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    Christmas

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    23 views92 pages

    New Scientist 17 24th Dec

    Uploaded by

    Jaka Štoka
    Christmas

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 92
    2022 IN REVIEW BM a) eet ee Bey Rack cid Fallout frony COP27 Rye t aS SHI, 1 a ee PAN Aad: cea aa ge. ; ) The hunt for the mysterious land of Punt... Board games go quantum... Vegan fine dining... Curious survival of the cassette tape... Could we spot a warp drive?. Chris Packham’s poo picture puzzle The mother of all sprouts... Noo S195 CANS399 QUIZ OF THE YEAR EXCLUSIVE FICTION FROM HUGO WINNER ARKADY MARTINE FESTIVE PUZZLES / OWN YOUR MIND BUSINESS Discover what makes you tick with How We're Wired, a brand new podcast that looks at what happens inside your brain — from before you were born through to death. Presented by anthropologist Dr Anna Machin, this series features real life stories, expert analysis, the latest research and at-home experiments that will open your eyes to the most fascinating organ in the human body. fondation bertarelli fondstion- bere ‘ _ ee Search for ‘How We're Wired’ and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. ieee Epi reccane Gieeeperteaes 1 © sox in This week’s issue Christmas & New Year special inna 5 Bi Eazy Welcome, dear readers to this hotday edtion of New Scientist. ‘Thisyear we have foryouthe search foralong-lastland, adventures close to absolute zeta, fiencshpuzzes,an exclusive short stor froma op sci-fi writer and (with apologies tomore sensitive readers) omepictures of animal poo for you toidentiy. Wedohopeyouenioy! Onbehalfofallofthe team at New Scientist, ay! also take this opportunity towish youa wondertulnolday season and ‘ahappy healthy and, of course scientifically robust 2023, Vol2s6 No 3417/18 Emily Wilson Cover image: Rob Snow New Scientist ecitor-in-chiet News Features ‘7 To the moon and back 50 The hunt for the (rion capsule splashes down bry mysterious land of Punt atte 26-day joumey ‘We finaly foundthe ancient Egyptians'landoflouries SCRISPR treatment Gir withleukaemiarecees ‘S3Hidden glory ‘gene-eting therapy ‘ofthe subnivium “The ie thriving under the snow 9.Could we spot awarp tive? ‘55 Vegan fine di Gravitational wave detectors Cordon bleu coking vthout might pickup spaceship thesidecrderafclate gut : ‘ssHow reindeer see Review of inthe dark the year tisalldownto thet incredible «Dour changing eyes 19 Tonga eruption ‘Themostexplesve volcano {60 Board games go quantum thiscentary How tbeat your fami sing ‘wantumpseudotelepathy 21 Global family tree Study showsthe lationshins 2What wreck! fathumaniy “Te story of aspecial shipwteck 22Fallout rom COP27 2ourmessages ‘Thenest dinate bate sofartodeep space ‘Andwhat any allensthat have 23 Rise ofxenotransplants heard them wilthinkof us Fast personreceivespigheart ‘6 Curious survival 26 James Webb's ‘ofthe cassette tape cosmic ory ee So ‘Why bia tech stores yourphotos Space telescopes amazing SS Ina suprisingly reto fashion Imagesofthe universe '53Deep anderisp and even Thebeautu—buttweatened ~subnivium 17/24 December 2022 |New Scents (68 Bizarre brassicas Where sorous and their ik really come from Features cont. 68 The mother of al sprouts Searchina forthe common ancestor ofthe sprout anditssster vegetables ‘70Be kind to yourself Wy stf-compassionis he key tocutvating generosity ‘72. Dutrageouslyazy animals Meet the lazy Geots" and discover how they getaway with idleness ‘74 Exploring absolute zero Howe reached the coldest possible temperature ~ and what's down there "77 Chris Packham's poo picture puzzle Holdyournose andengage your brain Views 21 The columnists ‘New Scientist's columnists gue their unique take onthe year SA Letters Details of frst language may belostforever ‘36 Culture short story Anesclusive science-fiction story by Arkady Martine alNew lenis 17/24December2022 46 Aperture A storm captured infulfury anda frozen NagaraFalls Festive fun 43 Cosmic challenge Canyoucrackourinterinkes space-themed puzzles? Backpages 81 Citizen science Fointhe Chrstmas.ind Count 2 Puzzles te bumper crossword ‘youreryptic cosswordand brainteasers 84Quiz ofthe year Canyauremember athe bigest science nevsof 2022? ‘86 Puzzle and quiz answers Fidouthow wallyouda ‘88 Feedback ‘Seasonal swings and ite noise ‘88 Twisteddoodles for New Scientist Picturing the hte side of fe Elsewhere on New Scientist Virtual event Wonders of the Arctic: Science on top of the world ‘Te Actcis harsh yet beautfulregin thathas fascinated scientists for centuries. JoinNew Scientists Rowan Hoaper for this ee talon theregorts wildlife and hawhumanscaudretreeze ice inthe ‘ctl We wil also hear from laciologistUyana HorodyskyPena who wiltetus about thelfeof a scientistinan texttemeervraneet.On 12 january 2028 at 8pm GMIT/3pm EST and ater on demand. newscientist.com/events Tours Endangered wildlife of Malaysian Borneo Explore Malaysia’ primary rainforests ‘and wetands teeming with rare species, lustas Area Russel Wallace did before \wiing is 1869 book, The Maloy Archipelago. Expect see orangutans, sunbears civetcals gibbons(pctzed), ‘Pinacerashombils and mare newscientist.com/tours Podcasts Weekly Pras hast Rowan Heoper speaks to ‘Shakespearean scholar Randall Martin ‘bout the surprising influence that climate change anda 16th-centuy energy crisishad on Shakespeare pays us the team ear the atest frm the COPS biadivessiy suit, Also over the holiday perio a special behind-the- scenes poccastlaoking a ur favourte featuresof he yea. newscientist.com/podcasts a | Print Subscription Sale The perfect Christmas present for yourself or loved ones cen terns y SAT COI CRU Get 5l issues of New Scientist delivered directly to your door all year round and save 45%” PUbCRoen tous newscientist.com/19385 RET AOE Sess ey yo ese BEL) The leader Another rollercoaster year War, high prices and extreme weather came with a green energy shift and space joy WHATa year. Atthestartof 2022, many were hoping {forareturn tonormality as vaccines allowed countries toend covid-ag measures (see page 24) Instead, Russia invaded Ukraine, triggeringor exacerbating many ‘other global crises in addition tothe terrible things happeningin Ukraine itself. Russia attempted toblackmail Europeby withholding gs, sending energy prices soaring talso prevented the export of grain and sunflower oil from Ukraine's ports, sharply hiking food prices, Along with the supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic~and from Brexit in the UK thisled tothe cost-of-living crisis that {affecting peopleall around the world, making it hard formany to.afford food and heating, Asleaders struggled to deal with this interlinked polycrisis,theheadline-grabbing promises made Inzoazat the CoP26 climate summitin the UK were Quickly forgotten. Instead of the agreed phasing down of coal, there wasa coal comeback as countries scrambled to find alternatives to Russian oiland gas, Yet this year, the reasons why itisso vital to limit global warming became more ebvious than ever. There ere many record-breaking droughts and heatwaves across the world (page), with China enduringby farthe most extreme heatwave ever recorded, the UK hitting 40°C (g's) forthe fisttimeand even Antarctica having extreme heat, relatively speaking (page 2). There were also major storms and flooding, In Pakistan, floods killed 1700, with the damage estimated ata staggering S30 billion. Demands for the high-income countries responsible for most global warmingto pay compensation to nationslike Pakistan hit by climate related disasters finally resulted in afund “al New Scemtst|17/24December20z2 being established at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last month, but the donations so farare minuscule. There was litte progress on other ssueseither (page22).On the contrary, itis becoming ever clearer that the world will passthe 15°C “limit” sometimein the 20305 and that the consequences could be even ‘more severe than currently forecast. ‘Meanwhile, as the global population passed the billion mark, thedestruction of nature continued apace, wth vital rainforests stillbeing cut down across the tropes and coral eefs bleaching once again. Yet instead of strengthening protections for nature, countries such as the UK tried to roll them back Then, theres the continuing threat from infectious diseases. This year, mpox {formerly called monkeypox) spread beyond Africa and infected atleast 80,000 people across the word, killing dozens. Itcould have bbeen much worse, The virus variant responsibleis seldom lethal and mostly spreads via sex. What's more, smallpox vaccines and treatments areelfective against it. But this outbreakcould have been avoided ifan _mpox vaccine had been developed and rolled out in the countries where the virus is endemic. Much more needs tobe doneto prevent viruses like this jumping topeople-next time, the world might not besolucky. Indeed, given the extraordinary happenings ofthe past few years, its hard not to wonder what fresh catastrophes 2023 might bring Yet thereare ‘many reasons fora certain optimism, too, For starters itlooks increasingly likely that, with the help of many other countries, Ukraine will take backall lts territory: This victory could lead to Vladimir Putin's cexitand seismic shifts in Russia, While Russians could pay ahuge priceand sucha change poses riskin former superpower with lots of nuclear weapons, Itcould lead to some positive outcomesas wel. ‘ARussian defeat would help deteraChinese invasion of Taiwan, which wouldalsohave many serious global impacts on topof the human cost of ‘conflict For one thing, Taiwan makes nearly allthe ‘advanced chips in our phones and computers, And China produces70 per cent of ll solar panels,s0.such ‘war could derail the renewable energy revolution, ‘Adiminished Russia may reduce its often ‘malign attempts to influence the West, which include resisting climate action and promoting scare tories about vaccinesand genetically ‘modified crops. Some in Ukraineare callingforthe ‘denuclearisation of Russia fits defeated, which, ‘while unlikely, would make the worlda safer place. Whatever comesto pass, Russia has, ironically, already done more to promote renewable energy ‘than climate activists ever could. Wind and solar have always been the green option. Inrecent ‘years, they have become the cheap option and now they are being seenas the most secure option, oo. That isa combination that fossil fuelscan’tbeat. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency made the biggest ever upwardsrevision, ‘of more than 30 percent, toits forecast for renewable ‘energy growth. The agency atributes this to security ‘concerns caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Another major boost for climate action will ‘come from the Inf “Russia has, ironically, done more to promote renewable energy than climate activists ever could” ‘piece of climate legislation passed inthe US earlier ‘this year. provides around $37obillion in funding for reducing emissions. {InBrazil, meanwhile, Luiz ndcio Lula da Silva has promised to reverse the destruction of the Amazon rainforest after he becomes president om January. ‘This year, the James Webb Space Telescopehas Drought us many stunning images, from the most distant galaxies ever observed to direct images ‘of exoplanets much closer to home (page 26). The telescope even spotted chemical eactions taking place in theat mosphere ofone exoplanet. tis our ‘best hope for spotting signs oflifeon other worlds But for now, Farth isthe only planet known to behome toife, Weneed to redouble our efforts to protect that life. The 15°C goal might now be beyond ‘and ls, but we must fight harder than ever for 16" 17°C,and every fraction of a degree after that. # jon Reduction Aet, landmark NewScientist het ncaa Wish PUBLISHING & COMMERCIAL, woos einai ee ee ecrultnent advertising ‘es fomn st 6.8 tanec ‘ratment Sle anager enn "ey couor manager Wo "aint teeedtenrosScetneneen rn ganty mene ero EDITORIAL orn cen hon awa igi ror Su “tie dzecorcro ane = Newser is on “nda Tso te ng porter ace ct ie ‘oct caes Wong hacen Sear aseeecar cs ome ae me — SS Tan atari eric ae Picard roecion Brodin cordlacee Coa New SceniS siater itu aan “cot ny a 8 pate eee ecentincom tori eyes Sr 270 Enatsusipioecoennct rent eed fre Fey Tips ah we Se IO fas December 2022|New Scientist 5 be ran 27-29 January 2023 Sea yt Mica Beli aey Dkr ea Meg eee ee ace ea) the UK. Take part and join hundreds of thousands of others, Me eet og ee one aCe Ute aecrcaty Sign up, connect with nature and make your birdwatch count. For your FREE GUIDE call 0800 473 0258 and quote BIRD24, text BIRD24 to 70020 or visit rspb.org.uk/birdwatch News Deepfakedetector OldestDNA Goingnownere Asteroid survivors ‘Unhealthy habits Atlearstospot Geneticanalysts Why youmay ‘Mammals were Smokingand Imitations of reveals Greenland’s nevergetyourown rimedtotake Arinkinglinkedto worldleaders pio ancient fauna pra selfdrivingear ps fovertheworld pug _geneticvariants pis ‘Space exploration NASA's moon craft splashes down The successful landing of the uncrewed Orion capsule sets up return trips that could see astronauts exploring the lunar surface once more, says Leah Crane STEPoneofNASASreturntothe itfipped upsidedowntoquickly _Everythingappearedtogowell The Orioncapsule mooniscomplete.On December, changeit centre of gravity, ‘withthe splashdown, which NASA recovered after theuncrewed Orion capsule poppingit back upwards by administratorBillNelsoncalled its oceantanding splasheddowninthePacific about 30 kilometres,nearlyall _ “theultimate test before we put OceanoffthecoastofCalifornia, thewaybackintospace,before __astronautsonboard’-Thenext carry twoastronauts tothe ‘completingits 26-day journey makingits final descent, stepisforspacecraftengineers _moon'ssurface forjust over ‘tothemoon andbackas part ‘Therearethreereasonsforthis atNASAtogothrough thedata__sixdays,includingthe fist ‘ofthe Artemis mission, manoeuvre: itallowedoperators fromthelanding tomakesure _womanevertowalkon he ‘Thereturnwasunlikethose _totargetthelandingsitemore __thecapsule—especiallytheheat moon, whiletwoothers remain ‘ofotherlunarspaceeratt.ithegan precisely:itloweredthe strain shieldheld upwellenoughto_inkunarozbit.ntotal, that trip asithurtledintotheatmosphere, ontheheatshield;anditreduced —beconfidentthatastronautson _isintendedto last about 30 day. ‘with itsheat shield reaching themaximumgforcesontheship the Artemisitmissionwillbeas __fitgoesahead, Artemis itt temperaturesofaround2760"C. bymorethangopercent. which _safeas possible. willbe the first timeanyone Butinstead of continuing will makefuture rion landings Thatroughly 10-day mission, _hassetfoot on the moon since toplungetowardsthesea,the _easierandsaferforastronauts. scheduled for2024,willcarryfour Apollo r7in1972.Itwillset ‘capsule performed what engineers astronautsaroundthemoonand — thescene forNASAS intensive callaskipentrybecauseofits “Thesplashdownof the ——back,toperformafinaltestof _ plans forlunarexploration, similarity toa stone skipped Orion capsule was the thecapsul’slifesupportsystems which ineludea space station facrossapond.Onceitreached _ultimatetestbefore we before ArtemisillThisflagship _orbitingthe moon along with ‘analtitudeofaboutérkilometres, putastronautson board” mission, plannedfor202s, will apermanentlunarbase. # 17/2 December 2022| New Scientist News CRISPR has promise for leukaemia Anexperimental technique led to no detectable cancer cells in one girl with the condition ‘Michael Le Page ATEENAGER with aggressive leukaemia nowhas no detectable cancer ellsafterbecomingthe first person to receiveanew kind ‘of CRISPR gene-editing treatment, calledbaseediting, Itwon'tbe clear for some years whether she will remain free of leukaernia, Alyssa (pictured) whois13 years old, hadn't responded to other treatments. As part ofatrial, she received adose of donated immune cells fromadenor that hhad been modified toattack the cancer. Twenty-eight days ater, tests revealed she wasin remission, accordingtoresultspresented “This treatment is. donorcan be usedto treat many attheannual AmericanSociety _ particularly promising, people. This method isapprovedin offiaematology meeting inNew not just for cancer, but theUK or people whoseleukaeria Orleans.Louisiana,lastweek. als for genetic disorders” involves B

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