartaans
A1Vsatire about the US Space Life through the lens of
Force gets reaciyto launch Tom Gauld and Twlst1!ddooclles

25cutlunl SSFHdbm:k
In No Signal, brain implants It's not rocket science, it's a
aeate self-restTaint-byfura! euphemism, plus pi in the sky

ZBApal'tunt 56 'n. laltward

Tlle nightsky CM!I' O"lile as WIP/do we often dream about
~never seen It before 10Alldudng VUla' rillk Hcw10 avoid infection as virus restrictions ease falling? Readers respcmd

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Elsewhere Anolefmm
on New Scientist theeclltor

Virtual events
Allen oceans on
Earth and beyand
Join NASAastrobiologist
IC£vil'I Hand for a fascinating
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chanCl!S cf finding litl! beyond
Earth, at 6pm BST on 4 ~me.
Events are a big part of what New
~ Scientist does, offering a chance
for vou to hear directly from the
world's top scientists in the most
Podcosts lrrterestlng fields. In March, for
olJViollS reasons, we had to put
Weekly our In-person live events on hold.
Newswith '"1lllcattonsfor So what next?
ltfe on Mars, the dlsaM!ry Virtual events were something
of our ftw! separate CllJpetltes. we had considered but hadn't had
Geordi La Fon;ie,and1he the opportunity to explore in deta~.
wcrld'S weirdest plant. In a spirit of experfmentatloo, then,
~
we launched our flrstvlrtual event
on 16 April,anopen-1o-a~
discussion on coronavirus.
Almost 3000 people watched
Newsletter live. Our sec:ond event, on black
holes, was our fl'st paid-for virtual
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ttie galaxyand beyond. watch. We were dellghted by the
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IMllllldaatfst. Since then, we have had a panel
slp-ap/laaDdlpad
discussion on the flood of research
around oovid-19, and as the
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Plastic dean-up 4 June, we will be hosting atalk
Liz Bonnin raweals the M scale of on allen oceans. And -delighted
the oceanplastic crisis and explcnas by1he interestfrom so many of
howsciente can after solutions. you - we are planning manv
more digital events.
This is a learning experience for
~ imtllving new platforms and
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Online has been averwhelmingly positive.
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Tlle day's coronavirus covaage visit newsclentlst.comteuents
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neMdeatlst.com/ EmllyWilson
c:anmam....Jmn Plalllc unfantutlc Howto clean up the world's oceans New Sdenflst editor
 We're looking for the best
ideas in the world.
The Ryman Prize is an international award
aimed at encouraging the best and brightest
thinkers in the world to focus on ways to
improve the health of older people.
The world's ageing population means that in
some parts of the globe - including much of
the Western world - the population aged 75+
is set to almost triple in the next 30 years.
The burden of chronic diseases including
Alzheimers and diabetes is set to grow at the
same time.
In order to stimulate fresh efforts to tackle
the problems of old age, we're offering
a $250,000 annual prize for the world's
best discovery, development, advance or
achievement that enhances quality of life for
older people.
The Ryman Prize was first awarded in 2015
to Gabi Hollows, co-founder of the Hollows
Foundation, for her tireless work to restore
Go to www.rymanprize.com for more information
sight for millions of older people in the
developing world.
World-leading researchers Professor Henry
Brodaty and Professor Peter St George-Hyslop
won the prize in 2016 and 2017 respectively for
their pioneering work into Alzheimer's Disease.
The 2018 Ryman Prize went to inventor
Professor Tak:anori Shibata for his 25 years of
research into robotics and artificial intelligence.
The 2019 prize winner was Dr Michael Fehlings,
a Canadian neurosurgeon who has dedicated
a long career to helping older people suffering
from debilitating spinal problems.
If you have a great idea or have achieved
something remarkable like Gabi, Henry, Peter,
Takanori or Michael we would love to hear
from you.
Entries for the 2020 Ryman Prize dose at 5pm
on Friday, June 26, 2020 (New Zealand time).
The leader
A new, better normal?
The coronavirus provides a chance to reassess our attitudes to the environment
ALMOST everyone hasMatleast: some
yearning for a return to "nmmality".
The economic, socialand.mental costs
oflockdownhave been high. alongside
the terrible toll oflives cut short.
Around theworld, countries are,
quite naturally. asselling bow they
can allowthelrdtizens to resume
some ofthejr fonnerfreedoms, and
indMduals are asking howthey can
bestkeep themselves and others safe
as restrictions are eased (see page 10).
wrurt is clear, however, is that
with no immediate prospect of
an eft'ectlve vaccine, the new
"normal" won't be the old one.
An important question now
is: is that entirely a bad thing. or
am somethingpositive be wrung
from this grim situation?
OVerrelativel:yfewdecades,
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in richer economies, with little regard
fur longer-term consequences, has
established itselfas a global aspirational
norm. That has taken a shocking
toll on our planet, in terms ofany
envlromnenlal measure you choose
•Covtd-19 has given us a
gllmpse of a world In which
systems can be tom up, and
ways of Itta radlcally attared"
to consider, be it pollution, biodiversity
or, ofcourse, climate change.
Tbencame cov.ld-19. Suddenly, once
clogged motorways stood emptyand
the sight ofa plane overhead became
something worthremarking on
Pollution and airbon emisakms,
unsurprisingly, havefor now gone down
NewScientist
MANAGEMENT
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(see page 18)-althougb we must be
realistic that this will have little ifany
long-term effecton global wanning.
The situation hasn't been universally
goodfornatwe: poaching. fur
example, has become easier (page 8).
Butcovid-i9 has given us a glimpse
ofaworldin which systems can be tom
up, and ways oflife:radkallyaltered,
when the political will i1 there.
ManyenvironmeJUalists now dare
to hopetbattbis glimpse ofrapid
and radical global action could be a
~ fordesperatelyneeded change.
AsPetteri Taalas,headofthe World
MeteorologicalOrganJzation, tells
us this week (see page 30), this
emergency really could be a turning
point in our attitudes towards the
loonrlng climate emerzency-if
we choose to make ithappen. I
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News Coronavirus
UK begins to open up
Parts of the UK are set to further lift lockc:lown restrictions, but a
political scandal could put public health at risk, says Penny Sarchet
DECLINES inhospital admissions,
the nwnberofpeople inintensive
care and deaths inthe UK all
indicate that the restrictions
brought In on 23 Marchto slow
the spread ofthe coronavirus
in the countryhave helped
Plans to partially reopen
schools and some shops as early
as 1 June are belllg pursued in
England, while in Scotland. some
restrictions are expected to ease
from 28 May. Some restrictions
have also been removed In Wales
and Northern Ireland In recent
weeks. With thousands ofnew
C1111e1 still being confirmed in the
UK. extensivetesting and contact
tracing will be needed to prevent
a second wave ofinfection.
According to the latest
pmvision.al data published by the
UK's Office for National Statistics
(ONS), 41,220 deaths involving
covid-19 had been registered in
England and Wales by15May.Inthe
UK. more than a quarter ofdeaths
in the seven-day period ending
15 May involved the disease.
ABNf!WSdenti6t went to preu,
the Johns Hopkins University
covid-19 dashboard placed the
UKas hometo the second-highest Edinburgh. UK. "Most ofthe
number ofconfirmed covid-19
deaths,behind the US. The UK
also hadthefourth-highest total
ofconfirmedcovid-19 cases,
behindthe us, Brazil and Russia.
The UK.faces a particular
challengeIn easing its restrlctlons
becallle, even though the number DominicCUmmings, the prime
ofnew cases isin dedine, it
remains high. France,for example, than400 kilometres from his
reported 115 newcoronavints
cases on 24 May, while nine were
reported in Australia on 25May.
Inthe UK, 1625 new cases Wl!re
reported on 25 May. The ONS
estimates that 61,000 new
ini\!ctions a week occurredin
England between4and17May.
"Lockdownis being released
very gradually. as has been the
case In many othercountries,"
says IJnda Ba.uld. a publichealth
specialist at the University of
changes at the moment invoM:
more activity outdoors, where
the risk oftransmission is low and
therefore we wouldn't expect this
to result ina rapid risein cases if
social distancing Is maintained."
But the scandal surrounding
ministerial aide who drovemore
London home with his son and ill
wife in March, at a time when the
UKgovemmentwaswgingthe
public to "stay home", may put
this progress In jeopaniy.
Pala cammunlty support
affimrl patrol Brighton b1ach
on thlt bankholl-Wlllalnd
"The extent to which people will
bewilling to continue following
the rules has been threatened by
the Dominic Cummings aise. It
sends a clear message to the public
that government advice is open
to interpretation," says Bauld.
This could be seen bysome as an
Invitation to tab rlsks that could
go on to cost lives, she says.
Behavioural &dentlrts who have
been advising the UK government
expressedconcerns to New
Scientist that the Cummings
revelations threatened public
compliance with theresbictions.
"To encourage a particular
behaviour, it's inlportant that
people perceive that everybody
around them is doing that
behaviour. That's why it's vital
that we all see and hear how well
people are complying; says val
Curtis at the London School of
Hygiene & Tropial Medicine, who
has participated in the Scientific
Panrlemic Influenza Group on
Behaviours (SPl-B), which advises
the UK government on howbeit
to get the public to stickto
measures recommended by
medicalor epidemiological
experts. "Whenattention turns to
non-a:impliers, it effectivelygives
permission to people to deviate
from a socialnorm,U she says.
"I wouldwge people to
continue to maintain physical
distancing and the other
regulations, fortheirfamilies,
their neighbours and their
cornmunity,u says John Drury
at the University ofSussex. UK.
who has also participated in SPl-8.
It is unclearwhethertbelarge-
scaletESting and mrrtact tracing
infrastructwe needed to prevent
the number of new cases rising
willbe ready In time. "We needto
get our tell:, trace, isolate response
up and rumiing at scale,u says
Bauld. "Jn the absence ofa vaccine
oreffi:ctive treatments, in order to
avoid a second wave we will need
to understand where cases are
rising and tab swift action to
contain local outbreaks.~ I
JO.Mlf1CDD llfnrldmtJltl7
News Coronavirus

Conservation in crisis
While lockdowns have allowed some animals to roam more freely, they
have also hit vital conservation efforts hard, reports Michael Marshall
lN THE midst ofthe c:oronavll'us
pandemic. many ofus have
becomemore aware ofnature.
Conservationist Richard Corlett
has spentthepastfewmonths In
Lon.don, where normally he would
hear constant noise from buses,
aeroplanes and ferries. "They're
ailgone,N says Corlett, who usually
works at the Xishuangbanna
Tropial BotanicalGarden in
Yunnan, China. "Birdsong is all
!hear in the morning. This is the
experience oftens ofmillions
worldwide.H
But while coronavirus measures
may be good for some 1pede1 (see
"Are aey animals benefittingfrom
coronavirus lockdowns?", right),
they have also crippled two crudal
industries: ecotourismandlegal
trophy hunting. nThat's the two
main thingsthat bring money
to wildlife conservation," says
MarlneDrouilly, whowmks fer
the Panthera charlty In Cape Town,
SouthAfck.a..
Tile temporary ioH oftheae
industries means there is less
money to pay rangers to guard
threaU!ned species from poachers, Before tM pandemic, that eat them. ID early May, local mpnisations have managed to
or to fund researchers (Biological .aitaurismfundad mum organisation OulangaNa Nyamba continue their normaloperations.
Cons~n. doi.orglggvsb3). mnservatlanwark reported findingthe bodies of The Southern Tanzania Eephant
Italso means such species are 28 endangered.green turtles Program wmks to help people
less valuable when alive, which on a beach. This followed the and elephants live alongside
could lead to local exploitation cancellationofbeach patrols each other. Chiefexecutive
ofthreatened phmh, animals for a month due to coronavirus Trevor Jones says theprognmuue's
or ecosystems. restrictions. Two poachers were staffwhowortdoselywtth local
AJ a result. problelllS are later caught with more than commullities are taking
acc:wnulating."1beie'1 no 60 kilograms ofturtle meat. precaut:iona:rymeuures, such as
lockdownibrzhino poachers or Meanwhile, in the UK. the Royalwearing masks and reducing the
busbmeat traders; says Drouilly. Sodetyibrthe Protection ofBinis size ofmeetings,but that they have
She says the threatened Ihinos says it has received 56 reports ofbeen able to carry on working.
in Kruger National Park.are In illegal killingl ofthreatenedbirdsHowever, the programme only has
serious danger from poaclUng. of prey since the UK's lockdown enough grant money to last a few
Furthermore, there is concern began. The killing of such birds mme months and itls unclear ifit
that people who have lost their on moors usedfor recreational will be able to obtain more.
incomes mayreson to buJhmeat grouse shooting is along-standing Many other organisations face
hunting to support their families. problem afl'ec:t:ing hen harrier1 similarcli1Tedges. Jfecotourism
Inthe Comaro Islands north- •1f emtourlsm and trophy and otherspecies, and many ofthe and trophy hunting remain shut
west of Madagascar, turtles are hunting are shut down for zecentzeported attacks took place downibrayearormore, the
poached as part of a tradition that a year or more, the Impact on or near grouse lands. impact •couldbe disastrous':
assigns social status to the men could be disastrous" Some conservation says Corlett.

Zoos and aquariums have
already beenhard hit, says Martin
ZOnian, chiefexecutive ofthe
World Association of zoos and
Aquariums In Barcelona, Spain.
"Most of our members, around 95
per cent, bad to close their doors to
the public." he says. "It'sthe first
time we've seen somethinglite
this ofthis magnitude."
7.ordan says no zoos have yet
gone bankrupt. and some
gOVl!IllJnl!nts are providing aid to
institutions. Tue UK government
has given support to the
Zoological Society oflondon.
which runs London 7.oo, for
example. But ifwos cannot
reopen. the s.ituation will only
getworse.
The priority is to protect the
animals, as zoo populations are
key to preservingthreatened
species, says Zordan. "At the
moment, all all1mals are receiving
the care they need; he says.
But iftnstl.tutlons run out of
the money needed to care for
them. aiptive animab cannot
simply be released into thewild.
The last resort is euthanasia.
"Hopefullywewillnotget to
that point," says :WRlan.
These problems arelilrelytobe
reduced In countries that are able serious),y enough;" he says.
to reopen their economies in the
coming months. But thebiggest
impact ofthe pandemic on
conservationmayend up being
political in nature.
Altered ambition
Before the pandemic, a major
comervationsummitwu due to
beheld this Octoberin Kunming.
China: the 15thConference of
the Parties to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD). Corlett
descn"bes this as "a Olll!-in-ten- Corlett says he finds himself
yearmeeting" that "was goingto
settheglobalconseivationagenda pessimism. "We need a global
for the next 1oyean". However,
the meeting has been postponed
indefinitely.
Ten years ago in Aichi, Japan,
the CBD set out 20 targets, such as
halving the rate ofloss of natural
habitats, and creating protected
areasthat1pan17percentof
terrestrial andfnland water, and
10 per cent of coastal.and marine
areas. "We've made progn:ss
towards almost all thet.argets;
says Corlett,but none ofthem
has been met, and "in some cases
progress has been pretty low".
The lnitlal mood going into this
year's planned.meeting was miDd,
says Corlett.A preliminarydmft:
ofan agreement was cin:ulated
in January and SUj!gested targets
56
lllRgall knlgsaf bfrdl of prwv haWI
bell! ~ln'lhaUK
such as expanding protectedareas
to cover30 percent ofthe world
Corlett says this was "nowhere
near ambitious enough" and
that manygovemments were
distracted byotherissues-even
before the cavid-19 pandemic.
"I just don't think by October
people were going to take this
So will the pandemic divert
governments' attention from
biodiversity even further, or could
itfocus it? Conservationists are
emphas.ising that the pandemic
is ultimately the result of our
over-exploitation of animals:
the virus came to us from bats,
possibly via the illegal wildlife
trade. In respome, China has shut
down wild.animal markets and
may permanentlyban all trade
in wildlife in coming months.
Could more such actions follow?
veering between optimism and
reset and maybe this will occur.~ I
•
Are any animals benefitting
from coronaviruslockdowns?
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wtdelr..,,.,.. be able to
mmm•icatewffh adl oth9'
onrmudl~diltanall
than 1h11VWDUld ba HIIwas a
noisy llflllWarnlnl•TbllV..,.,
also be able ta mmmlmlmbl
for longer, ullng more
mmplax wc:allatlans.
Gllllrlalll ls hapaful h t
tha quiatwil be good far
U. loc:alhUl"llllblek. . . . . .
wholepapulatlon hu ba8n
falllng linat 2013.
81f It's a producllva
smmnar and a qulat swnmm,
thatwll be a 111111 advantage
ta this population 1hilt'!I been
tc*1ll through sama 11111llJ
taughtm.,•lhe..,._ MM
JO.Mlf1CDD llf-Sdmtlltl9
 News Coronavirus

How to reduce your risk

As countries ease coronavirus lockdowns, Linda Geddes looks
at what the science says about how to stay as safe as possible
TiiE coronavirus is still drculating surrounc:lings, for example door 1:1
yet many countries are taking handles, desb and computer ~
steps to relax restrictions. Ifyou keyboan:ls~ says Seema.Jasilnat §
have been asked to return towmk
or sendyour children bactto
school, how can you minimise
:i=~=e:~~
The risk also seems to behigher
;
~
the risk ofinft!ctionto yourself whenpeople are more physically ~
and yourfamfiyl active. Investigatfona into a cluster Ii!
Although there are still many ofcasesintheSouthKoreandty i
Ullknowns about the virus, a ofCheonan:revt:aled that eight e
growing amount afdata on how fitneuinstructorsbeaune ~
ittransmits and survives on infected with the virus after ~
surfaces can guide ourdl!cisions. attendinga4-hourZumba ; _
workshop. Some afthem ~
subsequentlypassediton
Avoiding to students during classes
which Involved h1gh1ntens.tty
infection emrdse Ina smailindoorstudio
(Emerying I'!fectfOUJ Diseases,
You are most likely to catch the doiorglggwpjz).
SARS-COV-2 virus by spending a nThe mom, warm lltmosphe:re
kmg time near an infected person coupled with turbulent airflow
in an enclosed space. Researchers generated by intense physical
in Guangzhou, China, examined exercise can cause more dense
how the virus was transmitted transmJssion of isolated droplets,"
between 347 people with writes the team that conducted on observations thatlarge. virus-
reduction in therlsk ofbecoming
conflnnedinfections and the the study. However. students padred droplet• from infected
infected with the coronaviru1
people they had cmrtact with. attending mia.lleryogaand pilates people tend to settle within a few
{Wellcome Open Research,
They found that the risk afthe cluses In the same space dldn't doi.org/dwgk). metres oftheirsoun:e. "Smaller
infection being pagedon at home becomeillfec:ted. Bea.use soap dissolves the
droplets, aixryingfewervirus
orby repeated contact with the Regular, thorough handwashing virus's firtty outer envelope,
particles, can travel further but
is still advised. It remains unclear washing with waterbut no soap
will be dispersed by air currents
"The virus spreads more how kmgthe virus can sunift! quickly," says Citic.
isn't as effective. Alcoholhand
in communal areas with rubs wort, but are only necessary
and remain infectious on surfiices, But more research is needed
higher numbers of people but this is still thought to be awhere there is no access to to UDderstand the role ofsmall
passing thraugi.- significant route oftJansmission.handwashing fadlities, says Hosie. aerosol particles In tiansmitting
"Ifsurfaces havebeen thevirus.Arecentstudysuggelted
same person was approximately contaminated with dropletsfrom that droplets may be carried as far
10 times greaterthan the risk of an infected person. there might be Getting as 8 metresincloudsofmoist,
passing it onin a hospital and sufficient virus to infect a person turbulent: air, such as thOle
lOOtimes greater than doing so who touches the surface and around produced by sneezing (TAMA
onpublic transport (medRxiv, subsequently transfers the virus Insights, doiorg/ggqtj4). The study
doLorgfdwgj). to their mouth, nose, eyes orface," Many people need or are being didn't, however, test ifsuch clouds
Outside the home, it is difftcult says Margaret Hosie, also at the asked to travel to work, while could transmit the virus or what
to rank the relative risks, because MRC-UnlwrsityofGlasgow Centre in some countriesexezdsing would happen to similar clouds in
environmentsvary so widely. for Virus Research. "However, If outdoors i1 pennitted. So how an outdoors setting.
However, "whatwecanaayisthat they wash their bands thoroughly can you minimise the risk in Forgetting to work. modes of
SARS-COV-2 spread tends to be with soap and warm water for a these circumstances? tnnsportthat avoid other people,
higher in communal areas where minimum of20seconds, anyvina ~you're doing suchas walking. cycling or driving
there are higher numbers of on theirhands will be destroyed.• outdoCJH, a 2-metre distance [from in your own air, are the lowest
people passing through. or Arecent study:revt:aled that other people) should be enough," risk. Car sharing may be the next
in IIl!as where there is more handwashing six to to times a day says LenaClr:lc at University safest option, assuming the driver
physicalengagementwiththe is associated with a 36 percent College London. This is based is only givinglifts to a limited

11111l11ew1c1m111tl:t0MmJ11mO

Prutedivtl plutlc KrHnl
lwl9 bHll fitted In a cafe
In Nap'81, Italy
numberofpeople. Taxisamy
numerous passengers, so there is a out and how many are gettingon likelytooocuriruloors (medRxiv.
riskofcontra.ctingthevirusfrom
surfaces like seab and door
handles, orfrom the driver
speaking, coughing or sneezing.
Ifthese options aren't available,
thatleaves publictransport
People who tmvel. onbuses or
trams durlngthewinter:nu season cabin Increases a person's risk of
may be approximately six times
more likelyto devdop a
ISpiratory infectionthan those
whodon'tusepublictmuport
Ifyou do have to use it, there are
things you can do to reduce your
risk. The amount oftime you
spend nearothertmnsport users
matters, says.Anders Johansson
at'the Universityof Bristol. UK,
who has modelled disease
tnnsrnissionin crowds and
on the LondDn Underground.
36°/o
Nductlan In lilkot Jnfadlan If
yau wull yaurhands frequentlv
•
Haith Chedl: newrletter
Gel the ame.tbaltb.aews laJUlll'fnbm:~WMk
Dtlll'ICimd:lltltlw:lwlr
lower the extent to which sick doi.org/ggtgng). Hosie says poorly
peoplespread the virus. In ventilated areas are likely to have
addition, face coverings may help a higher risk ofinfi!cti.on. "Good
protect vulnerable people who ventilation means changingthe
Besides trying to avoid the temporarily enterhigh-rlsk places airwithin the space regularly. not
busiest stations and travelling lilrehospitala-but using medical justcooling and redn:ulating the
times, ltls worthconsidering the masks can deprive healthcare same air," says artc.
amount oftime you spend workers ofprotective equipment. Another study from Wuhan
navigating rtations.. Those with revealed desktops, computer
longundeiground passages- keyboards, doorknobs and hand
espedallyifthey involve Risks sanitiserdispensers to be the most
encountering people walking in contaminated surface• within
the opposite direction-are best at work hospitals. More viius was detected
given a wide berth, and changing on these than on gloves, eye
tnins is also best avoided. These There are reasons to be nervous protection and face shields used
"usually mean you spend a longer about lndoorworbpaces. Astudy In the hospitals (medRz:iv, dDi.org/
time Inthe rtatlon, and are mlJred in Japanthat:followed up the ggqtpr). Regularly dlsinfectlng
together with people comhlgfrom contacts ofuo infected people high-mntact surfaces and shared
various different parts ofthe dty. concluded that the chance af objects is therefore essential-as
ifnot the country", says Johansson. catching the coronavirus in a is washing your hands after
The ristof exposuremay be closed environmentis more than touching them.
slightly lower on buses, trains and 18 times greater than in an open- Wmkplace schedules can also be
trams with outdoor platforms, but airenvironment. Super-spreading tweaked to redw:ethe chances of
once inside the "¥ehicle, infection events, where an infected people mixing. "Maybe everyone
risk depends onhow well incllvldual passes the ooronavlrus doesn't need to arrive or go for
passengers can spread themselves onto manyothen, were also more theirlunch break at the same
tlme,H 8aJI Johansson. "You might
and off. "lfyourrtandnmtothe d.oiorg/dwgn). not think that staggering the time
door ofthe bus, there will be lots Some ind.ooreuvironme:uts when people start work is a big
ofpeople passing by you at cloae may be riskier than othen. During deal. but in the case ofa big
distance," says Anden. the covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan. warehouse it could make a
Simulation of ISpintory China, researchers sampled air ma.saive difference because you
disease transmission on aircraft: from various locations intwo wouldn't necessarilyhave a
has found that moving around the hospitals. ViralRNA was detected ma.saive crowd waiting outside
in an intensive care unit, In staff for when the door opens."
encountering an infected changing areas and ina llDall, Clearplastlc saeens maybe
passenger, while those seated by unventilated toilet (Nature, useful for workers whose roles
windows tend to have'the lowest mean they encounter large
contact with other people. numbersofpeopleandmake
Whennavelling,continueto be social distancing difficult, such
mindful ofsurfaces. The aircraft as supermarket checlmut stafi,
transmission study identified tray pharmadsts ormedkal
t2bles, seatbelts and laviltory receptionists. "In these settings,
handles as high-risk objects, they would act as a physic:al barrier
buthand or grab rails, payment to abbome droplets," says Jaslm.
terminals and protective plastic But howeft'ectlve they are
screem can also harbourvlrwles. depends on their size and haw
Countries varyln theiradvice
OD face coverings when getting
i~
well they are fttted. "Theycan
also become a risk ifthey are not >
~
abouL So far, the evidence
suggests there may be a small
benefitto wearing some kind af I
i Social distandng inlid•
M llevatarln Hiit WOltd
face covering. as these seem to ~ Trad• Clntllr, Sri Lanka
JDMaJ-INewldentllllu.
News Coronavirus

regulal'ly cleaned,• says Ciric. AtHc:tiarwaun Hygiene & Tropiall Medicine.

Face oovmngs may also benefit Pl'Ot1ldive muk kl This may suggest that, ifyou
workers who need to interact Bna,Franm have remained at home for the
with manypeople. past14 days and had no external
hypertension, or the only after- contact, you are unlikely to be
tchoolchildcare available to you carrying the virus.
is grandma, who hascaru:er,w says However, there have been
Returning Faust "Butifit's your child's health reports ofthe virus persisting
to school iQ you'remostworriedabout.the in the bodyforlongerthan
~ risktothe:mappeanlow." two vreeks.Ananalysis by US
From the data published 50 ~ However, waiting a while longer researchers calculated that 97.5
far, children seem less likely to ~ could reduce this risk even.more. per centof people who develop
acquire the infection than adults, ~ On22May,agroupofindependent covid-19 symptoms do so within
and when they do, they are less i sclenti&tt announced that u.5 days ofexposure, but they
likely to develop serious ~ modelling suggestB that delaying estimated thatibrevery 10,000
symptoms. Although a small ~ plans to reopen tch.ool.s intheUK individuals quanmtined for
minority do become seriouslym- on1June by two weeks would 14days, about 101 ofthem would
incl.uding with a newlyidentified tlansnllasion within the nurseries. halve the risk to children, while develop symptoms afterthis
inflammatory syndrome- And although 19 nuneries waitinguntil September could period (Annals oflnt:nnal
this is also true of many other reported a confirmed or suspected reduce the risk even further. Medicine, doi.org/dpha). Astudy
vllal illnesses. case ofcovid-19 among their staff, in China reported incubation
"In a pandemic, where so many in 10 cues the manager stated that periods ranging fromoto 33 days,
people are being infected without it wasn't caughtfrom the nun:ery, Meeting up with and suggested an 18 or 21-day
any prior Immunity, it is perhaps while in the remaining cases the quarantine would catch far more
no smprisethat some people are source was unclear. Similarly, in friends and family cases (medlbdv, doiorg/dwgp).
getting inftammation during the NewSouth Wal.es,Allstralia, Just For this reason, people
laW' stages," says Saul Faust at the two out of735 students contracted Evidence suggests that infection should remainawtious about
UniversityofSouthampton. UK. the virus after attending schools in the home, and betweenfamily vWting other people, especlallyff
'We do needto understand it where there were nine infected members, is a significant soun:e they know they have been infected
better. But what is clear is that for children and nine infected adults. ofviRI trammission, and visiting orhave encountered other
children. itis a wry small number On the otherhand. opening people at home is still natallowt!d inrected people. Additionally,
and they are almost all getting schools may prompt an increase in many countries. Because ifeither ofyou are in groups
better, although some do need in cases among the gener.al tnmsmission risk is probably deemed vulnezable to covid-19,
hospital treatment." population. Denmark, which much lowerinthe open air and Heymann suggests you both wear
There is also little evidence of reopened its primary schools on can be redured by maintaining a masks as an extra precaution
schools andnUIBeries beingmajor 15 April, did report an increase 1n d1sta.nce of2 metres, itis probably when getting together. I
breedJng growu:ls for Infection. so the Rnumber-the average tai:rto meet withpeople from
far-although this is difficult to number of people each case goes ouWdeyour household in
assess beaiuse many countries on to infect-from o.6 to 0.9 inthe uncrowded outdoor spaces. PLEASE NOTE
closed theirschoob relatively following two weeks, but this has But what ifyou and a friend We lqlVQU to .... up to clMe
early in the pandemic. since dropped again. have both been strictly self- with and fallowyaur local
Some new reassurance comes Even ifchildren don't seem to isolating?Woulditthen be safe t'*illln... Whan NnvSdenlilt
from a reportby the Children's spread the virus as much as some to visit each other? Generally, you wmtta pnm, the guld81mes tar
Commissioner for England, whose peoplehad feared, fur same would expect any symptoms ofan England,farmmmple,-.thllt
team.has lnterviewedthe families, the risks ofsending their 1nfectionto have developed, and anranewho II ilbla tuwark frDrn
managers of44nurseries that are children back to school ornUilelf viral shedding to have Wgely llama lhDuld mntlnuetadDm,
attached to NHS hospitals and will outweigh the ben.eftta. "Of ceued, 14days after catching the .-nd thllt llDC:lll vllils lhauld ba
have remained open. Three have coUIBe, youhave to consider each virus. Ibis may also be true of ...,Hiid to DutdOor lhl9lfnll witll
reported a confirmed case of fiunily's cin:umsta.ncet, and the asymptomatic cases. "In both •one Pll'IDft 1lt a tlnw, 1lt
covid-19 in a child and eight ri&k changes ifyou have a mum instances, at the end ofthe 14-day last 2 mlltNI apart. Pilat
have reported a suspected or dad who bas cancer, or a period they would be considered aMlffnp 11n1 advllad In
case, but they haVI! fuund grandfather who is living in non-infectious," says David llldmlld pmllcspaa11.
no evidence of child-to-child the same house who bas Heymann at the London School of

•l:Newlclatilt l:t0.MllF-
News
Anai,.t. lpamapkmdima
Lunar laws of the land The US government is starting
to lay down the groundwork for international diplomacy
on the moon, says Leah Crane
ON 15 May, NASA adminiStrator Jim
Bridenstine released a setofprlnd(lles They also promote transparency and
thatwlll gcwm the Artemis AcaJrds,
a series of agreements the US wants
to makewith other coimtrles to foster lunarplans, register any spacecraft
CDoperation in moon exploration.
The acccrds are named after NASA's
Artemis proQramme, the US initiatNe
to explore the moon, with a planned
launch of astronauts to the k.rlar
surface in 2024.
Atthe moment there ls little
practical lntemattonal lawgoverning
lunar actMtles. The OuterSpace
Treaty of 1967 deals with general
space exploration,while tthe Moon
Agreement of 1984 states that "the
moon and itsnatural resources are
the common heritage of all mankind~
prohibitinQ the ownershiP of any part
of the moon or any resources from It.
That sounds pretty conclusive, but
no nation capable of human space
fllghthasslgnedtheMoonAgreement,
effectively rendering Itmoot. Last
month, US presidentDonald Trump
issued an exewtive order to support
moon mining and take advantage
of the naturalresources of space.
The Artemis.Accords takethesame
tacit AHhough protecting historic
locations like the Apollo landlng sites, ~
HPVvaccine linked
to fewer premature
births in Australia
WIDESPREAD HPVWCEfnatiDn
looks ta hllVI! plVftlll8d thamands
of premature births In Australia.
Wammwha haw hadHPV,
the human paJJillrmavhsthiilt
0.-111118-I warts n
c:arvbl
c:ancw, . . at.....,rflkothllvine
~bibles. This maybe
bacalaa tha tnl8tnlllnt fQr hlllh-rilk
IFVlnr.ctlonl lnvalvlls ramavlng
affllct8d mils tram tti1 Cll'Vbr.
whldl can )11'8¥8111 canmr but mav
they encourage mining in other areas.
communication between nations,
requiring signatories to share their
sent to orbit or land on the moon and
release scientific datato the public.
Transparency might beastumbling
block for potential parties to the
accords. says space consultant
Laura Forczyk. ~ really don't know
howmuch countries are going to
NASAplans to land
astronauts on th1
moonIn 202'1
1Dmatfma illffact the rnac:INmical
strtngth of tha C9l'llik.
Aultralilwas OM of the first
countrias to intrDdum a nltionll
HPV vacdnltlan prGtramm1 In
2007,arr.mg lrH sdtoal-baslld
vaa:lna ta-'5Qld 12ta13ind
a mldt-'-' Pl'CJl'illllrn&far wamen
atad betwaall 1Bn2e.
Abaut 80 Pll' cant ol llllglbte
Austl'llln tlrts hlVI sinol received
the VICdne armUllvr laecling to
a sharp dldina In IFVlnflldlonl,
911111ta1 w..is and praamall'OUI
mrv1ra1 llllilms. N~ l'lllllll'Ch ~
Kmwl r..1ll!ll at the ea... CDundl
NSWln.Australlaandhermlleagua
be willing to share some oftheir
more delieate,sensitiw information,•
she says, "But hopefullythis isthe
kind of ollve branch that says, 'Hey,
we'rewilling to do this Ifyou are'."
The rest of the stlpulatlonsof the
ArtemisAccords are aboutsafety:
nations wi II be able to set"safety
zones• to protect their actMties on
the moon, they will have to work to
mitigatethe effects of debris in orbtt
around the moon andtheywill agree
to Pl'Ollide emergency assistance to
any astronauts ln distress.
'Theseara agreements to be a
good citizen ln space,• says space
allQesl:Slt'-allOC11t ......
of premature births.
PnlmMln births hall'8.,..,.
~dlrillng In Aultralla far the
past twa decadls, In line with what
has happllll8d In athlll' dllllllalllld
llCllrlDl'*5, pamlblJ dua ta ftllllDnl
llldl • paopllt hfttng c:hlldran
llltw In llr. ur IVFCllllUIPliunl
becomi111moN common.
But "*Ill Austrllln l*th elm
fl'am 2000to 2015, Clnfllll'S
M'fhe vaccination
programme has probably
prnented at least
2000 premature births"
lawyer Laura Montgomery. "You don't
want anybody landing on your lunar
habitatand ycu also don't want
rocket plumes kidcing up dustand
rocks and breaklng windows."
Rather than attempting to put
together an international treaty,
which could be difficultto negotiate
before NASA's nextcrewed launch
tothe moon, the US will sign accords
with individual countries.
Monb;lomerysaysthis may make
the agreementsmore functional than
a blankettreatvwhere all nations
have to ratify the same document.
"If you have a robot arm and I have
a habitat housing astronauts, we
don'tneed the same Information
in that agreement• she says.
As international agreements,
the Artemis Accords won't apply
directlyto companies - ifthey are
to fo4low the rules laid out in the
accords, it will have to be through
govemmentcontracts or the national
laws where they operate. For now,
most space-flight firms are reliant on
governmentcontracts, soitshouldn't
be a problem, says Fort:zyk. Once
the agreements are in place, they
will regresent a step towards having
a law of the land on the moon. I
ten '-'-Sldthatwomen from
vaa:inatm cahorls had 3 P•
amtfWlllrpnmatin babllllU-
thaleflUm invam.tld aiharts
aftw' ldiusHnl fartha aga DI'
wamen and thayaars ttiav pwa
!*th(TheJournal oflnfecffous
Dlleasaa, dai.argldwfn).
TheWICICinMion~me
ImProblblV prevented at IHtt
2000 pewnatunt births in AultTll.la
lfnm It began,. up canr.11,
llthaughthlstudv mukWt
amuitfarsomaotharladars,
such •changes In llTlllldnt
or°"*
l'lillblts behiMours. I
.Allee Klein
Solarsptmn
Distant object is
being hugged by
a large moon
AN Oll:IECT on thl aumlldgaaf tha
solar..i.n mav lwva • '-"•moon
amnlnG Itat... WUIUlllV dala
dlstmca. '11111 find could halp aplaln
hDwsuchbinary abfl!ds IMllvlld.
)as6-Luls orttz at the mtltut. DI
Allraphplcsaf .Andilll111Ja In SJl;lln
and his tum oblarvad the abjact,
known a 2002 TC30::Z. In J1numy
2018, whan 1t adlpaed. dlstlnt
stir, Qlting • lhadow on EWth and
alJDwlng Itsprapat1iestD ba studiad.
11111rnvrtmsdllduald tltat thlt
Db)ectwu Dklllyta be llbaut 500
ldlometnls 11£11111. ButthaValsa
found samathlng lmUIUlll;what
appamsta bl• larll• moan about
200 kilamatrm.ams orbiting
leSI tNn :ZOOO ldlarnetNafrom
lt(arxiv.org/abll2005.08881).
Tbisdiltanm ls mmmd fiw
ttmB thlt hlightaftha ••ta••llanal
Spam stallan lilbava r.tf\. lllllmlhg
the moan wauld loam large li'i
2002 lt302'S sky.
Tbeabjadls ane afmany
~abJects(IMDs),lnd
Oltlits thlU'I at an awraae dlstllnce
af 55 ti1m1 the distancebatwMn
Earth and the11111. Ollll'THO
satlllllta 111'1! narmallv much fwthlr
tram their parent body, saws Ortiz.
Obfedsmilda af two bodies
thillttaudlmchanalher,lcnawn•
mttKt btn.ial. mmr bla!M1dant
In tha IGllr....... -111111 llXMtPI•
II h two-lobed abject Arrollolh,
which wasvilitad br NASA's NIW
Harfzans spac:aaaftli'i ..., 2019.
Butftndli'ig a nan-taucllmg blray
1.11112002 TC!02 and Its moan
amnlnG sadolelywa'*I be a first,
pnMdingmme Ulllful lnfannatlan
llbaut thal8 dulil sysWms.
1tm1Y*'llllta lot af TMJswerw
bom with• llrll amountof .....lar
marnntum, splmlng tharnMMI
Into pllatstD auta llltallltas.Clale
satllllltamuld also C1U111 large tidal
lntaadlcms wtth the parantbady,
praducmg wallbles li'i the orbit that
muldl'1Mlal detalsabautboth
badies'lntarian,apDrtlz. I
Oeolag
All five mass extinctions are
now linked to global warming
TiiE second-most severe mass
extinction in Earth's history
mayhave been triggered by
global warming. The discovery
means that, forthelmttime, an
ofthelaigestknownextinctions
can be linked to a:rapidrise in
the planet's tempemtuze.
'1t completes the jigsaw
puzzle in manyways,u says
Andrew Kerr at Cardiff
Univenity. UK. Geologists
recognise five points intime
when huge numbers ofspedes
were wiped out, although recent
researchsuggestsatleastone
ofthese mighthavebeen too
slow to be a mass extinction.
Butthesecond-mostsevere
ofthese five extinctions, the
lab! Ordovician event about
445 million years ago, has
always seemed different. The
others colndded with epic
volcanic actlvltythatsmathered putanomaloualy high levels of
millions ofsquare kilometres
with lava to create what is
calledalarge igneous province. beenlarge-tcalevokanic activity
In each case, the volcanic
activity triggered global
wanning that islikelyto have
contributed to extinction. In
contrast, the consensus had
been that the late Ordovician
extinction wu prompted in
part by global cooling.
DavidBond at the University
ofHull, UK, thinks it wasn't
so cWl'erent after all With his
colleague StephenGruby
atthe GeologicalSurveyof
Canada, Bond took.samples
from a site in Scotland where
rocks thatfurm.ed on the
laU! Ordovician seaft.oor are
well-presezved. Theyfound
a spike inthe level ofmercury
445
inrocks that funned justbefore
and duringthe extinction
(Geology, doi.org/dwd3).
"Large volcanic eruptions
mercmylnto the atmosphere,M
says Bond. There seems to have
during this period after all.
'1t's a great boon to the mass
extinction story. which now
links all past mass l!Xtiru:t:ions
to large igneous province
Andllnt marine life
mavhavl blien wiped
aut byvalcanicldtvity
volcanism," says Gerta Keller
at Princeton Univertity.
Bond thinks this might have
led to global warming that
heated the oceans, reducing
their ability to hold dlsaolved
mygenand luffoarting marine
life. This would~ why the
Scottish rocks also cont.ained
high levels ofuranium. u this
element precipitates out of
seawater andaccumulates
on the seafloor when oceans
lose theirmygen.
Confusingly, there was global
cooling at the timetoo. Bond
says itlooks as ifthis only began
after the volcanism and global
warming bad triggered the mass
extinction. "Everythinglines
up nicely;" he says, although he
accepts that the new extinction
scenario will be controversial.
Charles Mitchell ofthe
Univenlty at Buf&1D. NewYork.
remains to be convinced. He
says the global cooling and a
severe gla.dation may well have
begun before, and contributed
to, the extinction. Buthe says
volcanic activity and global
wanning could haveplayed a
part In the latter stages ofthe
extinction. "You need a way to
endthe glaciatton, and.global
warming from alarge igneous
province c:oulddothat," he says.
Kerr is more enthusiastic. He
haslongaqued thatvolca.nic
activity and associated effects
such as global warming are the
key drivers ofmass extinctions.
Keller says the flnd1ng means
there might be a new odd one
out among mass extinctions:
the one we may currently be in
is also due to warming. but the
cmbon dioxide responsible was
produced by us, not volcanoes. I
JDMllJ-1 Rewtclalllllas
News
Bees cause leaf damage to trigger
early flowering and pollination
AliceDdn
HUNGRY bumblebees can
coax plants intoflowering and
making pollen up to a month
earlierthan usual bypunchlng
holes Intheir leaves.
Bees normally stophlbemating
in early sprlngto feast on the
pollen ofnewly blooming flowers.
However, they sometimesemerge
too early when plants are still
flowerless and devoid ofpollen,
which means the bees staxve.
Fortunat.ely, bumblebees have
a trick up their sleeves. Consuelo
De Moraes at BTIIZurich In
Switzerland and her colleagues
discovered that worker
bumblebees can make plants
flower earlier than normal
5
by using theirmouthparts to g
pierce small holes in leaves. ~ Bumblebeescut plant
In a series oflaboratmy I IHvuta llVDid sta'Vlng If
and outdoor experiments, the
Beallb
Speedometer blood
testmuld show how
fast you are ageing
112 affects Lii all l'VlllluaUy,
but a luckrfwf1111111 ta stave art
tha affllds of agllng far langlr.
A naw blDad tmtmav help us
inlantand...,,,
Al Miii as tllllng us haw fatw.
are...-a,the test c.'I also predict
whither a person is more Hkalyto
dllnlop a dlranic: dla8la or dllt
In the rwarfutunt. ItIs an updatll
1111 epigllietlc dDdcs,. .that
astlmate il parson's blalDglcill. aga
bald an mm.rst11a1.11httumnlral
th• way 11111111. .mcprassad.
-n'l lllat •IPll9damltlr-lt
t111svou howmtVOU'N~
In mntraltta dadcs, which f8ll )'GU
howmyou'W mm•:saws Danial
Belsky at Calumbia Unlvanity In
Nawlblk. This means th• naw
laltls •a mDlll lmmadlata .........
resean:hers found that buff-tailed
bumblebees (Bombur ~s)
were more likely to pierce holes
in the leaves oftomato plants
andblack mustard plants when
deprived offood. The leafdamage
caused the tomato plants to flower
i bumblebees adapt to climate
I thltyend hlbarna:tkm urly
ofthe11etn1~11euvs.
Epigll•licdackl aftancampaN
chamlcal tags on DNA that . .
IMlllln of gm'lltupnmlun In
peapll al dlfflnmt. . .Butthlle
rnaydlthlrfarnmarasotherthan
ageing. 1iQS Ballky. Far axampla,
aldarpaoplamlghtlmvahad poarar
dlllls arhilVI beM llllPClllld to
more Pollut.nts and INlll'IOOlllS
...., In life, hi says.
lb dnalap the "INICll al aglingS
mt. Be!IQ'and his mllagu11
fallawed 954 people and tradllld
dalglll In 18 mintlln DI' health.
11.-li'ldudadlndkatars al
participants' hllilrt, Ivar, ling and
kidnayfwldlan,asMll • th1lr
waisMo-hlp ratio,. blood lipids
and marklrsal lnfllmmatian.
Eildl vallmtHrwu 8ltllllDd
at aglS 21,52, 58 and ltS.
1hlnmarchlrs USldall this
ta gat.., ldaill ortha avaraga change
In partidpanb' hulth as thay aged
andtomamura hawachpanan
30 days earlier than usual and
the black mustard plant& 16 days
earlier (Science, doLorg/dwfS).
It is still a mystery how the leaf
damage promotes early blooming.
Previous studieshave found that
plants sometimes speed up their
qad bialoglcally. Thllythln Ulld
this lnfaml8tlon ta aubl a *'Ill•
blaadllstthat mas&nl dl1mlcal
tags an DNAlndkllttng dalga In
'Iha 18 hulth milll'llllrs.
lb dllldl; whathar lhl last mild
Pl9dld hDwqulddJ• PlllGll agll,
thewrchersa11•ll*9dlhl
pmtidpantl'mn1atag138wlth
1tllir ~and cagnitlwi hnlth
la'lllft)Wll'l.....,whln,at•115.
Mthe tast Is Oka a
speedometer. It tells you
how fast you're going, not
just haw far you've came-
the-vob1tentooktelts of thllr
blllanm,mardNtillll and mgnitian
and Wlntmnd lmldanhDwdd
thlljloallld. -a-. ..-tr IMlrY am,
peaplawhasaDNA~
1U11115ladthey""818 agalngfalW
waralhuwlng ttlllll lllllarft
dlll:ltsIn flndian,• SQS lllll*J
(ellf9, dol.orglggt&Pft
lloweringinnsponsetostres&OIS
like intense light and drought
When the researchers
punched holes in the plant Leaves
themselvt!s, this didn't induce
early flowering. This suggests that
bees may provide additional cues
that encourage it, like Injecting
chemicals from their salivainto
theleave1 when they pierce them.
HC!imate change is mating
spring coru:litions leSB predictable,
which could disrupt the timing
ofthe relationship between bees
and fioweis,H says Marlr.Mescher,
also at liI1-I Zurich. Manipulating
flowenngtlmes may help
change, he says. I
Belsky's team also applied
thRtntta a study thatha
tradllld the hailllth or a~ or
men,nuwlnthalr 70s, slnm tha
1960.. Tllalaltpnidictad who
waulddlMllapwvru hllilHh
nl who WM likalyta die In the
..blaqulntllllll'I v-s. Dwing
thllparlad,,,..,._wltha.....,
(paal of ageing] at balllln1
W81'1 al lncnasad risk to dalllllop
a nawdlranlc dllaasa arto ~
lllYSBlllslcr-
1119 nawtllt t1Ptwits ""thl
belt wa c.'I do-tomaan ageing.
. .Slrattigg atttll ic.ollnlb
..ututeJn SoN,SMdln. Buta lot
more datawlU be llllldld beforl
It can bl USld In dmllcal l8Dlgs,
~Ba-Asthetast Is blmld
an paop1a or EIRP8illl anmstrv
llvq In N&wZHland, ltwll
also lll8d to be trialled In othlr
papulaticms,..,. Paul Yuuarfl
lltth1 Univmity of Brillol, Ult. I
JHlimBmmem
JOMllJ-INew1c1m111tl-q
News In brief
Earliest known Native
American relative
AMAN who ll"Rd in Siberia about
14000 years ago is the earliest
known penonin the world to havt:
the mDr.ofgenes seenin people
with NativeAmerican ancestry.
He Yu at the Max Planck
Institute for the Science ofHuman
HistoryIn Jena, Germany, and her
colleagues dated a man's fossillaed
tooth. found nearLake Baikal. In
Siberia, to about 14.000 Jelllll ago.
DNA from the tooth revealed
that the rnanhad the specific
mixture of andentnorthEwuian
and north-east Asian ancestry
often present in NativeAmeric:an
peoples (cen, doiorg/dwdn).
The earliest previouslyknown
indMdual with such ancestry
lived about11,5ooyears ago.
The results add to growing
evidence that the Americas were
populatedbypeoplefromnorth-
eastAsia. Lapllhmpool
BiDcUftnitJ
Spy satellites reveal
declinein mannots
IMAGES taken by cold war spy
satellites haveunveileda long-
term decline in mannotsin
Kazakhstan overthepast50yean.
Catalina Munteanu at
Humboldt Uniwnityof Berlin,
Germany. andhercolleagw:s
anslysed satellite images of
Klwlkhstan taken betm:en1968
and1969byUS satellites spying on
the Soviet Union. Bycomparing
them with satellite pictures taken
between1999and1t017,the team
foundthatthenumberofmarmot
burrows within a 6o,ooo square
kilometre an!a had fallen by14 per
centaverthat time (I'roc2edtngs of
theRoyalSocietyB, doimg/dwdf).
Much ofthe decline seems
to be due to the expansion
offanning. says Munteanu.
Marmots are a key part ofthe
ecosystem, so changes in their
numbers ranreflec:tdlanges
in ovenll bl.odiversl.ty. l.L
Coronavirus
set to cause
huge carbon
emissions fall
GLDBAL.carban emlsslans ... llallr'
tD see their stapesttall this,_..
llnm tha llCDlld world war, but
ltwan't- -ctnlatad1inle.
n.fht.,.....rwviawad . . . .
oftlle pandemk's lml*t on
emilllons predldl theywll flll
batwHn lt.2 and 7 .spar cent an
1a11,_..Arflaafaround l parmnt
had bHn apecta:I far 2020.
..n tams al a nllatlva drap,
,au'd hllVll tD go back tu tha flrlt
hlllfaftha lat~araund
wwi1,•...,a1an Nan llttha
c:.ttll'for~I Clmateand
Enviranmantal RmHrdl In Narwav·
Anal'fllnl tha data up to 7 April, ParilAgrllmllit'sgoal flf chaddng
Plrhll'I and hil calluguasbnl that wanning Id l.S"C. .Admn VIUlban
lodlduwn restrictions had mtdalV
emlalans Ir;' 17 par centV81'1111the dlmate change, see page 30
Really brief
dallJ anragefar 2019. 'Tbls talms
th• world batD 2008levals.
Thi raductians lllMI balm falrtr
unlfann glabllly, with. drop af
10ll8 miliontummof mt.n
dlmdde In the fhtfourmontlls flf
th• yiaar. Plrhll'Iand hll mllug1111
axpact an annual fall al 1524
MtCOz H pre-pandemic candltionl
nrturn .,..mid-June.Ill' 2729 MlCOz
Ifsoma restrtctlol11 are In place
llllHI the )'Rl"s and (NafUre Cllmaf8
Chanft dal.orglggwr9w}.
Hawavar, the team . . . the drap
will mab llttla dint In future global
warming.""*" ralculatll u.t •
5 parmntdrap WD'*I bl aqulvalant
ta 0.001"C IRB warming, buttha
wartd. ls 1111 mnefar atlllast!"Cal
wanning. Thi UK Met ornca saws
thatatmasptaic~ llMllswDlstm
beth• highalt In 2 mlllan vun.
A rapart lutyarfaund that
amilsilllls mustfall llr 7.& Pll'ant
11191Y,.. this dacade tu maetth•
For more on coronavlrus and
Oldest galaxythat
looks like aurown
A galaxy that fanned
1.5bllllan YNrS ll"9rth1
big bang is.-nooffllrthan
IJllllCtld,which ii Ndancl
far 1 l'llMll,IPHdV galaxy
fannatlan. I.Im tha Mmt,
Wiiy, it Is shaped 01111 a dilc.
Unlkll mrlygalilXllS that
cmlasmlfram~
hat gas, thaWulfadlK
prabablyfonnad from
lftlOOth llowsafcold gu
(Nohn, dol.orQldwa').
Algae bloom as
Antarctic melts
1ha tht larga IUl'VllV
al--llftJWing In
.Ant.dka hu faund
blaaml dottld IC1Ull tha
continent. At the halght
flf surnnm, thlr mvarup
to l.911q.... ldla!MtrB
al ll'IDW and lllllYIP'ud
as tha dlrnahl warms
U4atunt~
dal.argldwbv).
Artificial eye seems
likethe real deal
A1amfllm rnhmlhal
dNl!apadasphmfml
vllual lllnlOl'thatmlmkl
the strumn flf tha tunan
.,.. The artlflcilll • ls
:z cant1matras In dlamaear,
and ltsholluwamtntls
fillld with a condudivl
fluid. It c:onhll.. a lens
tofoall llllhtand.
hanlilpharkal retina
(Nafln, dol.a9dWC2).
Signal Boost

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Doyoai needJUUr slpal baG9led1

HJUlliue• i:harilable orpniuffanwoddniinsd-. mrcllrine1 Whnolag,
em-tion m ~and waaldlila!to:ftndoul.DIOl'l!!aboul:tbiaprujm:
contactCbrll.Mutinaa.~
Views
Graham Lawton is a staff
writer at New Scientist and
author of ThiS BoolcCou/d5ol'e
'ltlurlife. You can fcllOIN him
@Qrahamlawlon
Graham's week
Wbatl'm.readfng
Underground: A human
history of the worlds
beneo.th ourfeet-a darlr
but scintillating aa:ount
ofwriter Will Hunt's
subterranean excumonr
Wbat l'm.11111tddng
CelebritySAS: Who dares
wins. Grippingly d;yt
Wbatl'm.wuddngcm
Prr!w!ntingfuture
pandemics
Thiscolwnn appears
monthly. Up nm week:
Annalee Newitz
Cllllme
A 1Vsatlrellbouttbemud!.-
imllpedUSSp.c:el'mm
pbl:n!lldytolaunc:b. p&I
The battle of the bog
A victory for conservation against the odds is a sign that attitudes
may finally be changing for the better, says Gnham.Lawton
S I.OCKOOWNS gradually
A ease across the world, I find
myselfin a growing state
ofanxiety. AB you may have heard,
this pandemic presents a historic
opportullityto reinvent our world
along more sustainablelines.
I agree-but am gripped by fear
that we will blow it.
Happily. some positive action
has been taken. For example,
the mayor ofLondon, Sadiq Khan,
announced plans to close much of
the dty centre to private vehicles,
creating one ofthe world's largest
car-free Uiban areas. Otherdties
have made aim:llarm.oves.
Butlam't imaginethis will
go down without afight. and
elsewheze I read that the backlash
against a green recovery is under
way. us Republicans, for example,
are reportedly developing lines of
attack that paint the pandemic
response-with its mass
unemployment and vast rise In
public expenditure-u a foretaste
ofthe pain to be visited on people
bypro-environmental policies.
Call me acynic. butifI hadw
put money on who will win, I'd bet
an the right. I am soothing myself
with a story thatI think shows a
better, greener world is possible.
It is about a small nature reserve
Just outsideYork, the UK dty
where I grewup. AskhamBog is
one ofthe last surviving smtps
offenland in a now intensively
flumed landscape. Despite its
smallsize-juat44hectares-it
is one ofthe most ecologirally
diverse habitats in northern
England and is designated as a site
ofspecial scientific interest. It has
also been underthreatfcryears.
York has an acute shortage of
housing, and.in the early WlOS,
the dty council identified land just
north ofthe bog as being possibly
suitable for development.
In2018, developerBarwcod
Land filed an application to build
516 houses on the site. But in 2019,
the city council. unanimously
"Bog supporters
feared the wont,
as property
development
usually tramps
the envimnment"
rejected the planning application
on v.uious grounds, including
environmental ones.
Barwood appealed, triggering
a local public inquJ:ry. That meant
l.awyers, weebofadvenalial
hearings and, ultimately. a
decision by the secretary ofstate
for housing, communities and
local government, Robert Jenrick.
I have to declare a personal
interest. Myfather, 11 retired
ecologist, is pteSident ofthe
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, which
manages Aatham Bog and which
ledthe fight against the housing.
It was classic David vs Goliath
stuff. The developer retained
the services ofa fonnidable QC;
the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
crowdfu.ndeda war chest from
cmu:emed locals. The developer
wasn't oblivious to the ecology,
dazzlingthe inquiry with the
results ofenvironmental impact
assessmenbl and plans fora
protected zone it argued would
boost overall biodiversity.
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
respondedwith some pretty
heavyduty ecology. It argued
that building on the site would
probably damage the bog, and
that while the protected zone
mayincrease biodiversity, the
incoming species would be aliens.
InNovember, both sides retired
to await what bog supporters
feared was a foregone conclusion.
Property development usually
trumps the environment
Thentheworldchanged. Two
weekB ago. Jenridwrote to both
sides inibnning them ofhis
decision to uphold the council's
2019 verdict.
Theruling IIlilkes it clear it was a
close-run thing, butwhattiltedthe
scales ofjusticewas the threat to
the bog and the Ndeterloratlon of
irreplaceablefenland habitat".
Thati1 all the more :remarkable
given ecologists couldn't say for
suzethe bog would be damaged,
olllythat it was "probable~
Inaworld where we have
bemme used to expertise being
trashed,scientificuncertainty
being seenas a weakness and the
natuial world viewed as merely
undeveloped resowres, this ruling
feels like a landmark. Yes, itil just
one small boginthenonh of
England.but it1 name deserves
to be sung across the land. I
Views Your letters
Editor's plc:k
Armchair science may
lead m toa better place
lMder,gMay
From Bruce Hamm.London, UK
lnyuur IMds, )'Dll wrn.: 8Ncm·
ICilntistl have 1n111V,.. to PllV
in dlrfuta1111 thaviftll, but baamling
annchllirldllnHm Isn't one of
thlm!lbu .... right thattt..... ls
a huge prablan with peapla who
ara miwlllng tu be lad brsclenftsls
1111d the sdantltk: mathod.
Tlla tum tu sclanm br'VMI
n...._.of paoplainhfaceof
tha tremandous hlnn wrought IP/
thil pandarnicdDll indHd pma ral
dangars- but It also oplRI up gnat pandemic wasn't a total surprise,
appcntunltla. btha than dumping butit isn't the only such enemy.
mid watw an paople's anthuslasm, What about a solartlare killing
we namltoanauaga thllln a-.. ourtelecommun1cation satellites, wasthelidepanelonhowzebras Your article on comdousness
that bullds an lllPPradallon far
scianm, includS!g the ada1Hfk:al1J
9.....iadprocadlnlfor
datarrnining tndh, sw:tl •1h•
~raWlwprama and saan.
A papulatlanof true anndlalr
sclantlstswhowmi wlllng to
loak m1ha world mD18sdantlflcallJ to ensure we are prepared.
lllld be ladbrsdaa. ratlathan
aatllng caught-.. in illkinds at
wacky 5Gor..,,_conspiradas
~d~wouldbe• boon.
R'olTIAdomKeelan, London, UK
Alack of~frarntlia
UK !llMllTlllilllt,Ulhawn brlts
camminmttan strahlfw,hlll
proballlrpravldld ........... for
spemlatlon in this mmmythan.., coronavirus in order to end the
number af P18'11Ubllcatian PllP8IS
ar lmuuntaf n1Wdm. Asvuur
ludar points out,• dlllua• af poar
lnrorm.Hon huhalped mlb •
blld litUatlanwora. llut sama of
ltm1V ba caming from WhitahaU.
We IDUlll prepare for the
nalbig global threat
:a.Mq,p7
From Harry Butterworth,
Landfrey,Devon, UK
The long-term lesson ofour
current predicament is that
pandemics do happen. and when
they do, many people canbe hurt.
I don't apectto see another
•INew1c1m111tl:t0MmJ-
pandemic- I am Bo-but there is a
real chance that mygrandchildren
will There is a lot ofscientific data
building rapidly. and we need a
globallyagreed plan to deal with
the next crisis based onthis. As
SOOD BS this pandemic is fully
under control, we should be
looking at the lessons we can learn
!ICa strategy can be agreed an.
--------------------------------------------------
From/aVferMarttn-7brre8,
Aberdeen, UK
The spread and death toll of
covid-19 has made us conscious
that we are all connected, as weD.as shell was a fascinating insight into
ofhow fragile life, human societies the jigsawthat is palaeontology,
and.economies are.
The latent possibilityof a viral
forerample7 What are the other
latent rilb out there?
We should seriously evaluate
what other majorttuats ofthis
sortmaybewaitingtoemerge.
Re~ers should take the lead
and join interdisciplillary efforts
Otherrisb Ina push
forhenl Immunity?
uAprD,p10
From RobertMaier,
Penicuilt, Midlothian, UK
I wonder whether there is a serious
and overlooked aspect ofany drive
to achieve herdlmm.unltyto the
need for l.octdowns.
Attallrlng herd immunity.
ifthis is even possible. would
requin: a significant proportion
ofthe populationto become
infected and develop anbliodies.
However, the broad
distribution of cases may also
serve as a breeding ground for
newmutatlona ofthe virus. The
more peoplewho are infected,
. -1Dptln1Ducbl Sl!lldletb!nto~
seeknmld ~
I.etten aenttDJlewSdpntiC, :15Bedf'md street,
London wt211,awm bedelaJed
thehighertheprobabilityofnew amount ofmatter observed, well
strains ofthe vJrus emerging. before other galaxies were even
Ifthe pool of Infected people discovered.
is kept low, vira.l mutations, The missingmass problem
including those resulting in was explored inmore detail in
even more dangerous forms tbe19201and19308 by several
ofthe virus, might be avoided. astronomer5-Jacobus Kapteyn.
JanOort and Fritz ZWicky. among
Take alel80D. from
others-when it became dearthat
a discn!pancyexisted between the
nature'1clefen..... observable mass ofgalaxies and
2.May,pJfi their dynamics.
From ConmdJoner. It Is more the case that In the
cynwyfEifed. Ccumartl!eruhfn1, UK 19808, the elephanh grew too big
Your piece onhowtbe turtle got its to ignore any longer.
especially bearingin mind there
Brine It OD: matbematks
are so very few pieces to put ftl'IUS philosophy
together to tell the sklry ofthe :1.MllJ.pto
coUI1e ofevolution. But what From Sam Edge,
particularly grabbedmyattention Ringwood. Hampshire, UK
got theirstrlpes. raises the tantalising prospect that
As it appears that this pattern tbevalidityofideas put forward to
gives th.em the upper hand by explalll it could become amenable
detel'ringhorseflies, whyis there to practical mathematical analysis.
no clothing for humans kl give us This is encouraging.
the same protection? As usual, though. !IOme
Never mind army-type philosophers have rolled out
camouflagefor the great outdoors, the argument that the tools of
haw about zebra stripes to do mathematics and empiricism
something a bit more useful? are insumdent kl explain
You never know, it may even help subjective experience.
against: one scowge ofsummer They miss the point. All
tourism inthe ScottishHighlands: observation is inhe:n:ntly
the midge. subjective. This doesn't rtop
us formulating explanaticms
for phenomena, it just requires
We've been OD tbetJallof a rigorous approach that
dark matter for a long time ulthnatelyrests on predictlve
16~p30 power and repeatability.
FromLarryStoter, I have severe red-green colour
The Narth. Monmouthshire. UK blindness. so Ipen:eive a rainbow
I would say that missing mass differently from most people,
and dark matter were elephants but that doesn't stop us from
in theroomofastronomyand agreeing that the mathematics
cosmology from rather earlier ofoptics explains the
than the 1980s. phenomenon very well.
It Is claimed that as early as 1884,rm not saying that
LordICelvln suggested that the consciousness Isn't a tough nut
observed dynamic:s ofthe Milley to crack-It Isn't called the hard
way didn't seemto matchthe problemfor nothing-but arguing
thatweneednewtoolswitbout
explaining why or suggesting
what they might be isn't
contributing to the field.
Philosophers have been doing
this fur thousands ofyears
wtthoutprogresslnganlnch. I
Signal Boost
Welcome to our Signal Boost project. In these difficult times, we are offering
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Today, a message from Alzheimer's Research UK
can you help Alzheimer's Research UK
to make breakthroughs in dementia?
Mnod llftrYWlllkot llfe has belln lmpadad
IP;' COVID-19. W. lcnawthatlhlse. .dlftlallt
tlirm far..,...,.,..., and aurthaughts . .w1111
illl al thasawho.,. been dhclly atractad
and with tha hunhnd c:mawurlmnwho 1n1
doing IO mud! ta...., llt thiltirna.
Evarvoneat Abihafmarla ~ UKlsacutely
...,.. ofttlllaffadthlaulnakii hlwingan
paaplawlth damlntla and dlllir famlla,
aamrbatng11nlllntlldVw. . . . . .1bidliluatlan.
Liia! so ma111arganlsdans.m.ttlls and
madkill rmeardl ara also l'lllllng tha 1111JK1 at
th11111diflkult&nas.Saclal ilst&nilumlBllnl
rnlllll thatmar11111111havehad1D 1amponn1i,-
dmath1lrdoon ilnd amnamli: 1n:111biMtJ fl
th.....,ingvttalfundlnQfOr......cti.
Damlntill l'lllHl'Chanl ........ innanting
118Wwayl al working ta mntinllll ta drlvlt
sdlllflfk: ~but WI need to girtl'ISUl'Cti
pragnmmas bad! up to IPHd qLK!dVr u man
n It Is safa ta dD so.
NOW IS TIE11ME
ItIs • atlklll time In dlnlllltl.a l'ISUl'Cti as
sdlntlstswark to capltallsa an the leaps In
undarstandlng CMI' l'Kmltvars anc1. trans1a1a
tllaa dtMllapmants intaw.-to halptha
200,000 paopla in thl Ult who dlMilop
dementia ..,.y,...
Wftllout lfl8ctlva1ratm8ntl,, ona In tlnll
Jl90ple barn thls)al'wlll dlltwlth damlntla.
1bday,thlnt . . no dlmlntla llnlvDn. But
resarm can dlang1 this.
At Alzhelmlr's AllilHntl UK our vision II a
warld fnla from the far, t..m md hlartlnak
afdamantia. Wa'ra ~gnxn:lbraldng
lnitllitlwl to fund thaKill1flm. aquipmant md
Doyau. needJUlll'slgnal bomte41
Ifyaauea ~ mpnlutlgn warJdns insdm, medfchw, kl:lmalau,
erllXld:km arcmaennd:ion, and waaldlibtoflnd.IJlllDIOftabaul Olia pmjKt
cmdadCbrilMartlnoa~
Alzheimer's >e
Research ~
UK
ldMI that wll mlllat llfll-changlng
lnaldlnughs posslblL Wlthyaur support.
we're warklng IKIDlli IDurlmv areasaf actfDn ta
• Unialilaidtha dilaalas thidGUme damenlla
• ...._paap1aartlarndmoni~
• RaduCll rilk, Udclld bJ thl 111'811 lllilllnm
• Treat dementill effedfvelr.
And Wlt'N rnaldng pragraa. Butth• months
llhad wlUnotbli asy.Nowmoni thanWll',
dlmlnlllll'lllllldl Midi CIUI' b8ddng
support.
and,.,..
Alzhalmar's Rll5allrdl UK II mntlnulng ta
wartt far . . thaR ltvq with dlmantia. Ifyau
c:an, donilla tuUJta c:hanga Ives. Vllit
https;//o1lzra.ukldonata"'fls
Views CUlture

Boots on the moon

The us Space Force has provided a lot oflaughs since its inception.
ATV satire about itis almost as comical as the original, says Slmanlnp
was released, General Jay small satisfactions take a while the soberest of Mallory's team
Raymond. its ChiefofSpace to build. Naird's elevation means ofint:en:hangeable scientists.
TY Operations, had a suggestion for the fiunilymust relocate from Trump wants boots on the
Space lcmle careu. who plays the Space Force washlngton to an old military moon. American boots. What does
QresDanimandltnecanD chiefIn the series, General Mark facility in Colorado (an "upand that mean? Naird, ln a speech, tries
OnNedllzfram19MaJ Nainl. "The one piece ofadvice comJng" state, acconlingto Nainl. to clarify: "Boots with us feet in
rd giveto Steve carell isto get a His wife, played byL!saKudrow, them, I mean. Can't be certain
ASRECRUlTMENTads go, thevideo hafn:ut," he grinned, durlng a sobs softlyinto her pillow). where the boots willbe made.
:released to Twitter on6 Maywas weblnar. "He'slooking a little too Atwork. Mallmyinsists on MaybeMsico, maybe Portugal."
genuinely engaging. Young people shaggy ifhe wants to play [me]." taking two steps at a time when This is the main point: what
staredoflintotheMilkyWayas I'm glad he can see the funny he climbs a staircase, even though does it mean to makt! nationalistic
It>Clcets ofindetEnninate scale side. While the fictional Naird and noises about space when doing
rolled out ofunmarla!dhangen. his headof science Adrian Mallory "Space Pcm:e the sitcom, anything worthwhile up there
"Some peoplelook to the stars and OohnMalkovich)sparspiritedly lfkethereal-llfeSpace requires massive international
ask, 'What H'l'" drawled a voice. averthelaunchproceduresofone - - fs labourof cooperation? In one episode,
"Our job is to havean answer." glant-lookingrocketafteranother, ~~ a Nahddemands to know what
This admirably down-to-i!Brth 1nthe real world the redoubtable love, proclucecl OD an thefuremost aeronautical
sentiment wu cooked up by the Raymond.ii tasked with defending obvfouslJlowbuclget" engin.eeringtheoriltlnBelgiwn
US Space Force, the newest arm of US satellites from laser and is doing on his oh-so-secretbase.
the US military, officially brought projectile attack from potentially his fitness isn't quite up to it: trust Gently. Mallmyexplains:
into being bypresident Donald hostile:faro!&, ona start-up budget Malkovich to make comedy gold The EuropeanSpace Agency is in
Trump on 21December2019. of$40 million.1he:re are streets in out ofnothing. on the mission. Belgiumis part
Ithas been thebutt ofjolres London where that wou1dn't buy other cast members underplay ofthe European Space Agency.
ever since. On18 January, the Space you a house. Meanwhile, the total themselves. Improv comedian Belgiwnis part ofEurope.
Force showed oiTita uniforms to annualbudget fortbe US mfiltaiy Tawny Newsome, as helicopter The show may not quite be
Twitter. Apparently there is a use stands at $738 biillon. pilot Angela Ali, has too straight the satire we expected, but there
fur camouflage In space. Six days Space Pormthe sitcom.is, a role.Silicon Valley's Jimmy is real.charm in watching gruft'
later, it revealed its logo, a sort of likewite, alabouroflove, produced 0. Yanggeta decent lines, but Nahd slowlylearn to expres1
straightened-out, think-inside- on an obv:iouslylowbudget. Its in demeanour he remains his feelings. I
the-boxversion ofthe Federation
symbolfrom StarTrek.
Then, the coup de grace: Net:llix
announced itwould be streaming
a sitcom about the enterprise,
createdby producer Greg Daniels
and actor Steve carell.
A lot ofexpectatlonhu been
gathering around this :fictional
Space Poree. Daniels's writing and
production credits include the US
version ofThe Officr, Paris and
Recreation and King oftheHiU.
Everyone is expectinga savage
parody.So viewingistempered
with the realisation that the :real
Space Force will outcompete any
televis1on satire.
On the same day that the US
Space Force's :recruitmentvideo

5t8Vlt C..11 plays

Genlll'lll Nalrd, c:hlllf of
thetldlcmal Spam Forat

Watching your every 1nove
When everything is recorded. people become paragons
ofmoderation. What could go wrong, asks 5ally Adee
ABUAEALICAAT~tha
pandmnlcwauld chaw thair right
ilm1 off far anlMe. Nuane ian.
home without one In the world
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men than yair nlCCllllll'llllad
allawlnmar~ blhlnd onya&r
stap munt. Oh, and anyttmg yau
dD ........ lstllad autamatk:allt'
will the tuofftm.
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ariu, butwGlb 11astan1H1on•
talL It II Mtin a past-Bnadtllritmn
in whldl a higtl-proflll llNlnt has
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tldmalaglcal swwlllanat. Prlltty
soon, the nnunt Is lntwg1ahid
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w11tampt,lhapad bJ a machmna
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Don'tmiss
Visit anlinl!
An Electronlca Haml
Dllhlaly ls a weekly
programme of exhibition
ttus, lab visits, concerts
and talks with artists and
sdentis1s, bringing the
magic af Europe's
biggest art-meels-
technology festival
to your computer.
BIRD
WAY
Rmd.
11111 M'd War' ls avaried
lndlvldual Obarty.11 that• dlokll W<1f. there are birds
OrweretltclleldliMfonnad bJ• that g!W! presents, birds
IYSt9lll just. CMltlelrring u the that drum. ewn birds
IManannystnMnblll~ that paint thermelves.
1111 bookmav not go c1own wa11 Jennifer Acb!rman shares
wllhtltcllewhodon'tm.. l.imat's the latest science oo
(11111,ona suspects, 'ftltwall's) avian behaviour and
mympatNas. 'ftltthe ~llnl l'l!llealstheways their
wurtb mmnl'*1!11 framillllllldlll • complex brains differ
'Mt dllcid1 haw to l1llPClllll to the from those of mammals.
a..,...
wl'ONlllhs. How do vou live Inside
l\llM lftd still ba hap!l'l1
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ttmtlHITll lllCll a pnianarta tha
IMI: tnlck-ancHraai apps mlldmg
data that~ 1ntaron gcMllllll1ll1t
llllV8l'I, far lnstanca, - illl
lllCPllffrmntal 111111111' .... flilllhes
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'Mfar all the wncem abaut Ext1adabla Milttas
IMll'ntldl -the..... ii bllng is an iniliatM! inwhictl
dlMlapld by 1 mnpanypahaps London-based researdi
BIJlll'Gllrlnilycaled SlnmgAnn - studio Arts Catalyst
faw aglWwlth the piCIMlas wlla saeens a new artist's
inllll that getting ar Pilllllnt on the film IM!IY week, with
virus ... mattw af ntlvldull chaka. each exploring the
WMrl It mnm to IMllumtlng ri*r effects of mining on
the mare.,-.. lmrilad1o weigh In, people, canmunllles
thl better. Othlrwllli Wli might ba and the environment.
slalpwalldng towards an IMa. I
JDM11J-111ew1c1en1111l 111
Views Aperture
Undark sides

1HJSkaleidoscopic shot ofthe

night sky above Santiago, Chile,
wa1 taken during the city's
lockdown and shows the extent
ofthe capltal's llght pollution.
Astronomer Juan Carlos
Munoz captured the view from
his balcoey. He tries to infuse
evezymban night photo he
tam with a "grittyand other-
worldly" feel, he says.
For this picture, he covered a
lens with a diffractiongrating. an
optical element that is engraved
with grooves that split the llght
spilling from the buildingl and
streets Into dlifereJltwavelengths
invertical. streaks.
The result reveals the make-up
ofthe city's various sources of
illumination as a pattern soaring
into the night sky. Sodium lamps
have an orange spectra, metal
halide lamps predominantlyemit
green, blue and violet light, while
white LBDs are the brightest and
emitacro111 the visible spectrum (a
good enmple is clearly visible just
right ofthe centre ofthe photo).
Munoz says he tam such
pictwes to raise awareness of
light pollution and hopes people
am worktogethertn illuminare
cities in a more efficient way.
"The night sky is a natwalherltage
that all dtizens deserve to enjoy
regaldless ofwhere they live, and
therefore it must be protected
from pollution, just like oceans
or the atmosphere; he says. I
Features Cover story

"This is our
chance to start
bending the
climate curve"
Could covid-19 be a turning point
for global climate action?
World weather chief
Petteri Taalas is a man in
the know - and he's optimistic,
he tells Graham Lawton
Y
OUmight saythebodyPetteri'nlalas
hea.dsdeterminestheweatheron
world climate action. At theV&y
least, it takes its temperature. The World
Meteorological Organization (WMO),
basedin Geneva, Switzerland, is the United
Nations spedalised agency on weather,
climate and water resources. It co-founded
the Intergovernmental.Panel on Climate
Change, the clearing house forsd.entifi.c
n:searth on global warming, and runs
observingsystems thatfollow what is
happening to temperature, precipitation,
storms, sea level rise, glaciers, snow and
ice cover and greenhouse gas emissions
across theplanet
The WMO has just produced its latest
report, The Global Climate in 20JS-20J!J.
It comes a few short months afterTaalas,
the group's secretary general,found himself
inthenewsforpurportmlyquestioningthe
focus on the needfor robust international
action on climate change.
Graham Lawtan: What did yaurrepartfhl
abaut t11e state arttie world's c11mata1
Petterl'nlalas: Sofat, wehave seen1 degree
[Celsius] ofwarming. During the put
20 years, we have seen the 19 warmest
years onrecord. Lastyearwas the second-
wannestyearsince 1850 [whenconsistent
R!CDl'ds begin].
Wehave, again. been breaking records
in greenhouse gases: carbon dlox:lde,
methane and nitrous mcl.de. Ofthose,
carlx>n dioxide is the most important. It
has contributed two-thirds ofthewarming
so far and its life inthe abnosphere is seveial
hundn!d yean. Recently, wehave been
obaervingconcentrations ofthe order
of415 parts per million; 400 ppm was once
regarded as a critkal.~1
We have areas ofthe world where drought
has become:mon:frequent. inclutlingthe
Amuoniaregion, which maybe bad news
for the rainforest, andsome areas with
increased amounts ofrainfall and snowfall.
We havealso been monitoring what
has happened to sea level. During the
put century. sea level rise was typically
1to2 millimetres peryear. Durlng recent
years, we have seenariae ofbetvreen4 and
Smillimetres per year.
We havealso seen glaciermelting
continue. Melting ofthe Greenland glacier
increased threefold durlngtbe past 20 years,
and theArnllrctic.ice cap has also started
melting, which wam't the case 20 yean ago.
Manyof the impacts of climate
change and disasters are through water:
groundwater problems, :flooding.. sea level
rise and so forth. Those are having 1mpacts
on global food production capacityand
human well-being, espedallyfn less
developed countries.
You •lso found a..t dlmm chlr'lll ls
llffatinO iwn.n i.alth.
During the past 20 )"!ilIS, we had seen
positive development when it came to
hunger, but during the putflve yean,
there has been aninaease again. Compared
to 2015. we have 36 million more people
wbo are 1uffering from hunger, more
than Boo million people altogether. And
there are somethinglilce 30,000 aisualties
on a daily basis.
Aootberresuhis thatwehaveagrowing
amount ofpeople who are exposed to
heatwaves. Twentyyearsago, wehad
about20 million people exposed to >
heatwaves on an annual basis. Owing
the past thn!e years, we have e11:eeded
200 million people per year. We have
seen health Impacts because ofthis.
In the 2010 European heatwim:, m: got
50,000 casualties,rnainlyinRu.ssia. Jn 2003,
we had 7s,ooo casualties in central Europe.
Whl:tdld ya&S rapart, whidl . . . . . .Ula
coranavlna panrlln*. predld farthafutuN}
We expect the trends we are already seeing to
continue. Some estimatesgive a 10 per cent
probab:llltythatwewill reach the lower limit
ofthe Paris Agreement [the international
accord onlimitingclimate change, signed
in 20161 a LS degree increase, during the
coming five years, at least tempmarily.
And sincewe have recently seen wamrlng
oftheorderof0-4 degreesper decade, ifthat
continues for the coming 1oyears, it's very
likely that we would exceed LS degrees.
That's somewhat striking.
YD11 . . known to be• dlmate optimist.
Ant~ still one after this new report?
Yes. becausethe cov:id-19 crisis will change
the world Ifs going to have impacts on the
mentality ofpeople andgowmments. One
could say that this is thementalitythatwould
be needed in solving the climate problem.
You're saying lhattha pandank prlMd that
ltls paalbla fartha warld ta .... the chslic
action naadad ta RMI aff iidll'llilt9 at.B?
Yes, that's what I think. And actually.
the good news isthat you don't need
such drastic action. The conversion of
eru!JIY systems, tnmsport systems and
industry should happen gradually, not
aa dramatically aa we have seen in tackling
this crisis. We have much more time than
with c.ovid-19.
Governments are going to invest in
recovery. and there's an opportuDityto
tackle the climate as part ofthe recovery
programme. In the bestcue, we would
investinnewtypesofclimatet.echnologies.
Apessimist would saythatwewillfurget
this problem.and target our resources to
economic recovery only. But there is an
opportunity to start bendingthe curve in
the coming five years.
We have heard mud! llbaut pasllM
envlroilln&IDI Ilda aflacll af tha p;mdamk.
Cln VDU putthlm lntD panpadiva?
We expect that there will be a drop in airbon
emissions because ofthis pandemic crisis
and its impact on industry and traffic, and
so forth. But this is notgoingto have a major
Impact onclimate because ofthe veiy long
lifetime ofcarbon d.I<Dide inthe atmosphere.
T'here are many people who don't
understand that the lifetime oftheae gase1
is very long. e1pedally carbon dioxide.
Butonce we have been able to drop
emissions, ifs a questionofwhetherm: could
continue along the same line in the future.
We have learned to1Elework, and that will
reduce traffic emissions once you are not
forced to commute everyday to youroftlce.
I
"~
We have had big international meetings
byvideoconference.The need to ttavel so
mu.ch.may be •mailerafter this experience.
Then: are also people who may have
learned to be more modestintheir
consumptiorL Ifthat is amied over, it
would.help UI in tackling the climate
problems. Personally. rm optimistic.
"The good
.
Butlet'ssee what happens in practice.
news1swe
ShDuldn'tw.fams 1111 mvld-19larnuw
and lana Iha dhmta c1lil far lidar? don't need
Covid-19 ii causing casualties in the
short-term. and there will be economic:
inlpacts ofthe onlerofa few yea.rs. But if
such drastic
we are not able to mitigab! climate change,
then we will see persistent health inlpacts
action on
and ec:onomic impacts, and the magnitude
will be much higher than the ones that climate
we are facing with this short-term crisis.
Ifyou compare casualties from hunger, change as
the numbers are already mu.ch higher
than the c:ovid-19 casualties. we did on
Whatis going on wHh Ula UN clnlte
nagDtlatianl plannad far latar In 20201
covid-19"
COP26 was supposed to take place in Glasgow
this November. It's going to be delayed to
next year. But what I have heard from the

UKgovernment is that ib ambition still
remains, and this meetingwill beorpnised
in the spring m ran of2021. There's no
intention to give upthis climate mitigation
mood that we have.
I lmagln1 you hopethe tlmata lllgDtiaticms
wll rm&me M IDGll ill PQlllllle IOthe
praantcrills ilstll trash In paopla'I minds.
I think that would be good, because now
wehave beenfacing this smaller-scale
crisis, people may use the same sentiment
in tackling this major, looming crisis.
Yau hNtprevlauslv said 'lllatyau had dltKbld
a shift In sentlmlnl an tlmat8. Doyau think
that the curNnt crisis hill anhantad that?
Yes, that'• what I think. Thetonethatlhave
heard so far, including from [UN secretary
genemJ.]Ant6nioGuterres andmycoileagues
in the UN, is that this sentiment that we're
having globallyat the moment would help
us inmitigationfor climate change.
We are also discussing with pr:lvate sector
players, who are critical Therewaa already a
desire to be more active in mitigation efforts.
I expectthatwiilcontinue. Inthe US, we have
a growing amount ofprivate sectorplayezs
who are interested in beingpart ofthe
solution. We have also heard from major
fossil fuel companies likeBP and Shell
that they hfte a taJget to become calhon
neutral by 2050. So, good news.
Ofc:oune, the official US government
position is quite passive.but many individual
stateshave:fairlyambit:iousclimab:mitiption
programmes.Andactually, the us hasalnwiy
fulfilled halfofits Paris pledges.
It11111111 dwthlrtdlfol"IS1atlun and the
wlldlll'8 tradll lltthevlrus Jump Into tunans,
and that th. .1n1 mD1&whanl Itcame tram.
Does clhMta change illllo mm the risk DI
suchzoanotkdi.-warm?
So far, there's no evidence that links the
covid-19 disease to climate matters. But
some diseases are'Vl!I)' sensitive to climate.
OO'Lens of diseases are somehow
dependent on weather. And Ona! we
cbangethe climate zones and patterns,
btnme floodl,•
lnlrmlllrldp,, UK,
thll,.ar, ii •COit
CJl!aatt.cklblg
dinudll c:hanp
we also change the regions where we can
see olllbreab ofsome ofthese diseases.
We wed to have malariain southern Europe
Inthe past, and the return of malaria to
Europe i& one ofthe potentialcomequeru:es.
Cholera outbreaks are also :relatedto weather.
Youmade....,.. l.utyearwhen It was
nipamd thlltyau had qumticlnad the global
facus an clmata changa In a ftllW'IP8Pll'
lntllt MW' lnyaur natlVlt Flnland.
I stated that some ofthe horror stories
around climate science don't have a very
solid basia, and some tipping points that
some scientists have beenpromoting
aren't the result ofclimate modelling.
Personally, I believe in measurements or
calculations. Ifcertain risks are shown by
the climate models, then they are, to me,
real. Climate sc.eptic1 would be happyto see
somebody who would question the climate
science. That was one ofthe issues. There
were some sceptics who were thinking
that I'm not behind the UN climate reports,
which is not the case.Iwu only questioning
alarmist stories.
Flnllnd...,.. to have beenwrysucamful
In U.lingwith bath tha pandemic and the
wlderdmnabt atlls. Dayau think that holds
any lasansfar the l'ISt DI' thewmtd?
I thJnk sometlmea things are easier In
a small country than a big country. And
FinJand is a country where it's oftm easy
to find some sort ofconsensus. 1hereare
three orfuur bigger parties who fonn
coalition governments, and the nature of
the government work has always been that
you are forced to find some compromises.
That's not alWll}'I the case Inthe USA or the
UK, foraam.ple, where there are two parties
that are sometimes In power and thinga are
fallly bla.ct and wmte. In FinJand, this kind
ofconsensus approach may have been one
ofthepositivethings. I
Graham Lawton is a featurt! writer
and columnist for New Scientist,
and author of ThiS Boole Could
Save 'ltxJr Life
JOMmJ-l:Nelrldmllltl•

Far from just affecting the lungs, covid-19
seems to cause a host of neurological problems.
Jessica Hamzelou investigates
NNIFER FRONTERA has been treating
T:
people ID intlmsive care foryeani. But
she has never experiencedanything
likecovkl-i9 before. «Theae patients are
absolutely among the sickest any ofus have
ever encountered,u says the New York-baaed
doctor. But the stnmge thing is, Prontem
isn'ta lung disease spedalist ora virologist,
she is a neurologist. And it is the possible
impactofthe corona.virus on our brains
that is worrying her.
It was earlyinthe outbreakin NewYork
that Frontera and her colleagues began to
notice neurological symptomsinthose with
covid-19.Peoplewerepuaingoutbeforethey
'M:l'ehospitalised. Once in hospital someof
them started having unusual movements.
Some had seizures and others had strom.
Similar reports are coming infrom
hospitals around the world. Some
neurological symptmns appeartD be
mild, such as the loss ofsmell and taste.
At the other end ofthe spectrum, a few
people have developed encephalitis -a
potentially fatalfnflammation ofthe brain.
i'f Itin surprising discoveryina disease
~ that was gene:rally considered tD attack
i the airways, and one ofpressing concern.
One big question ishowthe new coronavirus
~
is causing these kinds ofsymptoms. Growing
evidence suggests tbatthe virus may work
!!I its way into the brain, directly attacldng
Features
neurons.Ifthatisthecase, wemayneedto
reconsider some ofthe treatments being
developed forcovid-19. And we must also
prepan! for potential long-term and chronic
neurological conditions in some survivors.
Mfilions ofpeople globally have now
been infected with the new coronavirus,
SARS-CoV-2,but we are still learning how
itwmks. What: we do know isthat it can
be 1preadbydropleta from an inft!cted
per.ion and seems 1D latchon tD receptors
on cells in people's airways.
That might be the end ofthe story for the
manyinfectedpeople who experience either
mild symptoms or none at all. But some
will get very sick, shawmg:ftu·like sympmrns
that can progress tD a severe pneumonia
that leim:sthem struggling to breathe.
1be official symptoms listed by the World
Health0rgani7.ation (WHO) initiallyincluded
fever, tiredness, dry cough. sore throat,
shortness afbreath, aches and pains and,
sometimes, a runny nose or nausea or
diarrhoea. But in response to growing reports
ofpeople losmgtheir sense oftaste and
sm.ell. the WHO and US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have expanded their
lists ofsymptoms to include the loss ofthese
senses. A study of214 people hospitalised
with the virus in Chinahasfuund thats.6 per
centhad a temporary Loss oftaste, while
s.1 per centhad a temporary loss ofsmell. >
JDMllJ-1 Newldenllllln
 Reports from Europe suggest that these
symptomsmaybemme common.Asurvey
of417 people treated at12 hospitals across
Belgium, France, Spainand Italy found that
around 86 percent exper.ienc.ed some
change intheir ability to smell. and 89 per
cent had a "reduced or distorted" ability
to tast.e flavours.
Otherneun:>Iogical symptoms are also
showingup. Some people with mvid-19
experience headaches and dizziness. Those
with more severe Illness c.an sufl'erseizures
and strokes-even young people with no
underlyjng conditions. SUch outcomes are
I
~
thought to be rare, although we don't have I!!
~

1
enct numbers.An assessmentof aJ-4 people
hospitalised with covi.d-19 in Chlnafound
that around 6 per cent ofthosewith severe ,_._-..,
disease developed a condition thataffectEd ~
blood supply to the brain. "We've seen strokes i
and bleeds inthe brain," says Frontera, who ls
basedat NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. Amvld-19 lntenslnan milt
There have also been a handful ofreports of In Manaus, llraztl, an 20 May

Post-mortem problems
Autapsla 1111 people who
died an.. hlMlg mvld-19wtll
11e1p1D dallr up manv of the
qll8ltlanlllbautwhathartha
mnnnil"lll cmi antwthe lnln
ll'ldwhlltlt does lheN(Me lnlin
stoiy). Butso far, 11111r •handful
ofU- mrarnlnattans hlMt
t1em1111ramm1. ._lotof
autapsysultlls. . nat
aqulppad tD hlndlethlslchl
of lnfedlan,•..,. Avlnlh Nllth
.. the us Natlcnll lnltltula of
Nluralaglml DllDnlani..,
stralclt. . .lotof inltHutionl
.... nlfuMd tD do autapsiu
on thllle patiants.•
And farthalll that . .
pafonnlng aulUlllla. getting
hold of brain llBue can
be l*tlaatv dlllllanglng,
uwsDlllr'M Manhall.ttha
UnMnltr of wutilngtan,
5eattle. -...moving the tllulll
NquirB the Wiii at. bona...,
th.tpraduml urmall [that
muld mntaln thevirus],• she
. . . SUdlpromcllnsshauld
be pe1 lu1111ed In..tapsylllltal
wlllt..Wtldradlan Qllans
th.tpnnant. fnlm Pllllinll tu
other rooms,.., pathologllta
need 1Uqllll9 protecUue ......
Mmhllll'stalnhusofar
ji811unned faur lnln...,.. of
peoplewhD dle&I with covld-19.
Ofthme,one appe11rsto show
signs of dillftlallt, wHh vary
small bllllldl 1111 the IWfam of
thelnln.., lnthebnfnmm.
Direct effects?
Mll:hael Dlban\ who uwruw
the dewelopmentofmortully
.W..tthenewlrcruted
Nlglltinglllll Haspital .t
Landon's ElllClll c.ntra, halallD
been IDDlllng for past-marbnn
signs of damage mtllded tr/
covld-1a.1ar.,1wanc1 his
tum hllVll)lllrfannedfull
.,....onslxboclll.Fnlm
a-,119Y.,..disaMred
changlll tD blaod 11111111111 In. .
brlin,wNc:hafflld . .....unt
DfClllVlllfH'lch blDClcl that can
get In. Inthese cases,, brain
tissue i1PJ111i11S ta hi1V8 dllld
llem&me It lmn't ramlvad
enough mygen. But It Is dlfflcult
ta llnawwhaa..tis Isa dhct
effectoftheWul ,_.,Ing
Ule brain or 1 CGNequenca
of bratNng dlffla.lltla
Batll lHrnl wll be IDalm.g
tar the vlnls 1111111' In ....... llBue.
Buttllatwan't bit..,. elthlr.
"'llr.llntflmatalall 11 lan11 time
ta pn!Cllll,• ..,.. Olbam.
lbgaa..,t'-c:h•lllln11111
.,.... Ulatwe stiU don't know
ifUle ClilnlNIVlnll ii dlnldly
lttaddng brain cells. "Wll
hllVlln'tloundvfnalnthebraln
yat, but IMUdn"tbe-...-.S If
crtherg,.,... - ·U'llMlnhd.

JI INimldenlllllJDMllJamo
brain inflammation andbrain damagein
people with severe cases ofa>Vld-19.
In some diseases, neurologkal.damage Is a
knock-on efl'ect of otherproblems within the
body. not ca.used by the pathogen attacking
the nervous system directly. But in this case,
it is also possible that the virus could be
working its way into the brain and nervous
system. Plenty ofother viruses that infect
humans do this, including coronaviruses.
Pierre Talbot at the National Institute
ofSclen1:1fk: Research InQuebec, C8nada,
basbeen studying coronavirule1 since
the198oll.. Much ofhis wort bas focused
on two coronaviruses that are known to
infect humans: HCoV-0(43 andHCoV-22gE.
Both often cause the commoncold.
pfnding a WBJ in
Weknow that both can enter the nervous
system.and brain. "When I put [OC43] in the
na&e ofmice, the virus goes stmigl:lt to the
brain through the oU'actmynerve." says
Talbot. "And whenitgen tothe bralll, it
spnwa to all areas afthe brahi." Here, the
virus can kill neurons and cause encephalitis.
Similaretrects have been observed,but
very rarely, in people infl!cted with 0C43.
Talbot points to the case of an u-month-old
boywithaweak:Immunesystemwho died
with encephalitis. Abiopsy revealed OC43
inhi• brain, ImplicatingtheviruJ.
When Talbot and his colleagueslooked for
229E and OC43 in brain tissue from 9opeople
who donated their bodies to science, they
found at least one ofthe two coronaviruses,
and sometimes both, in almost halfofthe
samples. Forty-fourper cent ofthem had
22gll In theirbrains and 23 percenthad0C43.
The SARS virus, anothercoronavirus
Bimflarto SARS-CoV-2, seems to act In similar
ways. Theflrst SARS outbreak toot place
between 2002 and 2003. claiming about
Booolives. I..ikethe coronavirus that causes
covid-19, the SARS virus also causes lung
disease and can lead to fatal pneumonia
inabout to percent ofthose infected. But
autopsies performed aft.er the outbreak
ended revealed that the virus could get Into
the brain. In zoos, a team.looted at eight
people who died with SARS and foundthe
virus In all their brains.
And when resean:hers Infected mice
with SARS via their noses, they later found
the virus inthe animals' bralnstems. The
brainstem sits between the brain and
spinal cord and regulates our breathing.
"You can imagine that could furtherwonen
therespirat.oiyfailureofthesepatients,#
says Igor Koralnik at Northwestern
University FeinbergSchool ofMedicine
in Chicago, who studies dJseases that
infect the central nem>us system.
What about the new coronavirus? A few
report• claim to have found the virus Inthe
cerebrospinalfluid of people with covid-19,
which suggests itisgetting into the brain
and nervous system, says AvindraNath at
the US National Institute ofNeumlogical
Disorders and Stroke.
But there is a chance that the virus could
get Into a sample afthls fluid without
"Based OD the
evidence we
have, it looks
as if the virus
is entering
the brain"
affectingthe bnUn. Ifthevirus is ina person's
blood, this might contmninat:ethe sample
taken during a spinal tap, for example.
It ls also possible that neurological
symptom1maybe caused by a ladofoxygen.
People who die with covid-19 have a lot of
damage to their lungs. The surfaces of small
air sacs beaime thickened, mating ithmler
for oxygen to get into the blood, says Sanjay
Mukhopadhyay at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Thia may also explain why those who
survive cavid-19 afterbeing treated on a
ventilator can show signs ofbraindamage in
scans, says Front.era..Thls damage it pmbabJy
a result ofthebrainbeing starvedafmcygen.
The body'sownimmunerespometo
an infection could alJO be to blame fur
damage to the brain.An ovm-eaction of
the immune system can lead to what is
known as acytokine storm-an extreme
activation ofimmune c.ells that can lead to
more inflammation, and damage organs.
But based on the evidence we have so
fa?, it ls reasonable to assume the virus is
getting Into the brain, says Nath. Ifthat
is true, !tisvital we learnhow the virus is
attactingthe brain. ,twill make a huge
dilierence [to b.owvretn:atpatienuL# be says.
At the moment, many antiviIW. treatments
being developed for covid-19 will focus
on getting the medication to the lungs.
Getting drugs to the bnUn is an entirely
differentc:hallenge. For a start, any
treatments will have to cross the blood-brain
barrier-a protective layer Inthe brain that
controls what cangetin. Most drugs can't
do this. ,twould be a totally different
treatment approach," says Nath.
Ifthe virus is accessing the brain, it could
havelong-term neumlogical.consequences.
We know that some viruses can hide in
neurons, reactivating to cause disease later
lnlife. Herpes simplex viruses, for example,
typically cause cold sores or genital blisters.
Butln some people, they can trigger
inftammation ofthe brain. Once a person
bas beeninfected, the virus lays lowin their
neurons and can reactivate throughout life.
,t's not impossible that [theooronaviru.s]
could have the same kind ofpersistence in >
JOMllJ':1C1110INR11c1mt11tln
the brain," says Talbot. "We have seenOC43 temporary. butother people experience
and 229E In the brains ofhumans, and the lasting disability and it can even be fatal
virus seems to be hid.Jng there-it's possible There is growing evidence that Gulllain-
that upon reactl.vation they could cause Barre can develop in some people who
neurological disease." recoverfromoovic:l-i9. So far, there have
Some neurologkal.effects are likely been reports ofthi1 in several countries.
to have a lasting impact on people who Poreomple, across thn:e hospitals in
recover from covid-19. Strokes and seizures northern Italy. over a thn:e-weekperiodin
can ause brain damage with long-term March, docton notM five cases ofGuiilain-
consequences,for example, and many of Barre out ofbetween1000and1200 people
those who experience such outcomes will treated for covid-19. "That'svery significant.
need follow-up care and rehabilltatlon. About a thousand times more than what
The virus could also cause longer lasting you'd expectinthe population [in the
secondary problems. Some might be in absence ofcovid-191" says Koralnlk.. "We're
the form ofpost-viml fatigue synclronies. probably going to see many more sw:h cases.•
There is also concern about Guillain-Barre It lan't clearwho is atrilk ofdeveloping
syndrome, which is characterised by poorly neurological symptoma or seconduy
functioning peripheral nerves. "It's like an disorders. But what is clear is that many
ascending paralysis," says Nath. "It starts people who are hospitalised with covid-19
with the feet and goes up." Somecases are and then recover will need to be followed up
by healthcare providers, possiblyforyears.
Some of Prontera's ventilated patients
are already showing signs of severe brain
damage. "The possibility ofthem waking
Organ impacts up seemJ extremelylow,N she says. The
prospects for less~ affected.people
are still unclear. "We'ze stillleaming about
Covid-19ilfhtnl at th. . people.,. Intact 11191111 lsariottw covid:' she says. "It will take arew months
fanmolta.._.ofthe dylngwlth multi-Grgan qmstion.Organ fallin before we have agoodideaofthe prognosis."
atnnps, c:austng llMlnl fallw.,suchmdmnage fnlquantlr rlllUHs from Apart from a tl!mporary loss ofsmell and
harm Iii the lungs. ta the heart and lhnlr. ..mus 111..-, attana taste, most ofthe neurological effects seem
Butdactars hawtbmn Whdll galng an? •result of u.
actions of to onlyoc:rurln very severe cases ofcovid-19.
-*1g llgnsatdarrage It ii paalllle Hultthe the body's own lmnu1• Although we don't yet have exact figures,
right acraa the bodr. m.bel*'dcouid-1911 ""9'n· v.ntilltld l*IPll, it seems that only a very smallfraction of
Whlllt hDlpltU want Nldllngmultlpl90fllftl lhll!ling to gat anaugh people experJence damagetotheiI brain and
...,,ptlngto ....... bf tnMlllng thraugh the caygen lnlDIhm blaad, nervous system. But it is possible that. for
tMnLllTIMr atVllltllatDn lllDDdlham.uy1SanJay 111'11 Pll'lk:IEllr lltltlk, some people, brain effects will be lasting,
tMyhad, thar"1oW'll M~lltthe sa,sMukhapad~ says Nath. nBrain diseases can really affect
nmrmg autatdla~ls CllMlland Clmk In Ohla. "Whan people dlMllap who we are -theycan change ourpersonality,
lllUIPIMlltfar cavlll-19 Thavlrus II knuwn ta 981 ttllltd19rwaf 111119r11 can affect the waywe walk and move and
patlenls axpertancmg lnlDthaUl!ll.'Wt*ltlmvll. Miii ~ury, """' atllll cause all kinds oflong-term consequences,"
lddnartallura. rich blDGd -.ir."'1t'11¥11Y Ol'lllftlflll.•IMI says. --rNa he says. "llven lfit's only In a small percentage
~I wyforU..~iSto ilnotunlqueto mvkL• ofindividuals, the devastation can be quite
problems have been.., 91t Into fl• blooclstl'llftl,· Paflaloglmlndudmg phenomenal We should not take it lightly." I
too.And while mlftV NI S11V1- "Onm tblvlrwl M1*hapadhyay,. . naw
.,..,.,.. .,. Ulaught ta dill IsIn the blood, It ran be9h1lngtDkH*farthe
tram a ladtat caygenatad eetto anr organ.• Pl8l8rlDI at thlvlrus Iii Jessie.a HarTlZ21aJ is a New
blDGd •a l'lllUltat""*' WhlltlBthavlrus Is ...... danatad br people Scientist ieporter. Follow her
breatlmg cll'lkullles,,same dftcttydilllrlilllhl thlll8 whodllldwlththadilua @jesshamzelou
 WI U U fl; l llUllU l i U•

lllil 111111

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 Features

Lost meteorites
of the Antarctic
Space rocks canying crucial clues to how our world began
could be hiding in Earth's most extreme wilderness,
says Joshua Howgego

BEEP IOunded in Katherine Joy's

A earpieceandalightftashedonher
handlebardisplay. The metal detector
dragging behind hermowmobileha.dfuund
somethingburied inthe thick:Antan:t:ic ice.
She dismounted. Could this finally be it?
A convoluted storyhad brought Joy
and her fellow treasure hunters here,
700 tilometres south ofthe Biitlsh.Antarctic
Survey's HalleyVI research station. You might
say the stmy started4-5 billion years before,
as a result, probably. of a massive star going
supernova. Its rumbling shockmm: caused
a cloud of dust and gas laced with heavier
elements to begin to collapse in on itself,
eventuallyforming the sun and the planets,
moons, asteroids and, eventually. other
components of our solar system, like us.
For decades, research.era have been
hunting for pristine material from these
tUibulent times to better understand
exactly how these processes oa:urzed.. Joy
and hercoll5gues had ft!ntured out into the
Antarctic wilderness fellowing a hot leadto
fill a crucial gapin thetale: the mystezy of
the missing meteorites. What they found,
however, wasn't one mystery, buttwo.
Meteorites are time capsules from the solar
system's birth. They are mostly fragments of
uteroidJthatorbitbetweenManandJupfter,
plus the occasional unsullied piece ofthe
moon orMarsthat has come unstuck and
croased Earth's orbital path. These >
Anattm rnataarita
Ispludald from 1111
Antadlclm
DUSTING THE
ROOFTOPS
lranmlllHlltBarm'tlManlJbftsal..-.
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-.,,.ie.r,-.Earllllbarnblnllllbr
CDl.nll8anma...-.... Em! llftllllllllr
...... of•fullllap, but. ~wartll
....,. ...... ..-..i.... 10otann-.
A•w1anllnown•lhe~
Ao1»1111011~--sm11
partlda9.. llldlld 1n.....-u....
pamtlalr~ Elllth'lallllt. lllmm
al6*•mm•fram•wlderlPIMdof
the...,
spam. TbllJlmgin•mlldl brmdlrt'ml
l'artha chlllllltry al .i.r......
ttanmndmd lllBlllarllll,wllk:hllllllJ
CDIMfnnn lhe .....Id bllt....... Miis
n1.-n.."l'll9lllfti1•abelwn
IDDkln1llt,........... "*'°.........
11lllmlm*lng llt a pllm al lhejlg-.ar
IDDklng lltth• whale puzzte,•..,.Mlltlh•
Ganga at hparlal Clllllgal.andan. Butbilr
Ila m.a. Ian hardtatlnd.
IEnlwanaaf Nmw.,"s rnmtfmllllllJuz
111.._Jan1Mm1.Whanmr1111Rhani
tvPlcdr1otopristine.,_IUCh • h
bottom of th• . .orAntll'Clfal to ODlect
1111laal---h•W111Cllllllllnmd..
muld_..thamllling•m111natwrappMI
In. plllltlcbag .....rooltaps al DllD.
and ClllltamdGanga larhalp.
l..._llmllmrtat....-.arapopulmr
amon1mnaarrm.ru11cw111111111,lllld
ann'tbat'UllllhPlla:mknnnillHlltBda
fallan ultlnrooHaps. But8*110doela
lotofoth•dllll lnhform of pollution,
1n1111nga.-mtara-nhra-.nlll8
•foal'sarm'ICI- ....,lni.nlonatflnt-ta
c:anvlnc:ahlnlthllwmabadldawlta
lmlmlr ...... hlnlgo...,,..,.Ganga.
Buta...mpanflllld,ICIMlngthraugh
thraa nillblsh llD'warth of mat.Ilk:
dust ha hadIXllllcl..a .....Anding Gal1lll
~oltll'lf. . . . .thatloollld
promlllng.SOmealthnllepntocaleh
Gangn9W11. ~1Mpmirhad
-.ISGOolwhat-...._.toba
mlaarmlmllm. Chemklll.....,.ala
sanipleal"81ndlralalthatallSOO..,.
......,tharaaldml.
..._._,.,..._..runsProjact
stmlult,aF.moall:mmmunltyol
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.......th.lrfindl. Etl9r10ollen,•
plduraafanawtpls......_.,..blt
. . blnlwntllng,•_,.Gan....And IM
1111nW1tnl,thenmllmlJw.arelD
find. bulJ..tlc:mlgratarrspedman:
llJ&mgnnidmlling,abaut1 lnSDDO
1nlcnlrn9lmrftm1nllll ariglnataaullld•
aur.... .,......lnll'llarmllar..-..
tallleWldmtllllJO...,_
fragments have existed more or less
untouched since bits ofrod: ftI'IJI: began to
aocrete ftom smallerdurtpartldes as they
wtrlrled around the infant sun. With their
chemisttyunadultentted bythetectonks,
volcanism and other violent processes of
Earth, they preserve vital clues as to how
the solid parts ofthe solarsystem formed.
we know lots ofindividual details about
what must have happened as bits ofrock
crashed together and aggregated tofonn
larger bodies, orsometimes split apart again
in the maelstrom ofthe early solar system.
Butwelack a convincing. unifying picture.
"We don't~ an equivalent of, say;
evolution bynatwal selection in planel:a?y
science rightnaw," says Luke Daly at the
University ofGlasgow, UK. "We don't have
a goodtheory that takes us all the way from
gu and dust to planetary systems."
Iron pilings
Meteorites come ina wide variety of
shapes and sizes, from the 60-tonne Hoba
met:eorite,discoven!dinNamibiain1920,
to the tiny specks of dust consWrtlyraining
down on ourplanet that present their own
dJft'lculttes to researchers (see uDusting
the rooftops", left).
The vast majority ofmeteorites found
worldwide are ltOny, made mainlyof dull-
looking silicate rod: ofthe sort that makes
up the bulk ofa planet like Earth. Then there
aft!the stony-iron meteorites, formed of
a mixture of rock and metal A striking
example ofthese is the Imilacmeteorite
that was foundin the Atacama desertin
Chile hundreds ofyears ago. Remnants of
it held in London's Natural History Museum
looklike dazzling slices ofextraterrestrial
stained glass.
Thethinl category comprises the iron
meteorites,madeofa:mllr:ofironand:nickel.
The Hoba meteorite is the largest known
example ofthis type, which is particularly
crucial1D undemanding the solar system's
origins. For a lump ofiron and nickel to have
formed, it must at some point have beenpart
ofa space rock that grew so lalgethat ita
innards melted, allowing heavy metals to
sink to its core and len dense rock to rise.
A similar process of difrerentiation
created Earth's dense, partiallyliqwd iron-
nic:kel core sumnmded by a mantle and crust
ofsilicate rock. The movingliqwd metal in
these early space rocks would have generated
a magneticfield. just as Earth's churning core
does today. Iron meteorites are fragments of
these early cores. Bylooting at preserved
traces ofthe magnetic fields now frozen in
them. we can work outhowlarge their parent
rod: murthave been -and 10 how, and how
quickly. the process of planet fonmrtion
progressed.
"They're a really enigmatic and interesting
group to study because they're the onJy
waywe canactuallythinkaboutplanetary
Interiors," says Claire Nichols at the
Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology.
"The more samples we can possibly get
our hands on, the more we canleam
about how planets work."
Whatever type of meteorite you are
interested in, Antarctica is far and away
the best place on Earth to lookfor them.
Its frozen surface is largely pristine and
untouched for millennia Interior glaciers
 '~tarc:tica
provides
two-thirds of
all meteorite
finds on Earth"

act like a conveyor belt, slowly carrying any

roc:b that fall on them down from the high
points ofthe East and West Antarctic
ice sheets towaids the Transantarct:ic
mountains, a range rearing out ofthe ice
that dMdes the two regions as it slices a.cross
the continent As the gladen butt up against
the mountlln rock, theyfuRE ice and any
space rocb trapped within it up to the
surface. EachAntard:lc summer, from
October to Februazy; teams from around
the world head south to harvest them. The
continent provides almost two-thirds of
verified meteorite finds made on Earth.
But here's the thing: discoveries ofiron
and stoey-iron meteorites, rBie at the best
oftimes, Bie almost non-existent in
AntairtiCL Why this shouldbe is a mystery
that has stumped many meteorite hunters,
and one that hampers our attempts to
construct a convinc:ing storyofthe early
solar system (see "Predous metal': page 44).
GeoffreyEvatt never intended to getmmd
up inthis problem.A mathematician at the
University ofManchester, UK. he began his
career developing models ofthe dynamics of
glaciersmainJybecausehelikedmountain
climbing and the outdoors. He first heanl
.Antmctka'smaiestk about the missing meteorites by chance at a
mcpansesmuld hid• scientlflc meeting. ~that point, I wouldn't
dlllS to the IOllr have known a meteorite lflthad hlt me on
systam's beginnings the bead,. he says.
Thingl really kicked offin 2012 when Joy;
an old friend and climbing buddy ofhis,
moved to the Unive:rsity ofManchester.
She justhappened to be a meteorite expert.
Discussing the mymry, Evatt.and Joy bit
upon a possible solution to the problem.
It went likethis. Metal meteorites are >

JOMllJ'-IN&Wlldmtlltlu

much betterat absorbing heat than stony
ones. AB the glaciers pushed them upwards at
the hue ofthe mountains, they would begin
to absorb mon: sunlight, warm up, meltthe
ice around them and slllt again Unlike other
types, metal-rich meteorites would remain
perennially trapped a few centimetres
beneath the surface. Inother words, they
aren't missing at all-just hiding.
Thepair tested the ideaby shining
sunlJght·simulating lamps on a stony and
an iron meteorite in ice. Sureenough. the
iron meteorite sank. "We'dgone from a
bonkerstheorytoapointwhereweactually
had evidence to explain the absence ofthe
iron meteorites,»says Evatt It was enough for
him andJayto secwe a grant to put together
a largerteam to build some kit-ametal-
detecling array commonly used to clear
landmJnes, adapted and towed by a
snowmobile-and go meteorltehunting.
By 2019, aftera testinthe Arctic and a first
reconnaissance trip to Antarctica. the search
was on in earnest "Meteorite hunting is the
best thing inthe world,» says Joy. "You're
rodceting up and down over this quite bumpy
surface, avoiding ice patches and looking
around.And when you spot a meteorite, you
kind ofjump, the heart lifts a little bit.•
Things didn't pan out quite as expected,
however. The metal-detectingrig got badly
bashed up by the bumpy ice, requiring
frequent repairs.And whilethe re&earchen
found lots of meteorites on the surface, about
130 ofthem alltold. they didn't discover any
inthe ice. Even that promisingm.ommt
when Joy's earpiece beeped was just one of
manyfaJse alarms, caused bya metal screw
that had fallen ot1'herrlg.
"The lost
meteorites
may have been
right in front
of our noses"
But there was an odd twlrtin the tale. Many
ofthe rocks are still on a ship headingback to
the UK for full analysis. but based purely on
appeanmce, there an: far more iron-rich
meteorites among the surlilce finds than
anyone expected. "It seems, in a very
preliminaryway, like we may well have
foundthelostironmeteorit:esofAnbm:l:ica,"
says Evatt •eutforthis particular area, they
were right infront ofour noses."
Which means there are now two mysteries.
1he first is why the resean:hen failed to find
any meteoritesbeneath the ice. It could be
Precious metal that their hypothesis and successful lab tests
Almost twla! ilS many meteorites nave been ledthemdownthewrongpath.orperhaps
found in Antarctica as elsewhere in the wOOd,
but rare Iron-bearing spectmens are their equipment troubles meant they just
lnexpllcably hilrd to find there hadn't sean:hed a wide enough area. The
second mystery is why, comparatively, they
lronald
slcnylron found so manyiron-rich meteorites on the
40,000 Z7D
surface when so many othersbefore hadn't
35,000
PlukefiDdl
30.000 The outerRecovery Ice Fields, as Evatt and
Jay named their stomping grounds, hadn't
25,000 been sean:hed before, and the discoveries
could be a statistialblip: the small area they
20,000 sean:hedmayhave just had a latgerthan
average concentmtlonof ironmeteorltes.
It mightnot say anything aboutAntarctlca
more gene:rally. Alternatively. it could
indk:ate some subtle shiftin the ice
10,000
dynamics, perhaps as a n:sultof climate
change-thoughJoy.forone,thinbthatis
5000 unlikely. as the effects ofglobal warming are
onlyjustbeingft!ltintheAnWrticinWrior.
0
OUTSIDE IN Beginning to find answers will require a
ANTARCllCA ANTARCTICA more conclusive analysis ofthe researchers'
haul "We haven't begun to ask these
 questions ourselves yet because we don't
knowwhat we've fbund." N)'I Joy. Whstever
the exact.mate-up oftbe meteorltes turns
out to be, however, planetary scientists are
rubbingtheirhands. "Giventhatthey've
just been sitting on the ice, they're highly
pristine, so I would argue these are more
wluable, probably, than a lot afwhatwe
have available at the moment," says Nichols.
James Bryson at the University ofOxford
agrees. '!would tol2lly be InterestedIn
getting hold ofthese meteorites oncetbey
have cluaifled them,• he says.
The question then becomes whetherth.e
tnm: is a fluke orifwe QUI find more ofthis
precious au-go. That will mean venturing
back intothefieldanned with whatever new
information the samples provide to infonn
the search. Joy says that she is currently
explorlng soun:e1 offunding for alonger-
teml programme, and that other teams are
welcometorepllcatethelrsearehequipmeirt
and go foraging on the k:e thelOlelves.
Ifthat happens, it won't be for afew
months yet AsAntarctica slips into the
depths ofits winter, no one is venturing out
to the lonely interior glaciers for answers
right now. Buttheir slow movements will
latmavem111tsdlum continue to churn more rocb from the
mlltllalitestowardsthe dawn ofour solarsystem down towards the
feet DI the Transantardlc mountains. When wintertuma Into summer
mountains once again. some more couldbe justwaiting
for someone to pick them up. I

Joshua HOIMJl!!JO is a featurl!S

editor at NewScientist
Book extra.ct Neuroscience
FINDING YOUR
PHYSICAL INTELLIGENCE
Our brains' fluid interactions with the world around us are aunderstudied element of
human success - one best appreciated in the wild, says neuroscientist Scott Gratton
ow do you decide ifyoucan drive through a
H snowstorm? How hlgh are you willing to climb up
a ladder to change alightbulb? can you prepare a
dinner partyfor eight? When was the Iaattime you
discovered a shortcut through a forest?
For all these challenges, there is only one way to find out
A person needs to devote some time, energy. and physical
engagement Smart talk, texting. virtual goggles, reacling,
andzationalising won't get the job done. The hands have
to be on the wheel ofthe art.o learn the feel ofslipping
tyres. The feet need to be balanced on the ladder rungs to
detect the tipsiness. The cook has to already know howto
chop, fry, and combine four complicated recipes so they
are allflrushedbya Dl!rtaln time. Findinga shortcut
through the forest demands vigilance, courage, and the
abllityto keep one's wits, partlrularly at that moment of
self-doubt when the journeyseems more like a longcut
than a shortcut
Skills such as these are informed by "physical
intelligence": the components ofthe mind that allow
anyone to engage with and change the world. Inside the
bJain there is no single module or bit oft:iasue that makes
this possible. Instead, the action-prone mind draws on a
multiplicity ofcapabilities. Some are almost primordial in
theirsimplicity.Howcomeyoudon'twalkintowallsoroff
of cliff'edges? Others are quite subtle. When you take on a
new do-it-yourselfproject, bow much ofyour problem.-
solving relies on old habits, winging it, orcareful
reasoning?
Our psychologlcal intuition about how the brain works
inevitably places verbal thought and all the stuft'we can
talk about. such as our emotions, atthe top ofthe heap.
Physical intelligence, whichis largely inaa:e11ible to
conscious introspection, is treated as a lower form of
intelligence, something to be tuclred beneath the verbal
and largely ignored. Butphysiallintelligence is much
more. It is foundational, a kind ofknowing that frames
much ofwhat the mind spends itstime engaged in.
Indeed. the fact that 10 much ofphyaical intelligence can
be perfonned beyond consciousness is the wry design
featurethatfree1ourthought1sowecanspendourday
thinking about social affairs, work. and the world ofideas.
Under all the verbal chatter ofthe mind. much ifnot most
ofwhat the brain is actually dealillgwith is the raw
physicalityofbeing alive.
For many of my colleagues who study the mmd. the very
notion that physical action also requires some intelligence
diaws a blank stare. Theyfucus on thinking and
perceiving. Other than ears and eyeballs, the body is
largely irrelevant for their kind ofscience. However, to
study a mind without abody Ignore• some ofthe greatest
pleasures ofbeingalive: experiencing the world directly, as
we perform and create. Mypatients point this out to me
time and again. As they lose various physical capacities
they also lose bits oftheir deepest sense ofself.
One ofmy patient1I was a farmer in south Georgia with
advancing Parkinson's disease. There came a sad day when
I had to take his driver's license away. Driving bas a way of
projectinga person intothe physical world. providing a
dizzying sense offreedom. For good reason. then, the
farmer was severely depressed wben he lost his privilege.
However, he was not to be dete:m:d. Denied one ofhis
greatest joys, he found an intimidating but satisfactozy
substitute: he could stilldrive his oversized bulldozer
aroundhis farm. For him, thinking. philosophising, and
ieasoningwould never offset the 1heerjoy of getting out
and about in his vehicle. Even Stephen Hawking yearned
for action. He once commented, "Obviously, because ofmy
disability. I need assistance. But I have always triedto
oven:ome the limitatioDB ofmycondition and lead as full a
life as pouible. I have travelled the world, from the
Antarctic to zero gravity."
The hidden nature ofphysical intelligence poses a
problemfor the scientist Howcan these capacitiesbe
exposed for what they are? To a certain degree, all of us are
constantlysem:hingforthem.Wearediawnlikem.oths >
to aftame whenever we witness physical brilliance,
when brain, mmd, and bodyopemtetogetherwith
llllgular grace, as is sometimes evident in sports, dance,
cmft, or music. However, a scientistfocusing only on
superb physical talent can be led astray. It would be as ifshe
were trying to understand language by onlystudying
winners ofspelling bees. All ofour physical intelligenc:e,
not justthat of outliers, needs to beexplained. Look closely
at the barista, the kid playing hopswtch, or the :tloor
mopper and you will soon begin to notice physial
brilliance everywhere.
Long ago I discovered that some ofthe most Important
components ofphyticalintelligence, the ones that are
genezalisableand relevant for all ofus, are laidbare when
one is alone in the natural world, particularlyin the
wilderness. Venturing into wild places requires enormous
ingenuity and resolve. It is the primordial worldwe
originated from as a species,and thus it makes sense that
the cognitive capacities that are of greatest value fur goal-
orientedbehaviour should come to the forefront there.
I make a yearlytripintothe wilderness alone, to the
Siena Nevada.A good wildern.e111 trip needs t:lm:ethinp
forthe properties ofphysical intelligence to be evident.
The first is obscurity. Although I had left a map and a
detaileditinerarywithmywife,Ichangedmyrouteonthe
seconddayofmytrip.Ifanyonewentlookingformeusing
the map I hadgiven her, she would probably scouran area
that was more than twenty miles away, beyond two glacial
divides. Mobile phones don't work in these parts. And the
Parle Service is so understaft'ed, the likelihood ofbeing
rescued in a crisis is abysmally low. Without any ofthese
lifelines, a relatively simple hildng trip can suddenly
become a profuundly intense and complex aperience.
The second feature is llOlitude. On such a trip, there is
none ofthe wonderful chatter and distraction that
dommates the closeness and pleasure ofan outing with
family and friends. Without these entertaining social
connections, a solo trip results in an utterlyclifferentkind
ofexperience. It is not a lonely one. Rather, the solitude
provides time for re:tlectionand an opportunity to
examine the kind of intelligence that infonnedhurnan
action as our species evolved. Inaddition. a trip alone
completelychanges the stakes and perceived.risk. There is
no confusion about responsibility. Thetmveller owns all
his or her decisions.
Roughness is the third feature. The familiar world is
stripped bate; the setting isprimordial. The landscape is
open and stretches forever, withbarelya trace ofhuman
lnfluence. For more than1.3 million years ofevolutlorwy
history, this was the ordinary world. There were no level
sidewalks, wann houses, or hlgh-rise luxuries. Nothing
mitigated risk, eliminated hazards, or minimised effort.
Our ancestors evolved in a world that was nothing but
wilderness. This landscape endowed our species with
:remarkable ways ofseeing, interpreting. and acting in
chailenging environs. With that in mind, when I take what
are relatively hazardous and unknown explorations into
the mountains, I get to experience a very crude simulation
ofwhat being alive was like long ago. Survival is
paiamount and one is ever mindful ofit
We didn't emerge as a species sitting around. We
wandered far and wide. into locales that ue almost
unimaginable. To really understand phytic.al intelligence,
you need to wander. On a previous trip, I climbed one of
the southernmostfourteen-thousand-foot peaks ofthe
range I have spent my life roaming in. It was a verylong,
steep, ten-mile ascent requiring a windswept traverse far
above the shelteroftrees andrunning water. Just before
the summit, I was surprised to ftnd an obsidian arrowhead.
The setting was desolate, remote, and cold. For many
scientists, the arrowhead Itselfwould have been critical
The objectrevt:als something about the cultural
intelligence of thehwrter, his best tecbnology; available
resoun:es,andtradingnetwork. Theobjectcouldhave
beenleftthere two hundred or nine thousand years ago.
What interests me is not the specific manufacturing
 advances revealed by the arrowheador how big the trading
network must have been fur it to shew up in the region.
For me, it's rather the ridiculous location where I found
it. The owner probably would have been a Paiute Indian
who stalked a deer ormountaingoat all the way to the
summit, the far side ofwhich ended in clift's, etrectively
funning a trap. The hunterhad readily climbed through
this massive. unforgiving landscape at will. with stunning
competence. To me he is amazing not fur his tectmology
but fur his sustained confidence in stalling, tiacking, and
climbing over increasingly rough terrain while intensely
exposed to sun, wind, or mow. All for dinner. When I roam
through the middle of nowhere, the kind of intelligence he
and countless generations ofancestors drewon becomes
easier to appreciate. The point ofmytrips is to wander
through an environment that makes the natural
relationships between thinking and acting obvious.
To get a good glimpse ofwhat people were like when
physical.intelligence was honed. one has only to lcok to
the "lcenum,n Otzi, a mlllllmified hunter who died five
thousand years ago justbelow a high mountain pass on
the current Austrian-Italian border. Otzi's remains are
on display at the SildtirolerArchiologiemuseum in
Bolzano, Italy. along with his fur-covered beill'5k:inhat,
goatskin clothing. copper-tipped axe, backpack. fuod
scraps, medicine, fire-starting tools, and longbow. Only
five feet three inches tall and with an entirely ordinary
albeit fit physique, he readily travelled alone and self-
sutftcientlythrough the middle ofthe Alps. He could smelt
copper. Take down a large elk. Fabricate Neolithic blades.
Travel over glaciers without getting frostbite. He yields a
startling view of ow past. What we ronsiderto be
~ extraordirwy-livingin an Alpine wilderness-was
~ entirelyonlinazy at the time. Otzi relied on a complex of
Ii mental capacities that allowed himto adapt bis behaviour
~ constantly to meet the demands ofan extreme and lllghly
~ varied environment Ironically, what led to bis demise was
Ii! nottherigourofan extreme mountain environment;
it was someone shooting an arrow into his shoulder.
The basic propertiesof the mind that kept ancestors
likeOtzialivecontinuetomanifestth.emselvesinallofus.
A rommon thread is the specialrolethatleamingpla:yl in
funning this kind ofintelligence.The mental capacities
that are used for action are, mare than anything. dllrerent
kinds oflearning machines that the brain has available for
acquiring and maintaining physically derived knowledge.
Physical intelligence is absolutely ruthless in requiring
that knowledgebe gained from dllect physical experience.
This is profoundly different from, say, the instantaneous
remembrance ofa face, name, or phone number. Rather,
physical intelligence reflects learningprocesses that
constantly tinker with a person's performance. One never
stopslearning to cook,to drive, or even to walk, for that
matter. It is alJo a knowledge thatia lost from disuse:
without practice you will fall on ice or offladders.
The world Otzi navigated was physicallychallenging and
compla. chara.cteriaed by palpable tension arising from
an inability to predict whatmight happen and few means
fur main-.taining control Here were perfect conditions for
improvising. inventing. and enduring some ofthe most
rigorous demands ofthe wilderness, which lay at the heart
ofwhat shapedphyli-al intelligence fur aeons. Although
the wild is unrontrolled. pey,icalintelligence provides the
means to establish a sense ofcontrol Humans acquire
their skills and learn to solve problems through constant
physical experimentation.That was as true for Ot:zi as It is
for us. There is no end to the sensing. adapting.
anticipating, and accommodating that must take place fur
a person to act intelligently. It takes practice and know-
how to do even the little things in life: to stay upright on a
slipperysidewalkinfrontofyourhomeortoknow
whetheryou can still climb aladderwithoutfallingolf.
And most ofall, physical. intelligence provides the means
fursperiencingthe pwejoyoffiguring outhowto do
something fur the first time, whether it is building your
first campfire or catching your first fish. I

Cryptic crossword #32 Set by Wingding
ACROSS
7 Involve part ofplacenta illu5tration(6)
8 A beast of burden Isaacanalysed, initially
finding a lack of oxygen(6)
9 Study concerning origins of
as1ronomlcal data (4}
10 Family gets into Sinatra song where we
play among the stars?(5,3)
11 Complex chilrader once INisceratad by
detective and tailless cat (7)
13 Second car for Elin Salman, rnaybl2 (5)
15 Group collect stockpile, we hear (5)
17 Report in poor taste about something
golngfasterthan llght(7)
20 Baked oompets, a phenomenon that
fa!idnated Newton (8)
21 Have a itink when Newtoo is expelled
by motion (4)
22 You and Ileave European country with
student of stars (6)
23 Heads of Tesla and lWitter tussle Oller
offen5lve display (6)
l'eedbmdi:
It's DOt:mdcf!!lldence,
lt'saeupbemlsm,.
pbupl.lnthe Bkypss
Scribble
zone
Answers and the
next quick crossword
nextweelc
DOWN
1 Addition of gas under queen (6)
2 Newtoo embraced by dismal musklans(4)
:S Lousy PM getting dizzy In high place (7)
4 Sallboats change direction: left south (5)
5 Nothing Interruptswork on arithmeticfa'
Newton, perhaps (8)
& Leudne, irrl'nunoglobulin and DNAunravelling
a molecule that binds1tl a receptor(6)
12 Isaac Newton doesn't understand chemisby,
early revieWers said atfll'St, refelTing 10
activating molecules (8)
14 Mother Insect, an enonnous creature (7)
16 After surgery, sit and resist (6)
18 Prayer for son among the stars {6)
19 Working class person's job under pressure (S)
21 Hole in the grol.l'ld accommodates most
crtlS5V«lld ~ilers (4)
~ng aroundfhe perimell!rfram square 1 ls a
quora attributed ID Cl sci~ describing hlmself
Quick quiz #53
1 Dn30May1971,NASA's
Martner9 pmbewas launched.
Wherelsltnaw'?
2 Native 1oBrazll's norttH!astcoast,
Callilhfix.iacdlUs is an l!llilmPle cf
what sort of primitive monkey with
a small brain, claws rather than
tcenails and no wisdom tedl?
:s •ee less curiousabout people and
more curious about Ideas.• Which
radlochemlst said this?
.. Bikini A1oll, the site cf 2 3 US illom
bomb tests between 1946 and
1958, belongs to which country?
s caused by a mutation in a gene
that makes the ccnnective protein
flbrtllln, what ooman genetic
disorder charactertsttcallyresutts
In very long arms, legs, fingers
anc:ltoes?
AnsweIS onpage 54
Quick
Crouword#58
Answers
ACAIDSS l Blue-fooled boo~ II Marram,
10Dude test, 11 BH decay, 14 Geier,
17Alpha Centaur!, 20 Methylene bkle,
23 B N"no, 25 lsostuy, 28 E'dgeways.
211 Leooid, 30 Duded JllOPl!ller
DOWN 2 Lean In, :S Earl!d, 40hmlc,
S Todill\ 8 Decagon, 7 Octa~ 8 Ytterbllm,
12~1J Alate, 15 Louse. 181 Am
l.SQend,17Actin,18Ewn.s,l!l~US,
21Lecpad.22 C.sph!, 24 Inert,
25 ~SAR, 28 OxUp, 2 7 lloU
Ourcmuwmdsare
DOW IOlvahleonline
newvfen+itt mm.-\:louao2da
JDMllJ-1 Newldenlllll B
The back pages

Tom.Gauld Puzzle
for New Sdentist set by Rob Eastaway

#61 Triple jump

DAMMIT! ~VEN PROFESSOR
-"Mr Auntla CannlaJust
w1u;oN'S FAILURt.S ARt MORE hid tlfllletl. thNelqsi"
IMPRHSIVE T'rl~N MINE. "Wow, how aid isllw1"
•1 dln'IO, lbutlhe's rallyald."
•oa yaut111n1ct11e _.aves
wlll llRl'mkh ..-1u,a..
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dapendlan howold Iha ii rrtM.•

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aid llgl, what . . the chanms
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th1 future whan th1 ages Df thl
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a whole runlllr.t

Twfsteddoodles Answer next week

far New Scientist

Quick #6o Mexican standoff

quiz#53
Answers
Solution
B.Jmbling ha5 a 78 percent chance
lltlssttllorbmng ofsurvMno. The beststrategyfor
Mars. The pidle
completed its mission ead1 shooter Isto take outttlelr
mappng1heplanets strongestrival first so Good should
surfacen 1972,but alm first at Bad, whlle Bad and
NOW TM IN A is projectedID11.Jm lk.lmbllng should aim at Good.
up in the Martian
HoMf OFFICf atmosphere anly
The chiillce that Bad will get
In 2022 tmiugh ttle'fnt ro1.11d is only l per
cerrt. so we will be close to the ri!lrt
NASA ZMarmoset answer if IM2 canttlat mro. Good
o ,.--:-io 5 Marie Curie
only SlJ1'VNes if Bad and &.imbling
o b§._J[j bath mlss him, 0.33 x0.66 "'0.22,

• 4 lheMarshal
lsland5
or a 22 per cent chance. If Good
does survive, he is almost certain to
klll ~bllng In the second round.
BAM! lM BACK IN (OMMANOE~ . Jon 5 Marfan.syndrome
Therefore the chance that
<;PACE 1. Pie~ A e~cl<G~OOND lk.lmbling will surviw is 100 - 22 =
AND GIVE US 1'HE 78 percent. The I per cent chance
of Good missi'lg Bad slightfv l~rs
SPACE' STATION UPDATf Bumbling's d'lances of survival.

~ ~wist~ddooJfes
 The back pages Feedback
Umolvablepuzzle (g)
Our thalm tD Aldad Wlllb far his
amaD enquiring abauttha puzzles
Rdlan Dl'tha NawSdanftst
Wlbl"9. -.m glad tD 111,...
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Euphemismatism
Some weeks ago, Feedback
hit.ched up the reader engagement
wagon and pamdedthrough the
streets ofthis column asking for
your best examples ofscientific
euphemism. Many thanks to those
ofycu who replied, often with
unprintable specimens.Among
a particularly strong showing we
are deeply gratefulto ScottMcNeil
for reminding us ofthephnse
~rapid unscheduled disassembly':
variations ofwhich have been
used.fur decades byrocketly
pioneers to descn1Je ahll7.ald of
the job.As Scott puts it: nSo much
simpler to say 'the rocket blew up'."
Time aftertime
nna t'lllS like 111 .ruw,t11a ~
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Wei,..,,....,. tlmeflill In odd
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a modal yaldng thl's llDwtD
tha pu110c; raliltlons nlllds of
th1 g1Mm11nant DI' GamgiL
Takingthe pi
Ifyou can't do something
eft'ldently. Feedback always sayw,
then do 1t1neflidently-butwtth
style. That'twhywedoft'ourhats
(in a roundabout fubion
involving two crocodile clipsand
a handstand) to MITpostdoccarl-
Johan Baster, who has devised
what must be the least practical
and most costly method yet
known for calculating pi.
Pl, as everysch.oolchildoru:e
knewbut has forgotten since
the start ofhome-schooling, is a
mathematiw constant ofinfinite
digits often approximated as 3-14
in order to save paper. It can be
calculated in many1ngenl.ous
wayt. with ita value known to
well past the So tr.Dlionth digit.
Ina recent paper uploaded to
the preprint website arXiv, Haster
attempted to gildthe lily. As a
cosmologiston the UGO/VIRGO
collaboration, he had access to
data from three incredibly precise
interfemmeters hunting for
gmvitatlonal waves 1n the cosmos.
By doing a little light-ftngered
analysis, he could plead ignorance
ofthe value ofpi and allkthe
universe to tell him what itwas.
The answer, he revealed, was
3.us (give or take about 0.06).
InFeedback's view, using
multibillion-dollar apparatus
to produce an answer that c:ould
be bettered by a freehand drawing
ofa circle is inefficiencyofsuch
monstrously stylish proportions
that we stand in awe.
Amusicalintelligence
Swttmmg fnm1 stylilh ilwffidalltY
tD~PIOP9!'1Dr•
ll'IDmlnt, thl EWaViliDn IDng
mntast Is a ltllpl9 al Faldback's
springtime tlllllvlllan schlcllM.
This year, alas. the pleasura aar
,._haurexarcill lntha dauza tlm11
tablawmdanlad m bJtbe global
pmndamic. But,)'Ullwill bitplalld
to bar, thatdl*i't stop us fnm1
lll'liOYlnl some dmit a.opop.
lb mlncida with tha datesthllt
thR lllllllcflltlval Wiil ldladullld
ta be hlld In Rottmlam,.a Dutch
braadcastarran • mnlllstfartha
bait Al-praducad mng. Wall, 1hnm
that It's Euravillon, "best" might not
blttha prapar mtedfvL W. IUPIJOll
lhllt EW'Ollisionlast would bit more
app'Gprilrta. Th• wimlng antry,
produaid II'/ Aultrllllan tltllm
tnannyYllllay, Is a dask: al thR
gann. f.aledAfmtlallbu, lyrics
lnduda "If this ls just a *8ilm f Don't
wake ma In bahna1 / l mun ItI
Yau Hiid IG manytim11 f Butright
~h Dn•f I rucl It":
Oii hang on - IPOID!lill, that
was actuallrRomania's 2020
antry ta EWaViliDn ltlalf, Thi ral
Al mastl!rplllCll, callld 8llautfful',...
1Mllfd,nms: "'dreamsstll llft on tile
wings ar happtness9; Much 11111
arnbmasslng.
Name game
OUr elec:troniclarder cupboanls
are overflowingonce again
with the self-raisingflour of
yournominative detenninism
submissions. Feedback is
overjoyed to learnofthe existence
ofarcb1tect: and urban visionary
Carolyn Steel, Radio 4food
joumalilt Dan Salaclino and
London-based estate agentLucy
Roome. Aspecial mention also
goes to Gwynne Shotwell, the
president ofsuccessful rodl!t-
lauru:bing company SpaceX. I
Written by Gilead Amit
The back pages The last word
Why does fllllmtg In en.ms happen?
Yau can be drlfttnt off ta steep and
then the flleUng thatyau ant,.._
lllddanty bringsmu bade tu IHlilJ.
Do otlllr P9Clllle 811P911m a thil?
Madeleine Wolm.rfey
Surrey, UK
Overthepastfewyears, I have
experlenced ·s1eepfalllng",and
subsequently waking up abruptly.
on several occasions. Having
explored sleep science as part
of myunde!graduate degree, as
well as findingthatmanyothers
also •fall• intheir sleep, it appears
that you and I are not alone or
weird in experiencing this.
The feeling is triggered by an
Involuntarymusde movement
calledahypnic jerkthat oa:un
whenthe body is inthetnmaitlonal
stagebetween wakefulnes1
and light sleep, known as the
hypnagogic state.
When the body enters a state
of deep relaxation in preparation
fur sleep, this sensation c:an be
misinterpreted by the brain as the
body falling and therefore being in
danger. So the hypruc jerktnockll
youbackinto full consciousness.
One proposed aplanationibr
the linkbetween "falling" and
experiencingahypnicjerkin
the hypnajogic state isthat it is a
I1!:11.ex that improved the chances
ofsurvival fur our ancestcn.
Bxperiencing hypnic jerks
isn't considered to be abnonnal
or acauseibrconcem. but it can be
encerbated by the consumption
ofstimulants as well as by 1tre11S.
This is why people might
experience this strange but
hannless sensation at particula.rly
stressMpoints intheir lift!.
Stwe]aaf118
Head ofanatomy,
LeicerterMedicalSchoo! UK
!get asked this one quite a bit
when rm teachingneurosdence
to medical studenh.Myhypothesis
isthatltisrelatedtotheshutting
down ofthe sensory system as we
go through the stagesofsleep.
While awake, we are normally
Thts week's new questions
So mudl&tafl' }ustbowmucb.llluffis thell!l can we
estimate the quantity ofmatterinthe obsenahleUJdftme?
n!rtyDay,byemail
So long WhJdo llOllll! baln. llllCb.ID the eyebrows, onlyreach
a certalnlength.while thehairon yuurhead condnually
powalonprl MldlaefAmlnll,London,. Ontarto. Cm!ada
aware ofthe effuctofgravi:ty.
Forexample, sitting writing
this answer, I am conscious of
thepressureofthechaironmy
bottom, as well as the fact that!
can see that objects are orientated
correctlyalong an up-down axis.
Furthermore, my inner earuses
gravity to provide constant input
about the positionofmy head.
While falling asleep, a crucial
sensory relay station deep in
the brainknown as the thalamus
becomes inhibited. The thalamus
is thepathwaythrough which
llel'ISlltio111 become conaclOUB.
Ifthe brain doesn't receive
information on the direction
gravity is acting. it may conclude
that there must be no fi:m:e
pushing back against the body
from the floor (or our bed). This
is consirtentwtth weightlessness
OI free fall.
MattC'hamlng1
Bamstaple,Devon,, UK
One reason why the sensat:km
offalling causes us to wake
suddenlymight bebecause
our distant ancestors lived in
trees. Fallingoutof a tree Is a
serious health risk andfalling
asleepis a critical time when it
is mare lilrelyto occur, as the
body relaxes and shifts position.
A defence mecbanism that
wakes the sleeper when this
begin• to happen would be a
distinct survival trait that couldbe
passed on tofutUie genentions.
Evm though we no lo1J8er sleep
in trees, the mechanism might
still beat workinthe form of
dreams about falling.
Wttorfa Deal
Sunnulhu, Switzerland
Whatever the cause, the
phenomenon is certainly
widespread. The ancient Greeks
believed that Hadel'& armyof
oneiroi, Greek for dream demons,
were responsible for delivering
both visiolll and nightmares.
They liked to play tricks on
mortals by making them believe
theyw.:1dalling during dn:ams.
Want to RDd. us a qaesdon oram1llel'?
l•i llmailaaat~
Qastiam llhouldbl!!ahaul-Jd&Jlldena!pbenomena
Pulltenmlllldeondtfionaat~
Why do some hairs only
reach a set length but
others keep growing?
Antfaneral
I laftmi amptyplatk lillnlrr bullllt
onthelllwn. Later,lfttS«opped
dudcontPlnionl Into It.wi..
dD anti buythllirdud1
MIJrePollaws
SuttonCollfleld, WestMldlandl, UK
This behaviour is called
necrophoresi.s. It is common
among social insectslike bees,
termites and ants, which need
to remove corpses to prevent
the spread ofpathogens.
Ant rolonieshave specialised
undertakers for the task. They
usually canythelrdead to a
BOrt ofgraveyanl ort.ake them
to a dedicated tomb within the
nest. Some ants buryth.eir dead.
This strategy is also adopted by
termites forming a new colony
when they can'tafford the luxury
ofcmpsecuriers.
Like other insects, the corpse
carriers among the common
red ant (Mynnica ni&ro) aren't
issued with personal protective
equipment. They cannot even
wash their hands. However,
they do practise a funn ofsocial
distancing in onlerto limit
cross-wntamination by staying
outside the nest most ofthe time
orcongregatingnearthe entrance
when resting inside.
This cooperative behaviour
goes a step furtherwith the
Matabele ant ~neraanalia).
These ants lleDd. out raiding
parties to attack colonies of
termites on which they prey.
Ants that lose only one ox two
limbs in an atblckare evacuated
back to their nest where their
injuries are tended to until
they can litenilly getup to speed
again, adapting their locomotion,
readyforthenatfomy. I
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