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New Scientist, No. 3355 (2021-10-09)
New Scientist, No. 3355 (2021-10-09)
SUPERSIZED AI
Is human-like machine intelligence simply a matter of scale?
4 0
PLUS
MARIE ANTOINETTE’S LOVE LETTERS/PLANET WITH THREE SUNS/
SELF-CORRECTING QUANTUM COMPUTER /ARTIFICIAL WIND 9 770262 407374
This week’s issue
News Features
7 Delta in New Zealand 36 Big and clever?
Island nation begins to unlock News Gigantic AIs that write fluently
as coronavirus cases rise hint that scaling up could deliver
truly intelligent machines
8 Ivermectin buyers clubs
UK groups are trying to 41 Easy breezy
purchase an unproven Electric wind could save energy
covid-19 treatment and help us fight wild weather
Views
The back pages
23 Comment
We must harness our excessive 51 Science of gardening
influence on the climate to do Smart ways to water your garden
good, say Kimberly Nicholas
and Kristian Steensen Nielsen 53 Puzzles
Try our crossword, quick
24 The columnist quiz and logic puzzle
James Wong delves into
a maize meme mystery 54 Almost the last word
Are there advantages to
26 Aperture
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THERE are two grand ambitions now released by San Francisco-based OpenAI human-like reasoning (see page 36).
for computer science: truly intelligent last year that generates remarkably fluent Time will tell if the scaling hypothesis
machines and useful quantum computers. streams of human language on command. is right. In the meantime, it will be
Recent developments suggest not only GPT-3 is just a scaled-up version of GPT-2, interesting to see if the AI players with
that these goals should be achievable, but a similar predecessor. This new neural the deepest pockets, such as DeepMind,
that they could be closer than we think. network boasts an order of magnitude follow OpenAI’s focus on scaling.
Take the quest to develop artificial more parameters, equivalent to the However, when it comes to genuinely
general intelligence (AGI) – AIs that go useful quantum computers, there is no
well beyond being good at one specific “Truly intelligent machines and doubt that scaling is key – we are going to
task, but can instead do anything a useful quantum computers need machines with thousands of qubits,
human can. Some people still think this might be closer than we think” the quantum version of a classical bit.
is impossible. And yet analysis of AIs This is why the news that researchers have
designed to master human language has number of synapses linking neurons demonstrated a viable way to make sure
prompted other experts to suggest that in real brains, than its forerunner. those qubits don’t constantly fall prey to
AGI might only be a matter of scaling up Researchers who evaluate such errors is a big deal (see page 9). We might
current technology. Build gigantic AIs language AIs have been surprised by finally have a way to scale up the number
and true, human-level intelligence will just how much more advanced GPT-3 of operational qubits to what we need.
come, they say. is than GPT-2. It can do things it wasn’t There are still no guarantees. Even so,
This “scaling hypothesis” has come trained to do, for example, and there it seems that computer science is striding
to the fore largely thanks to GPT-3, an AI are hints that it might be capable of into the 2020s in rude health. ❚
A vaccination
centre in Auckland,
New Zealand
says on its website. The FDA also limited to the US. A crowd-funded In both a private chat and in
warns that formulations of campaign in the UK called the the public group, Woodroof
ivermectin for animals are often Ivermectin Approval Club has claimed to source the drug from
highly concentrated and may raised more than £40,000 in a bid a pharmacist in India and import
contain inactive ingredients that to gain MHRA approval for the use it to the UK. Prospective clients
haven’t been evaluated for use in of ivermectin to treat covid-19. seeking a supply of ivermectin in
the Telegram group purport QUANTUM computers aren’t yet introduced more errors than Monroe, who is also founder
to come from all over the world. reliable enough for mainstream it was able to fix. of quantum computing firm IonQ,
Woodroof has shared evidence use, in part because the error Christopher Monroe at the which floated on the New York
in the group of multiple deliveries rates of their calculations Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) Stock Exchange last week, says
to customers. are too high. That could soon in Maryland and his colleagues that error correction is the key to
Woodroof told me he was change, because for the first have now passed this crucial creating practical computers, not
selling “high grade human time, a quantum computer has threshold. The team was able simply making more and more
ivermectin” that is shipped from demonstrated an error-correction to set the state of a logical qubits. Anyone creating dozens of
the UK. The seller reassured me strategy that fixes more errors qubit – a group of 13 qubits qubits while having a high error
that “more [ivermectin is] coming than it creates. This may provide clustered together to more
at all times so I wouldn’t stress”. a practical way to scale up to a
machine capable of carrying out
genuinely useful computations.
reliably hold a single piece of
data – and then measure it
again 99.4 per cent of the time,
99.4%
The reliability of an
Payments in bitcoin Ordinary computers store despite relying on six individual error-corrected logical qubit
An MHRA spokesperson told data as either a 0 or 1, but operations that have only
New Scientist that importing errors can cause the bit to “flip” 98.9 per cent reliability. rate is “spinning their wheels”,
ivermectin into the UK for to the wrong value, which is why Without error correction, he says, claiming that trapped-
anything other than personal use error-correction is a standard the reliability would be expected ion technology is on a steep
is illegal and would constitute a feature of modern processors. to slip down to 93.6 per cent upwards slope with only
criminal offence. “Anyone in the In quantum computing, the after all six operations (Nature, engineering hurdles ahead of
UK who imports a medicine for problem is more complex because doi.org/gzcn). it, while superconducting qubits
personal use, must not sell on, each quantum bit, or qubit, exists Unlike the groups at Google are on a flat trajectory with
or supply imported medicines to in a mixed state of 0 and 1, and and the University of Science large scientific breakthroughs
others,” said the spokesperson. any attempt to measure them and Technology of China needed to progress.
In recent weeks, Woodroof has directly destroys the data. (USTC), which have made big Despite this, the only claims of
moved to accepting payment for Several research teams are strides in recent months with quantum supremacy so far have
the pills only through the working on the problem of superconducting qubits, the JQI both included superconducting
encrypted and difficult-to-track quantum error correction but group uses trapped-ion qubits. qubits, and the number of qubits
cryptocurrency bitcoin. However, there is a long way still to go. The machine uses up to 32 used in them has been rising
all transactions associated with Google announced in July that individual charged atoms that steadily over the past year.
a given bitcoin wallet are stored its Sycamore processor was able are manipulated with lasers. Monroe concedes, however,
permanently on the blockchain, to detect and fix computational The inherently higher stability that his team was only able to
an unalterable ledger. The errors, but the additional of trapped ions allowed the demonstrate error-correction
wallet that Woodroof asked me hardware needed to do that team to use an error-correction on a single logical qubit, and that
to send money to has received strategy called a Bacon-Shor the next challenge is to scale up
US$3863 (or 0.09 bitcoin) since The ion-trap quantum code, which superconducting to two or more. “We need to think
the start of September. In all, processor used in qubits aren’t currently high higher now,” he says.
42 transactions have been the experiment enough quality to use. Peter Knight at Imperial
associated with the wallet. College London agrees that
Woodroof stopped responding the trapped-ion approach does
to me when I identified myself as have some advantages over
a reporter. Before that, he deleted the superconducting plan being
the messages we exchanged. followed by Google and USTC.
While unproven drugs aren’t Ions in a trapped-ion computer
a credible alternative to vaccines, are physically identical, whereas
there have been some legitimate superconducting qubits can vary,
successes in repurposing existing he says. “With superconducting
drugs for treating covid-19. The qubits there’s a lot of surface
antiviral drug remdesivir has noise. With each qubit you have
been approved for this purpose to do a lot of tuning to make it as
by the FDA, as has baricitinib, identical as you can to another,
HUDEK/JQI
A COLONY of single-celled connections between the nodes, which has cells only 0.1 millimetres temperature inputs, despite
organisms can function as a that the AI learns to tweak. This long, can function as a reservoir. starting from non-identical
biological computer to crunch is then used to predict the next The team created an incubation states. This is a defining feature
a series of historical data points and step in the data. chamber and introduced a colony of a deterministic system and
forecast the future. The organisms Research has indicated that of T. thermophila. The chamber suggests that the set-up had
accurately predict the next step in biological material can act as a was placed under a microscope potential as a computer.
time series data, such as the size reservoir, so Masayuki Ushio at and a camera took an image “I expected that they should
of daily fishing catches of certain Kyoto University in Japan and his of it once a minute, which an synchronise, but this level of
species in Japanese waters. colleagues investigated further. algorithm used to automatically synchronisation was beyond
Neural networks are a They have shown that colonies of a count the population of cells. my expectation,” says Ushio.
highly popular form of artificial single-celled eukaryotic organism The chamber and organisms The reservoir used the available
intelligence that use clusters of called Tetrahymena thermophila, formed the reservoir computer. data to predict between 15 and
mathematically connected nodes The input data – in this case, 30 data steps ahead, using its
to mimic the way that neurons An immunofluorescent information on the size of predictions as inputs for each step
and synapses function in a real image of Tetrahymena catches from fishing vessels – into the future. In experiments,
brain. The strength of connections thermophila was converted to a series the computer was asked to
between nodes are tweaked over of temperature readings. forecast catch estimates for
countless training runs in order to The incubation chamber’s fishing vessels targeting flatfish
teach the network how to perform temperature was adjusted or Japanese jack mackerel. The
certain tasks, just as the synapses accordingly, then changed after T. thermophila predictions were
of the brain reinforce certain a set time interval to the next more accurate than those made by
patterns when we learn a new skill temperature in the series. Data mathematical forecasting models
or memorise new information. on the number of cells in the at certain time points when
VOLKER STEGER/E. COLE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Reservoir computing is a special colony was the output. Although compared with real data, says
type of artificial neural network the number of organisms grew Ushio (bioRxiv, doi.org/gzbr).
where the strength of connections and shrank, no changes were “To me, it is not surprising
between nodes remain fixed, so made to how they interact and that a biological system can
that a given data input will always the reservoir was left to its own perform computation,” says
cause the same chain reactions devices as a self-contained unit. Daniel Gauthier at the Ohio State
through the artificial brain. It is Experiments revealed that the University – but he says it isn’t yet
the read-out from the reservoir colony size changed predictably obvious how such a system would
computer, rather than the if given the same set series of prove useful in the real world. ❚
Environment
People in cities have Cascade Tuholske at the East and southern Asia, that are person days of exposure per year,
University of California, Santa frequently under-represented in while that figure was 119 billion
faced huge increase Barbara, and his colleagues used urban studies. in 2016 (PNAS, doi.org/gzcp).
in heat exposure worldwide urban population Tuholske and his colleagues “This work points to the need
data combined with global estimated that global exposure to for further research on the drivers
EXTREME heat has been a fine-resolution maximum air extreme heat — assessed using a of heat-health outcomes in urban
far greater challenge for urban temperature and relative humidity metric that considered the number areas”, from the diversity of the
populations around the world than estimates to figure out just how of individuals affected and the urban fabric to mobility, social
rural ones over the past 40 years. much urban regions have been number of days each person was inequality and temperature-related
Cities are particularly vulnerable affected by daily temperatures affected — increased by almost mortality, says Gabriele Manoli
to heat because of something called greater than 30°C between 200 per cent from 1983 to 2016. at University College London.
the urban heat island effect — a 1983 and 2016. In 1983, there were 40 billion The data gathered will be
phenomenon where urban areas The team combined data made public to allow others to
are much hotter than surrounding for 13,115 urban settlements, “Exposure to extreme assess how their communities
rural regions due to their higher including some in rapidly heat in cities has increased are being affected by extreme
concentration of built infrastructure urbanising regions, such as by almost 200 per cent heat, says Tuholske. ❚
and human activities. sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle from 1983 to 2016” Krista Charles
True history of
remote Atlantic
Why a lover’s soft touch
islands finally told can awake sexual desire
Michael Marshall Alice Klein
WESTEND61 GMBH/ALAMY
a on São Miguel Island in the Azores. to brain regions involved in
The Azores is an archipelago emotion and pleasure.
about 1400 kilometres from the Gentle touch has been shown
west coast of Europe with nine to play a role in numerous social
major islands. It was settled by relationships, including between
Portuguese people in the 1400s parents and children. For
and is now an autonomous region example, babies’ heart rates slow brain to “encode a sensation Gentle touches
of Portugal. when their parents gently stroke that is necessary for the can be a source
In sediment in lakes on their forearms or shins with soft rewarding nature of sexual of sexual passion
the islands, Raposeiro and his paintbrushes, suggesting that touch”, write the authors
colleagues found chemicals called they find it comforting. (bioRxiv, doi.org/gx9v). damages C-tactile nerves are
stigmastanols and coprostanols. Now, Ishmail Abdus-Saboor “It’s a fantastic study,” says no longer able to experience
These are only found in the faeces at Columbia University in New Håkan Olausson at Linköping erotic sensations when their
of large herbivorous or omnivorous York and his colleagues have University in Sweden, who skin is touched.
mammals, which were absent shown that these nerves may was one of the first to discover Other research shows that
before humans arrived. This telltale also kindle sexual desire when C-tactile afferents in human a type of sex therapy called
sign of occupation was in sediment partners touch. skin in the 1990s. “We don’t sensate focus, in which couples
that formed between the years 700 They genetically engineered understand much at all about explore touching each other’s
and 850 AD (PNAS, doi.org/gzck). mice so that nerves in their skin bodies without intercourse, is
There is no evidence of who the that behave like human C-tactile “There are clues that useful for treating low sexual
first inhabitants were, but the team afferents could be activated this skin-to-brain desire and erectile dysfunction.
suspects the Norse, ancestors of by shining blue light on them, circuit is involved in But it is important to note
many modern Scandinavians. They rather than by physically human sexual arousal” that stimulation of C-tactile
possessed the skills and knowledge touching them. nerves only activates sexual
to sail open seas and are known to When they used blue light to the neural mechanisms of desire in certain contexts,
have reached other Atlantic islands artificially activate these nerves, sexual behaviour, so this is says Olausson.
like Greenland and Iceland. ❚ they found that females arched an important finding.” Our brains use other cues
their backs in a similar way to More research will be to interpret signals from these
The islands of the Azores in when they were preparing for needed to confirm that the nerves, so that being touched
the mid-Atlantic may have sex. The mice also experienced same skin-to-brain circuit is by a lover has different effects
been inhabited by 850 AD a rush of dopamine in their involved in human sexual to being touched by a friend,
nucleus accumbens, a pleasure arousal, but there are emerging for instance.
centre in the brain. clues, says Olausson. Touch may also be sensed
Female mice engineered For example, people report as more erotic when couples
to lack these nerves didn’t get feeling erotic sensations when first get together, whereas
the same dopamine rush when their forearms, inner thighs, it may signal security and
males tried to mount them necks and foreheads are softly comfort in more established
for sex, and instead turned stroked at speeds known to couples, says Olausson.
SANTIAGO GIRALT
aggressive and tried to fight stimulate C-tactile nerves in “But we don’t know how
them off. This hints that these the skin. Conversely, people these top-down processes in
nerves convey messages to the who undergo surgery that the brain work yet,” he says. ❚
DRONES are being used for anti- PAINFUL arthritic knees could
pollution missions off the coast be treated by injections of a
of Europe to “sniff” the exhaust lubricating fluid that mimics the
fumes from ships and catch natural version found in joints.
operators using illegal fuel. The synthetic fluid allows the
At the start of last year, damaged joints to repair themselves
the UN’s International Maritime and has been shown to boost
Organization introduced cartilage regeneration in rats.
legislation to reduce the limit on Osteoarthritis involves damage
the percentage of sulphur in fuel to cartilage, a rubbery tissue that
used by ships from 3.5 per cent caps the ends of bones. Scans of
to 0.5 per cent. Certain congested arthritic knees can show bits of
areas, such as the English cartilage inside the joint that have
Channel and the Strait of broken off from the main cartilage
SCHIEBEL
294
ships analysed by a drone
proper authorities in real time.
Currently, the remote
measurements alone aren’t
for interview.
Sramek says that, in most
cases, the crew members of
entire lubrication complex
binds to the cartilage.
Mao and his colleagues
patrol in a recent operation admissible as proof for the a vessel will be unaware that created an artificial version of
EMSA to fine those in breach, they are being tested, despite the lubrication complex by binding
company Schiebel, can travel but the organisation can the drone hovering just metres another feathery molecule called
at up to 240 kilometres per instruct staff to test fuel directly behind the ship. The noise is PAMPS and a lipid substitute to the
hour. The 200-kilogram once a ship suspected to be comparable to a motorbike, same hyaluronic acid backbone.
machines, constructed with a breaking regulations enters he says, and easily drowned The researchers injected the
carbon fibre skin and 3D-printed its destination port. out by noise aboard a ship. substance into rats with early
titanium parts, are more than Drone operators are given But he warns that there arthritis in their leg joints. After
3 metres long and can operate targets by the EMSA and fly out could still be “tricks” being eight weeks, the rats’ joints looked
remotely at distances of up to to the ship’s location using the used by ship operators that close to normal when viewed under
200 kilometres. automatic identification system the inadmissibility of drone a microscope (Nature Biomedical
The drones were used in installed on all ships to guide evidence leaves unchecked, Engineering, doi.org/gzcs).
Malta between 2013 and 2015 them. Although the drones are such as having two fuel tanks The cartilage seemed to
at the peak of the refugee able to take off, fly missions and burning cheaper but have regrown, says Mao. “We
crisis and helped locate 30,000 and land fully autonomously, illegal and dirtier fuel at sea, found that lubrication can help
people making risky crossings current missions are overseen leaving only compliant fuel tissue regeneration – that’s
and coordinate their rescue, by humans due to the close for testing in port. ❚ something new.” ❚
TAKING a picture of a far-off quite right,” says Nicolas Cowan mistaken for Earth. Mars and 1.5-day observation of an exoplanet
world may not be enough to at McGill University in Montreal, Mercury are the next most likely is about $2.4 million,” says Keithly.
identify what sort of planet it Canada. In fact, a planet’s apparent to impersonate our planet – “So if we make a detection and
is. We know this because from brightness is related to both its respectively, about 43 and 36 per then we want to follow up on it
outside our solar system, every size and its reflectivity, and its cent of the angles from which because it seems Earth-like,
other planet except for Jupiter apparent location is related to you could view them present an we could be wasting $2.4 million
could be mistaken for Earth. both its actual distance from its opportunity for confusion. Saturn, and time that we could be using
When planets beyond our star and its position on its orbit. Uranus and Neptune can only look to find other exoplanets.”
solar system, called exoplanets, The researchers found that like Earth from less than 4 per Luckily, the probability of
are discovered via directly taking from about 72 per cent of viewing cent of locations, and Jupiter is making such a mistake is relatively
an image of them, we usually only angles, there are locations in so colossal that it never looks low. “Although it’s true that
get two pieces of information Venus’s orbit where it could be like Earth no matter how you Neptune or Saturn or whatever
from that image: the planet’s view it (The Astrophysical Journal can masquerade as the Earth if
apparent brightness and its Exoplanets that look Letters, doi.org/gxzc). you catch it at the right place in its
apparent distance from its star. Earth-like might actually Making such a mix-up could be orbit, it’s actually really unlikely,”
Dean Keithly and Dmitry be more like Venus expensive. “The rough cost for a says Cowan. “A broken clock is
Savransky at Cornell University right twice a day, but you’d have
in New York investigated whether, to get really unlucky to look at
given only those two pieces of a broken clock and have it tell
information, we are likely to you the right time.”
confuse one planet for another. This also isn’t an intractable
They used our solar system as problem – multiple observations
an example, calculating how of an exoplanet’s motion over
often different planets could time will reveal its true distance
have properties that would from its star. Other observations,
make us think they were like the colour of light bouncing
Earth from afar. off the planet, can help distinguish
LIMBITECH/SHUTTERSTOCK
Archaeology
Source of marble 480 BC – but it isn’t from either of Pike compared the proportions and he found a line of hills capped
two known quarries of that period. of stable isotopes of carbon and by marble not noted on geological
found for huge Instead, the marble has the oxygen in the marble to a database maps. The isotopes in the marble
ancient Greek statue chemical signature of a deposit in of known Greek quarries. “Marble are a good match for the statue.
another part of the island, found by is metamorphosed limestone,” There was an abandoned
ONE of the great statues of antiquity Scott Pike at Willamette University he says. “The isotopic signature quarry as well, but due to its size
has been connected to its likely in Oregon. He will present his results is related to how that limestone and the pattern of extractions, Pike
birthplace by analysis of its marble. at a meeting of the Geological formed.” The data suggested the doubts that it birthed the Colossus
The Colossus of the Naxians on Society of America on 11 October. marble of the statue came from of the Naxians. Because he didn’t
the Greek island of Delos once stood His interest in the statue dates somewhere in the south of Naxos. have a permit for archaeological
about 9 metres tall, but is now in from the 1990s, when he tried Recently, Pike got permission sampling, he couldn’t date it. He
pieces. One is at the British Museum to check the assertion carved on to do a geological survey there, plans to return with such a permit
in London, while the rest are in the base that it was made “of one and a lidar-equipped drone to
Greece. The statue’s name refers to marble”. The British Museum let “The Colossus of the see if he can find other quarries
the island of Naxos, which has been him take a sample from the right Naxians on the island of or the roads and slipways used
a major source of marble since the foot, but permission from Greek Delos once stood 9 metres to transport finished statues. ❚
Greek archaic era from 800 BC to authorities was difficult to come by. tall, but is now in pieces” Bas den Hond
History
request of the French National elements, the researchers were Christa Lesté-Lasserre
AN UNUSUAL white dwarf PEOPLE who stop taking causes of depression, or how For the others, stopping the
discovered relatively near the antidepressants because they SSRIs alleviate it in some cases. medicines may lead to a relapse.
solar system is proving difficult feel they no longer need them The latest study doesn’t “Although the risk of relapse
to understand. or because they don’t want to be answer that question, but it is increased [by stopping], it’s not
Called DES J2147-4035, the on long-term medications could should provide some insight for increased hugely over continuing
object is about 90 light years from trigger a relapse into depression, people who are weighing their to take antidepressants,” says
Earth. It is both extremely dim and a study has shown. The findings options when it comes to using Tony Kendrick at the University
extremely cool for an object of this may be taken by some as reason these medicines. The study of Southampton, UK, one of
kind – probably just a few thousand to continue taking such medicines looked at 478 people in the UK the authors of the new study.
degrees in temperature. indefinitely – but, in fact, the on an antidepressant who were The findings suggest that
This is cooler than almost any picture is more complex. considering stopping taking the either decision is reasonable, and
other known white dwarf. Its In many high-income the choice people make depends
temperature suggests it is about
10 billion years old, but because
our region of the galaxy is
countries, the number of people
taking antidepressants is at record
levels, with an estimated one in
39%
People who had depression
on their personal preferences,
he says. For some, the risk of
experiencing depression again
composed of much younger stars, 10 people using antidepressants return while on antidepressants would be too great to stop taking
DES J2147-4035 is a conundrum in England. The medicines can their prescribed antidepressants,
(arxiv.org/abs/2109.12707). cause side effects such as loss pills. About half were chosen at while others may have a
“It’s something we’ve not of sex drive or appetite and random to continue, while the stronger preference not to
seen before,” says Kevin Apps, sleeping problems, and can rest were given placebo tablets be on long-term medication.
an amateur astronomer in the be hard to stop taking. instead of their usual pills. Kendrick stresses that
UK who discovered the object. Some people say that doctors After one year, 56 per cent anyone wishing to stop taking
“To be quite frank, we’re not really are too willing to prescribe these of people given a placebo saw antidepressants should do so
sure what it is.” drugs to people who might be their depression return, compared under their doctor’s guidance.
White dwarfs form when stars better helped by psychological with 39 per cent who continued People who stop taking
like our sun run out of fuel, expelling therapies or by changing their taking the medicine (NEJM, antidepressants suddenly
their outer shells of material and life circumstances, but people doi.org/gxw7). can experience temporary
leaving their dense cores behind. who feel they benefit from the Put another way, for every withdrawal symptoms including
These cores then cool over time. medicines sometimes see such 10 people weighing up the low mood and agitation, which
DES J2147-4035 is estimated to sentiments as “pill shaming”. decision of whether to stop taking can be confused with a relapse
be at least 70 per cent the mass of The question has become antidepressants, about four would of their depression.
our sun, but packed into a sphere mired in ideological debates relapse and just over four would The problem of withdrawal
smaller than Earth. over whether modern psychiatry stay depression-free, whatever symptoms keeping people stuck
It was seen by four separate has become overly focused course they decided to take. on antidepressants has recently
surveys of the night sky, including on pharmaceuticals. become more recognised. Medical
the European Space Agency’s Gaia There is also confusion Antidepressants can bodies used to advise that people
space telescope, but it had gone over how the drugs work. Most cause side effects such could taper their intake of these
unnoticed until now because of the antidepressants are from a class as sleeping problems medicines by just taking half their
volume of data the surveys produce. of drug called selective serotonin normal dose for two weeks. The
Its age is consistent with ancient reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). For UK’s Royal College of Psychiatrists
stars that are found in an outer halo a long time, it was thought that now says the tapering period can
surrounding our galaxy. “But it’s people experiencing depression take months or longer, especially
part of the disc of the galaxy, which have low levels of the brain if someone has been on the
is not thought to contain objects signalling chemical serotonin, medicines for years. People in this
of that age,” says Apps. When the which SSRIs restore. If that new study were generally weaned
star that became this white dwarf were so, it would make sense off by being given a half dose
first formed, it would probably that some people would need for the first month and a quarter
THUNDERSTOCK/SHUTTERSTOCK
have been “close to the age of antidepressants for life. dose during the second month.
the universe”, he says – adding But it now seems that this Whatever people’s decision,
to the mystery. “chemical imbalance” theory it is good news that from now
“It could turn out [to be] some of depression is wrong – and on, it can be more informed
unusual type of white dwarf that we we still don’t know the real by evidence, rather than
haven’t seen before,” says Apps. ❚ biological explanation for the driven by ideology. ❚
LAW changes later this year will European Union, which regulates gene-edited crops, a crucial However, researchers will still
make it easier to run field trials gene-edited organisms in the exercise to see how well they have to notify the Department
in England on crops that are same way as GM ones, effectively grow in more realistic conditions. for Environment, Food & Rural
gene-edited for environmental banning them from being grown The change in England, due to Affairs, and Scotland and the rest
and nutritional benefits. and sold. The UK carried over that be undertaken using government of the UK may decide different
The UK government, which regulation when it left the EU. legislation before the year is out, rules. The UK government
announced the move last week, Last week’s first step away from should save about £10,000 per believes the rule changes are less
also said it plans future legislation that regulation is a modest one trial and cut a two-month wait important than the statement
so gene-edited crops and livestock following a consultation. The before trials can begin. of intent they send, to unlock
that mimic the effects of natural government will lift the licensing Wendy Harwood at the John investment in gene-edited crops.
breeding are treated differently hurdles that laboratories face Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, “It’s vitally important. It applies
to genetically modified (GM) ones, when starting a field trial of says: “We’re hoping it will make to research and development
a step that would pave the way to it easier to have a look at these only, but it’s a first step,” says
gene-edited food being sold in UK Non-gene edited plants in the field, which will Nigel Halford at Rothamsted
supermarkets for the first time. wheat growing in enable scientists to identify Research, UK, which is trialling
Gene editing sees the DNA of a field in the UK which ones to take forward.” gene-edited wheat.
an organism precision-targeted, The rule changes won’t allow
often using CRISPR technology. gene-edited food to be sold. Yet
This means gene editing doesn’t that may change too. The UK
involve inserting whole genes government said it plans a longer-
or genes from other species, term review of GM regulation.
which other GM crops may carry. But the public may be unwilling
A recent example tested in the to buy the foods. Two decades ago,
real world involved wheat edited protesters ripped up trials of GM
to lower the risk of a carcinogenic crops, and opponents called them
compound forming when bread “Frankenfoods”. Among the 6440
made from the wheat is toasted. responses to the new consultation,
SHUTTERSTOCK/AMANI A
Astronomy
There may be an times further away. Encircling all simulations, as it is expected to that a planet is shaping this gap,”
three stars is a disc of dust and gas follow the structure of the gas. This says Smallwood. If it is there, this
exoplanet orbiting separated into three rings. showed that without a giant planet, would be the first world ever found
three stars at once There is a huge gap – about torque from the stars didn’t lead to that orbits three stars, and there
15 billion kilometres across – separate rings. However, inserting may even be a second, smaller
MOST planets we have found orbit between the innermost ring and the a planet about the size of Jupiter planet between the outer two rings.
only one star – a few orbit two, but others. Some astronomers interpret reproduced the observed gap. Confirming this will be hard. The
so far we have never spotted one this gap as having formed when When the gap filled in over time, larger world would be far from the
orbiting three stars simultaneously. torque from the gravity of the three the planet simply carved a new stars and have a tilted orbit, making
Now, researchers have seen hints stars ripped the disc apart, but one (arxiv.org/abs/2109.09776). it tricky to detect using the usual
of a young world doing just that. Jeremy Smallwood at the University “We haven’t observed the planet method, which relies on a planet
These hints come from a stellar of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his directly, but there is some evidence blocking a star’s light when passing
system called GW Orionis, which colleagues have determined that it in front of it. The best way to confirm
consists of two stars orbiting one is more likely a planet carved it out. “We haven’t seen it directly, its existence would be a direct
another at about the same distance They performed 11 simulations but we have evidence a image, but the system is more than
that Earth sits from the sun, and a of the stars, including the gas in the planet is shaping a gap in 1000 light years from Earth, so that
third circling those two about eight disc. The dust wasn’t included in the its host stars’ dust rings” would be tough, too. ❚ Leah Crane
erosion, but some large floods poured into the new canyons. accommodation for longer and
on Earth have been seen to create “Our understanding of how faced greater social isolation, says
canyons quickly and violently. much water was available at the Shiba. The team found that the
The researchers found that surface and for how long really loss of a loved one in the disaster
Martian ravines that formed feeds into our understanding of wasn’t associated with an increase
rapidly from the overflow of lakes how Mars might have been able in the subsequent rate of cognitive
were rare – they only represented to sustain life or evolve life,” decline. Shiba says it is unclear why.
about 3 per cent of the total says Goudge. Leah Crane Jason Arunn Murugesu
for covid-19 vaccines when they are also at higher risk – perhaps risk of death (Science Advances,
were in short supply would have because they are more likely to live doi.org/gmx88s).
prevented more deaths than in crowded housing, have worse As targeting people by race
rolling out the vaccine purely healthcare access and work in jobs could have been discriminatory,
by age groups, a US modelling with more exposure to the virus. health services should have
study has suggested. Elizabeth Wrigley-Field at the organised vaccine distribution by
When the coronavirus vaccines University of Minnesota and her combining age bands with where
Mapping proteins were in limited supply earlier this team checked if a roll-out taking people live, in order to target
may aid cancer fight year, US authorities, along with account of people’s race as well neighbourhoods that have high
most high-income countries, as their age would have avoided numbers of people at risk of
A map of how proteins advised offering them first to more deaths. They looked at covid-19 because of race, says
interact in cancer highlights healthcare workers, care home California and Minnesota and Wrigley-Field. Clare Wilson
possible new therapies. The
map revealed 771 protein Technology Marine biology
interactions in head and
neck cancer, 84 per cent of
which weren’t previously Cleaner wrasse could
known. If these interactions have theory of mind
are critical for tumour
growth, drugs that disrupt FEMALE cleaner fish are sensitive
them could slow cancers to what their partners can and
(Science, doi.org/gx2f). can’t see while working on client
fish. This means they may have
UK dinosaur was theory of mind – an awareness of
like heron from hell other’s perspectives often linked
JORDAN MANSFIELD/GETTY IMAGES
Comment
Climate influencers
Many people have a disproportionate impact on climate change – here’s how to
harness that power, write Kimberly Nicholas and Kristian Steensen Nielsen
W
E ARE often encouraged pathways for companies to do
to reduce our impact their fair share to meet the goals
on the climate, but the of the Paris Agreement.
truth is that some people’s actions As citizens, voting is a powerful
have greater effect than others. climate action. Those of us lucky
The super-rich “polluter elite” enough to live in the 18 per cent
immediately come to mind. But if, of countries that meet high
like us, you are college educated, democratic standards should use
have a white-collar job, live in a this power. Until now, political
prosperous area or earn more than access and influence have mainly
$38,000 (£28,000) a year, you are been used to promote fossil fuels
of “high socio-economic status” and other corporate interests in
and you have disproportionate policy-making. This can change by
power and responsibility in making climate a leading political
relation to averting catastrophic and election issue through social
climate change. mobilisation and lobbying,
This group makes up the top and by holding representatives
10 per cent of income globally and accountable for their climate
causes half of the carbon pollution votes, especially as many report
emitted by households. The feeling little pressure from their
majority of this is created through constituents to take climate action.
frequent and long-distance travel Recommendations for personal
by plane and car, followed by climate actions are too often
home energy use. Reducing misdirected towards those
this overconsumption is key with low potential impact, like
to halting global warming. recycling, or presented as being
But as we show in a new study financing climate destruction via is through shifting social media universally applicable, when it is
(Nature Energy, doi.org/gmx9cg), loans and investments to expand posts away from celebrating in fact the well-off who most need
there are four other critical roles and support fossil fuel pipelines conspicuous consumption, to change their behaviour to cut
through which the 10 per cent and power plants. To support and towards simpler pleasures global emissions. The way forward
leave an outsized climate climate stability instead, shift your of time with family and friends is to recognise that wealthier
footprint, and through which money from banks, pension funds and in nature closer to home. people have both special agency
ambitious climate action can and stocks that still finance fossil You can also press for climate and responsibility to take action
be promoted or hindered: where fuel companies and support action in the organisations to turn the ship around. ❚
their money is invested, how they campaigns to get organisations where you work, play or study.
communicate with and behave to divest from fossil fuels. Speak up for and drive policies
around other people, the actions Social influence increases with for decarbonising industries and
they press for in organisations, status, but we all influence those supply chains, and advocating for
and as citizens. These are the ways around us. We can use this with philanthropy. The recent Project
individuals can most affect firms, family, friends, neighbours and Drawdown guide Climate
MICHELLE D’URBANO
governments and society. colleagues to promote climate- Solutions at Work offers practical Kimberly Nicholas is the author
If you have a pension, or savings friendly aspirations and norms advice on how to make every job of Under the Sky We Make and
in investment accounts at a major in our networks and communities. a climate job, while the Science Kristian Steensen Nielsen is
bank, chances are that you are One simple way to wield influence Based Targets initiative sets at the University of Cambridge
I
FIND the enormous might pop up at the very least. nice to assume good faith. A single
potential of social media to Yet this didn’t seem to be the case. side-by-side comparison of two
share scientific knowledge Perhaps it was a school corn varieties wouldn’t be quite
across the planet fascinating. In project then? However, if so, the neat test it might appear to be.
particular, its ability to empower where did the GM ear of maize That’s because there are a huge
people to exchange anecdotal come from? Currently, these range of other distinguishing
observations, which can lead can’t be legally grown in the factors that could separate two
to some of the most important UK, which would make finding randomly selected corn varieties
discoveries, is a wonderful thing. one tricky for a group of aside from their method of
James Wong is a botanist So when a viral meme claiming to schoolchildren, so it struck me breeding. Some types may contain
and science writer, with a show the results of a student trial that I really needed to take a closer higher levels of sugar or lower
particular interest in food on genetically modified corn kept look at the origin of the photo. levels of fibre, for example, which
crops, conservation and the popping up on my feeds last week, Through a reverse image search could easily make them more
environment. Trained at the it really fired up my curiosity. using a range of different internet palatable to squirrels. Without
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, he This photograph, which has search engines, I found that the controlling for these, it would
shares his tiny London flat with been shared thousands of times, photograph actually dates back to be very tricky to place much
more than 500 houseplants. shows two ears of maize stood 2012, as part of a collection of very faith in the results.
You can follow him on Twitter side by side. The one on the left similar images posted by a farmer What’s more, by the image’s
and Instagram @botanygeek of the picture, labelled GMO, is own admission, the trial isn’t
almost fully intact, while the one “The implication testing the single variable of the
on the right, labelled organic, is of the meme is that genetics of the variety, but also
largely stripped of kernels. Above the growing method. With the
animals have an
this, bold black font announces non-GM corn having been
James’s week that this was the result of an innate avoidance grown using “an old rural style”,
What I’m reading experiment run by students of genetically it would almost certainly have
I am going old school in England that compared modified corn” been cultivated using a different
and delving into some the impact of park squirrels regimen of fertilisers, crop
Victorian horticultural munching on the two cobs. in South Dakota to an online treatments and irrigation, most
texts, which sadly is The implication of this meme photo-sharing platform. This likely on an entirely different
what I do for fun. is that animals have some kind attribution was echoed by at farm, potentially in a totally
of innate avoidance of GM corn, least one online news article different part of the country,
What I’m watching which some suggest means that from 2013, in which the farmer even the world. Not a great
I am currently engrossed humans shouldn’t eat it either. in question was interviewed after like-for-like comparison, then.
in Nine Perfect Strangers Whatever we choose to infer the post had initially gone viral. Finally, it almost goes without
on Amazon Prime. It is from this image, as historically So according to its digital paper saying that the image depicts a
set in California, but the there have apparently been trail, this wasn’t a photo from a single experiment involving two
plants in the landscape zero studies on animal feeding trial run by students, nor was it cobs and potentially just one
reveal it is really filmed preferences in relation to GM food carried out in a park or even in squirrel. There is no guarantee that
in Australia. versus conventional varieties, I the UK. In fact, at some point, it if it were repeated, it wouldn’t show
thought it would be a fun exercise appears an alternative backstory the direct opposite results, even
What I’m working on to look into this in detail. Could has been fabricated around this with the same furry participant.
I am working on a few the students behind it be flagging image, which isn’t a great sign. So until a larger trial with a
TV projects, including up a novel observation that merits While obfuscation of its actual more carefully controlled design
a new global farming further investigation, or is this yet origin might raise a considerable comes along, we will just have to
documentary for the BBC. another image that we should red flag, it doesn’t necessarily hold our breath until we learn
add to the rather large pile of mean the results the image claims more about the science of crop
junk science memes out there? to show should be automatically preferences of squirrels. What
My first stop was to go straight refuted. So could this still be an we can say, though, is that it
to the academic databases to check interesting finding that warrants would be very difficult to describe
if this study had been published. further investigation? this meme as a source of solid
This column appears You would think that even if this Well, let’s just imagine that the scientific information, despite
monthly. Up next week: were an informal student trial at viral photo does indeed depict how it frequently and confidently
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein a university, a letter to an editor what it claims to, as it is always it is cited online. ❚
A WOODLOUSE feasts on a
gelatinous slime mould in this
mystifying shot by photographer
Barry Webb. The image, taken in
Buckinghamshire, UK, was the
overall winner in this year’s New
Scientist Photography Awards,
as decided by public vote.
Slime moulds are organisms
that can exist as single cells, but
clump together to form larger,
moving bodies, either to
reproduce or hunt for food.
Once considered a type of fungi,
members of this diverse group
of organisms are now classed as
protists, an enigmatic and diverse
kingdom that includes amoebas.
This particular slime mould,
of the genus Stemonitis, isn’t yet
fully developed and stands only
15 millimetres tall. Webb took
19 shots, each focused on a slightly
different part of the scene, before
stacking the images to get the final
photo. This is necessary because
slime moulds are usually so small,
he says – although some types can
grow to several metres.
“I had never seen a woodlouse
feeding on a Stemonitis slime
mould before and thought that
it would make an unusual and
captivating image,” says Webb,
who also won the award’s The
Natural World category.
He says he is pleased that
“the ethereal beauty of slime
moulds” is being shown to
a wider audience. ❚
Gege Li
Editor’s pick up to 60 per cent. The question follow from that. Buying lettuce Given that the last drone strike
is, why was one area so keen to in different-sized bags won’t make in Afghanistan was planned and
recycle while the other took years the slightest difference. executed by humans, resulting
On the paradox of time
to convince? Surely, if the analysts in the deaths of 10 civilians (seven
flowing only one way could work this out, we could of whom were children), maybe
25 September, p 34 Orcas may have declared
motivate the country to recycle. it is time to let the machines take
From Paul Bannister, war on the fishing fleet control? The gods help us!
Canberra, Australia From Larry Stoter, 18 September, p 17
Paul Davies raises a critical point The Narth, Monmouthshire, UK From Peter Prescod,
More thoughts on the shift
on the paradoxical arrow of time. A major problem in trying to Lehigh Acres, Florida, US
Surely, the process of measurement recycle plastic is that it is often You wonder why orcas have to a net-zero way of life
at the quantum level defines a far from clear if it can be recycled. started ramming boats off 4 September, p 34
direction of time. Indeed, one could My local authority can’t recycle Gibraltar. Has any thought been From Lachlan Jones,
also extend this to note that the the large bags in which bird food is given to the possibility that these Brisbane, Australia
discussion about the (theoretical) delivered, but if I go a few miles to animals may be perceiving the In one part of your illuminating
reversibility of gas mixing is the next local authority, it can be. boats as competitors for the tuna article on a net-zero life, you
dependent upon perfect knowledge Then there is the problem of they eat and are attempting to mention the fictional Isla
of state, which quantum mechanics recyclable and non-recyclable drive them away? planning a holiday that avoids the
also tells us isn’t possible. packaging being mixed – for “moral opprobrium” of long-haul
Do these add to define both a example, recyclable plastic bottles flights in favour of a train tour
Mars life more likely to
direction of time and a link between covered with a non-recyclable in Norway. While I agree that
the classical concept of entropy and plastic wrap. Most people don’t thrive in dark depths travelling by train is preferable to
the quantum world? As someone have the time or inclination to 4 September, p 9 flying within Europe, I can’t help
who is rooted in thermodynamics, carefully sort through all this From David Pitcher, but wonder about the future of
it seems entropy gets short shrift packaging and pull it apart. Auckland, New Zealand nature reserves in Africa, South-
in cosmological ponderings. Legislation is required, not You report work on the viability of East Asia or South America if
only to standardise recycling life that relies on photosynthesis tourists stopped visiting because
across the UK, but to ban in the sheltered zone of caves on of aviation emissions.
Solving the recycling issue
mixed packaging and to get Mars. As life has evolved to process
requires more thought manufacturers to move towards energy from chemosynthesis on From Mark Haden,
25 September, p 18 100 per cent recyclable packaging. Earth, surely life on Mars is more Vancouver, Canada
From Frank Adam, likely to exist without any need for Your article missed a vital aspect
Prestwich, Greater Manchester, UK photosynthesis, especially given of our transport future. A person
Why food waste might be
Any charges for removing rubbish the proportionate lessening of the on a pedal bike is the most
just create fly-tipping and higher an intractable problem sun’s power at that distance. efficient form of transport,
costs. A better way is legislating so 25 September, p 42 Nick Lane, in the book Oxygen: as defined by distance travelled
those authorities not already using From Perry Bebbington, The molecule that made the world, per unit of energy consumed.
multi-bin sorting for recycling Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, UK makes a plausible case that An extra bonus could be added
take it up. Supermarkets can also Of course we waste food. Since the photosynthesis was a process that to this equation if the person eats
follow the example of a Canadian green revolution in the mid-20th evolved later, a mutation from an a plant-based diet. Plants fuelling
chain that has recycling bays to century, we have striven to ensure older, chemosynthetic life form. bicycle transport is the ultimate
sort waste and repay deposits for we have plenty of all kinds of in efficient travel.
returned bottles, tins and paper. food. We can’t have “just enough”
Is it time to give the
because it is difficult to predict From Rachael Padman,
From Georgina Skipper, how much of each type of food military robots a break? Newmarket, Suffolk, UK
Weymouth, Dorset, UK we will need and even harder to 18 September, p 11 Heat pumps probably are the way
With the recent emphasis by know whether crops in a particular From Paul Tothill, London, UK forward, especially in new-build
the UK government on “nudge” year will produce in abundance David Hambling’s interesting homes. However, in existing
techniques to modify behaviour, or if they will fail. article on firing weapons from housing, the payback time is long.
I wonder why there has been little Given the only way to ensure we autonomous warships mentioned And like many green technologies,
research into the motivation have plenty is to aim to produce that any strike from an uncrewed the first things the user will notice
behind recycling. too much, waste will inevitably ship mandated human control. are a rise in both installation and
I live in Weymouth. Until 2011, running costs over the status quo,
we achieved 70 per cent recycling. an increase in noise and a decrease
Then our waste service merged Want to get in touch? in convenience. Heat pumps’
with another authority, whose Send letters to letters@newscientist.com; advantages over direct electrical
recycling rate was only about see terms at newscientist.com/letters heating will also decrease as we
30 per cent. Ten years later, the Letters sent to New Scientist, Northcliffe House, decarbonise the electricity supply.
combined recycling rate is back 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT will be delayed We need to be upfront about this. ❚
KATIEKK2/GETTY IMAGES
since the second world war has
led us to a point where much
of what we eat comes from just
a few established varieties of
crops and animals, controlled
by a handful of companies.
This has undoubtedly had many The foraging of Hadza honey honeyguide birds so both can reap
benefits for humanity, making food in Tanzania is under threat due the rewards of the nutritious honey
supplies more predictable, cheaper to increasing demand for land found high in baobab trees. Read
and more accessible, and helping But this special dynamic is Tropical Arctic
to curb malnutrition. Yet in his new protect the world’s rare foods. The under threat: the rising demand by palaeobotanists
book, Eating to Extinction: The alternative, he warns, is a future for land for crops and livestock Jennifer McElwain
world’s rarest foods and why we where we lose our grip on nature is spilling into Hadza territory, and Ian Glasspool
need to save them, Saladino argues and the vital services it provides, putting their livelihoods at risk and scientific illustrator
that it has also pushed thousands perhaps permanently. and depleting the supply of Marlene Hill Donnelly
of little-known foods, many with The book is split into 10 parts, honey and other wild foods travels back 205 million
beneficial characteristics or rich each focusing on a different on which they depend. Saladino years to a time when
historical and cultural significance, category: wild foods (hunted or makes the impact of these potential Earth’s temperatures
to the brink of extinction. foraged); cereals; vegetables; losses clear, often rounding off a soared and Greenland
“The human diet has undergone meat; fish and seafood; fruit; chapter with a moving story that was green.
more change in the last 150 years cheese; alcohol; stimulants (tea underscores how tragic it would
(roughly six generations) than in and coffee) and sweet foods. In be if these foods ceased to exist.
the previous one million years every chapter, Saladino highlights Packed full of knowledge
(around 40,000 generations),” a few ingredients and traces their about a host of ingredients that
he writes. This is worrisome, origins, meeting the people who you probably didn’t even know
because restricting ourselves to are championing food biodiversity. existed, Eating to Extinction CLOUD STUDIES COURTESTY OF FORENSIC ARCHITECTURE; DOPESTICK/HULU
such a narrow range of varieties Often, these individuals represent captures the urgency (and cost)
diminishes the genetic variation the last line of defence between of heading towards a future that
that might protect crops and a food and its extinction. is less nutritionally diverse.
livestock from disease. Saladino covers so much “We cannot afford to carry Watch
It also narrows the diversity of ground that it is hard to touch on growing crops and producing Dopesick dramatises
our gut microbiome, which is vital on even a fraction of the foods food in ways that are so violently Beth Macy’s exposé of
for our health and well-being, and he explores. Just one example in conflict with nature; we can’t how a pharma company
risks the loss of entire culinary of a rare food with a remarkable continue to beat the planet into encouraged doctors to
traditions forever. As Saladino puts story to tell is Hadza honey, foraged submission, to control, dominate prescribe OxyContin to
it, “where nature creates diversity, by some of the few remaining and all too often destroy a country already awash
the food system crushes it”. hunter-gatherer societies – the ecosystems,” Saladino concludes. with painkillers. The
Through a narrative that weaves Hadza people of Tanzania. “The endangered foods in this series features Michael
science and history with stories Through a relationship forged book helped make us who we Keaton and Rosario
spanning every corner of the globe, over millennia, the Hadza have are; they could be foods that Dawson (pictured).
Saladino makes an urgent call to learned to work together with show us who we become.” ❚
How do we build
a sustainable future?
More than 1000 people joined New Scientist and a host
of leading speakers to discuss the challenges we face to
create a sustainable world. Gege Li was there
W
E ARE living amid a global climate The UK Atomic Energy
crisis, the greatest existential threat Authority’s Nicholas
of our age. With a recent report Walkden joined Emily
by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Bates in the studio
Change (IPCC) concluding that we will reach
1.5°C of warming within the next 20 years, just
what will it take to secure a sustainable future
for both ourselves and the planet?
New Scientist’s virtual event on 25 September
sought to address this pressing question with a
packed day of talks from scientists and experts
at the forefront of the effort to tackle global
warming, including Christiana Figueres, an
internationally recognised leader in climate
negotiations and policy.
Almost 1400 people from 72 countries tuned
in on the day. The audience had a rich choice of
discussions across three main stages, covering
a diverse range of topics. These included how
to slash carbon emissions from ships and
buildings, conserving vital carbon stores
such as seagrasses and the climate impacts
of the food on our plates.
The event also featured more intimate
virtual spaces in which the audience could
get a flavour of the ways that archaeology is
teaching us lessons from the past that can
inform present-day conservation, as well
as a chance to experience innovations in
sustainable food production and consumption.
This year marks an important moment
for the future of our planet. Along with the
publication of the IPCC report, the next O N E - D A Y V I R T U A L E V E N T
CREATING A
worldwide summit on climate change –
COP26 – is due to take place in Glasgow,
UK, from the end of this month, with the
SUSTAINABLE
aim of making key decisions that have the
potential to change our climate future.
Ahead of this important event, on the
FUTURE
main stage, our audience was treated to
an absorbing Q&A session with Figueres
and New Scientist reporter Adam Vaughan,
PETMAL/ISTOCK
Event partners adopted by scientists and governments in flowing over them, thereby trapping carbon-
the IPCC report as a promising sign that we based material. However, seagrasses are in
are finally moving away from cautious and decline – the UK alone has seen 90 per cent
restrained conversations about climate of its seagrass meadows disappear. Restoration
change, and instead directly accepting projects under way in many parts of the world
how critical our situation has become. are crucial to help not only curb some of the
“We are conducting a completely effects of climate change, but also to preserve
unprecedented experiment with the these important marine plants.
only home that we know,” she said. That Their preservation is especially crucial when
experiment has already come at a high considering the lifeline seagrasses provide for
cost, with irreversible changes spurred by marine ecosystems, for example by fostering
a warming planet, such as extreme weather biodiversity, said Benjamin Jones, founder of
events, becoming the norm across the world. conservation organisation Project Seagrass,
Christiana Figueres spoke “We’re never going to completely solve on the People and Planet stage. “Our survival
with New Scientist’s climate change. We are now in a state of
Adam Vaughan about the planet, and a state of human history, “We are conducting a
her hopes for COP26 in which we will have to deal with a
permanently changed atmosphere completely unprecedented
and global environment,” said Figueres. experiment with the only
Another crucial ambition for the summit
will be for all countries to commit to a 50 per home that we know”
cent cut in global emissions by 2030, Figueres
said – the only way to keep warming within as a species depends on how we tackle climate
the 1.5°C threshold. She urged higher-income change and biodiversity loss, and seagrass
nations to make good on their promise of is really vital in securing that sustainable
fulfilling the already delayed $100 billion future,” he said.
funding pledge to support lower-income Also on this stage, Sarah Bridle at the
countries in cutting their emissions and University of York, UK, presented an eye-
adapting to a warming planet. opening talk on the environmental impact of
Despite these challenges, “we don’t different foods and how we can all make more
start from zero”, said Figueres. Pointing climate-conscious dietary choices. A quarter
to the success of the Clean Development of climate change can be attributed to food – a
Mechanism that paved the way for emission- figure that is on the rise – and it will take both
reducing projects in lower-income countries, a shift in thinking and a transformation in the
“let no one say we don’t know how to do it way we produce and market food to steer us
because, actually, we do”, she said. out of this trajectory, said Bridle.
More positive climate messages came Meanwhile, on the Path to Net Zero stage,
from the next main stage event, when Catalina Spataru from the University College
journalist and author Tom Heap shared with London Energy Institute spoke about net-zero
the audience his list of 39 ways to save the carbon buildings as another way of achieving
planet, which is also the subject of his podcast both the 1.5°C target set out in the Paris
and forthcoming book. Agreement and a longer-term vision for
Of the many pioneering ways in which a greener future.
people are combating climate change that Thanks to all the speakers and guests,
Heap talked about, one of the most ingenious the day gave an invaluable insight into the
is biochar, a form of charcoal that is good at research that is underpinning progress
locking up carbon and can boost soil fertility towards combating climate change. It brought
in farming. It could provide a simple way of together promising scientific and technological
sequestering carbon dioxide by producing it solutions, highlighted areas that we must focus
from trees that absorb this greenhouse gas on and underscored the urgency of protecting
from the atmosphere. “You could take some of our planet as we work towards a more
the waste wood out of [overgrown or burned sustainable world. ❚
down] forests, turn it into biochar, use it for
farming, and you have captured and stored
half of the carbon from that tree,” said Heap. Gege Li is a freelance writer
He also shone the spotlight on seagrasses as based in London
a star contender for carbon storage thanks to
their fast growth and ability to slow currents
Artificial reasoning
This strategy has paid off. The scaled
transformer model has done things “orders
of magnitude off my expectations about what
would be possible with natural language”, says
Alexander Rush at Cornell University in New
York and AI company Hugging Face. By late
2020, a transformer-derived architecture called
BERT had overcome some genuinely difficult
challenges. One of them involved general
reading comprehension. Another tested
abilities related to common sense reasoning.
The models were asked to analyse sentences
such as “The suitcase won’t fit into the trunk
of a car, because it is too big”, and determine
whether “it” refers to the suitcase or the trunk.
The correct answer is the suitcase, of course.
Solving this task requires a certain depth
of understanding, says Bowman. And the
models solved it at human-level, meaning they
literally performed as well as humans did.
PABLO HURTADO DE MENDOZA
Blowin’ in the T
HE wind is nothing if not capricious.
It can be a gentle breeze, making fallen
leaves dance and clothes flutter on the
washing line. Or it can blow a gale, tearing
down trees and power cables and causing all
PLAINPICTURE/ELEKTRONS 08
with the precision needed to control it.
Now the challenge is to put it to work.
Engineers have already flown a simple aircraft
pushed along by electric wind. We might
use a gentler, finely tuned breeze to help
improve the efficiency of industrial processes >
Dream plane
How the electric Most planes are heavy, highly complex
machines that guzzle fossil fuel. Barrett’s
dream was to make a plane with no moving
wind blows parts that moves through the air using the
electric wind as thrust. It took him and his
team nine years to unpick the physics. But in
2018, they flew a prototype they called EAD
Airframe V2. It was a first-of-its-kind flight.
It also was also rather primitive: the prototype
had a wingspan of just 5 metres, weighed
Electric wind is generated the most favourable path 2.5 kilograms and flew only 60 metres.
when charged particles between the electrodes – It remains to be seen whether it can be scaled
moving from one electrode or so it was thought. up. One limitation is power – a larger, heavier
to another hit molecules in In 2018, Uroš Cvelbar plane would need the electric wind engine to
the air and transfer some of at the Jožef Stefan Institute generate much more thrust. Barrett has been
their momentum, creating in Slovenia and his colleagues working on this and says he is close to flight-
a breeze. But how exactly looked into the matter using testing a new prototype capable of carrying
does this happen? There a special kind of photography. a small payload. “If the calculations are
are so many molecules They found that the correct it should fly for something like 10 or
in the air that you would streamers aren’t the rails 20 minutes instead of about 10 seconds,” he
expect a few charged that the electric wind runs on. says. “It would have to be improved another
particles to get smothered Instead, they act more like a order of magnitude beyond where it is now,
and run out of steam snowplough, clearing a path but it could be the fundamental enabling
before they get anywhere. that the charged particles technology for silent air-quality monitoring,
It was generally thought can then more easily whizz surveillance or urban package delivery.”
that the ions involved must along to create a breeze. As well as providing a driving force for
take a ride on streamers, This seems to be how the vehicles, electric wind could help make them
which are electric discharges electric wind manages to more efficient. Ramis Örlü at KTH Royal
that slice through the air like not fizzle out straight away. Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden,
miniature lighting bolts. Cvelbar hopes the discovery says a large portion of a flat-nosed lorry’s fuel
Streamers scythe a clear path will help him put this wind is wasted via wind resistance. Designed to cut
through the air, making them to work (see main story). through the air, lorries’ aerodynamics do a
good job of dealing with front-on gusts but
struggle more in side winds. Örlü and his combust in a cleaner, brighter way. surface instabilities during these processes
colleagues think adding an electric breeze to Yet Cha has a higher ambition for electric would improve steel quality and reduce energy
the mix might help. Their solution involves wind. He thinks it could be key to a smooth losses. Any improvement could be valuable,
sticking strips of tape judiciously around the transition to a sustainable world. One part as steel manufacturing is one of the most
lorry’s cab and using these as electric wind of that shift might involve swapping natural difficult industrial processes to turn green.
generators. Arranged in a smart way, these gas and petrol for greener fuels such as Cvelbar is no stranger to the power of the
generators can create whirling vortices that hydrogen in the engines of cars, planes and real wind. Powerful gusts often arrive in winter
force the air to flow over the cab with less other machines. Unfortunately, all these fuels on the Adriatic Sea near where he lives in
resistance. Using a scale model, Örlü’s team burn in different ways and need their own Slovenia thanks to the bora, one of the wildest
showed that this can reduce drag by 20 per special engine designs – you can’t just fill your winds in the world. “All the rooftops in our
cent. “Even if you account for all the electricity car engine with hydrogen because the flame region have to be loaded with stones so that
to operate the sensors and actuators, it’s still instabilities could be dangerous. the bora doesn’t blow them away,” he says.
a net gain,” he says. The Maslenica bridge, which carries part
One big problem ideas like this would of a major road in neighbouring Croatia,
probably face is public acceptance. Would you Splashes and bubbles was closed 68 times in 2019 thanks to gusts
want to drive down a road surrounded by tens But perhaps there is a workaround. Cha thinks exceeding 200 kilometres per hour, well
of thousands of volts of electricity? Even Örlü retrofitted electric wind generators on existing above hurricane force. Cvelbar reckons
admits: “It doesn’t sound very safe.” However, engines could be programmed to control flame electric wind generators fitted to the bridge
he is working on embedding the strip instabilities arising from whatever fuel you could take the kick out of the bora. It would
generators safely within the lorry cab’s chassis. used. He has yet to prove this will work, and involve strategically placed electric wind
High voltages are less of a worry in heavy according to combustion engineer Tim Lieuwen generators that would look like high-tech
industry, which is why electric wind might find at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, chicken wire fences. “They would be activated
its first uses there. We have known for some “there’s a real challenge in whether these at high winds, with force in the opposite
time that these induced breezes can be used technologies can scale up”. But if they can, they direction to tame the wind,” he says. Getting
to mould flames into desirable shapes and could help bridge the gap to a net-zero society. the scheme working will require investment,
control the flow of oxygen so that the fire Uroš Cvelbar at the Jožef Stefan Institute in no doubt. But Cvelbar is optimistic that one
burns as efficiently as possible. Engineer Min Slovenia and his colleagues are also interested day we will be able to fight nature’s fury with
Suk Cha at King Abdullah University of Science in green applications. They have recently the flick of a switch. ❚
and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, and wielded electric wind to blow onto water to
his colleagues have been doing this for years. create unnaturally large depressions in the
Their experiments have been slowly unpicking liquid that didn’t splash, bubble or fall apart. Ben Skuse is a science writer
the details of how flames respond, with a view This kind of trick could prove useful in steel- based near Bristol, UK
to making industrial burners – the sort used making, for instance, which involves blowing
to create chemical reactions or melt metals – air over the top of molten iron. Removing
“IF THE BRAIN HAS A WAY University College London. “Things can be
forgotten, and we don’t know why.” Because
there is often no way to be sure whether an
TO LOCK AWAY MEMORIES, event took place or not, recovered memories
of trauma could be “genuine, false, or a
IT HASN’T BEEN FOUND YET” mixture of the two”, he wrote in a paper
in Perspectives on Psychological Science.
For all that, however, most researchers
At the time, Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist This is partly why we forget things, and don’t believe that faded or forgotten memories
at the University of California, Irvine, was there is no doubt that we do forget things. can somehow be retrieved in detail years later,
researching the way that witness statements First of all, some details of our experience, as if the repression lock has been suddenly
could be vulnerable to suggestion and including those of truly horrible events, don’t removed. “There is no credible scientific
distortion that could change the account of get committed to memory. Otgaar gives support for that idea,” says Loftus. Indeed,
an event. She wondered if something similar the example of someone being threatened there is no known mechanism for storing away
could be happening in cases where memories at gunpoint: it is possible that the person memories without being able to access them,
appeared as if from nowhere. In the research may have focused on the gun and so can’t says Larney Thede. If the brain has a way to
that followed, she showed that not only could remember the face of the perpetrator. “That’s lock away memories, it hasn’t been found yet.
this happen, but that there was no way to not a repressed memory,” he says. The memory What muddies the waters further is that
explain repressed memories using our best may have never formed in the first place. there is plenty of evidence that implanted
understanding of how the brain works. It is also possible that traumas can be memories can, over time, feel as real to the
The idea of repressed memories relies on entirely forgotten over time, especially person experiencing them as something that
the assumption that our memory works as a those that were experienced at a young age. actually happened.
filing system, maintaining crystal-clear records We rapidly forget events when we are young, We have known about implanted memories
of events and storing them away for future and don’t tend to remember experiences for a while now. In a seminal study, published
retrieval. In fact, far from being a faithful from before the age of about 4. It isn’t clear in 1995, Loftus and her colleagues asked
record of events, our memories are malleable. why this is the case, but some suggest that 24 adults about their childhood experiences.
The formation of a long-term memory the brain isn’t yet mature enough to create After speaking to the volunteers’ parents, the
requires the strengthening of electrical long-term memories. team asked each volunteer about three real
experiences and one that was entirely event, and couldn’t recognise it as false. been abducted by aliens showed signs of
invented – getting lost in a shopping mall at False memories can be just as upsetting post-traumatic stress disorder.
the age of 5. Just over two-thirds of the real as memories of real events. People who claim This suggests that, without corroborating
events were remembered. But seven of the to have been abducted by aliens are totally or exonerating evidence, it is impossible to
24 participants also remembered the made-up convinced by their memories of what tell if a memory is real or false, says Loftus.
event and were able to describe what they happened, and when recalling the “memory” Lawrence Patihis, a forensic psychologist at
thought had happened. of the event they get just as stressed as people the University of Portsmouth, UK, who used
Since then, multiple studies have who have experienced documented trauma. to believe that repressed memories exist, also
demonstrated the same phenomenon. More To investigate this further, Richard McNally points out that certain kinds of therapy, which
recent work has shown that people can easily at Harvard University and his colleagues encourage people to imagine scenarios or
be led to believe they have given someone a compared the physiological responses of elaborate on remembered fragments, may
black eye or experienced a hot air balloon ride, people who were known to have experienced cause false memories to take hold.
for instance, when they haven’t. trauma, whether as a result of war or sexual How can we distinguish implanted
In one large online study, with more than abuse, and those of people who said they had memories from real ones? One red flag is
5000 participants, 50 per cent of people said been abducted by aliens. As the participants if someone says they have recalled an event
they remembered news events that had been described their experiences, the researchers that they had completely forgotten but are
fabricated by the researchers. Even once they measured their heart rate, sweating and able to suddenly describe in striking detail,
were told that some of the stories they had muscle tension. There was no observable says Patihis. Research into memory suggests
been shown were fake, a quarter of the difference between the two groups. More that memories fade over time, unless they are
participants said that they remembered the than half of those who believed they had recalled regularly. “It would be impossible to >
“FAMILIES HAVE BEEN TORN APART Memory researchers like Otgaar and
Loftus have also been trying to get the word
out to the general public. It is here that the
BY ACCUSATIONS OF ABUSE THAT greatest challenge may lie. “The book stores
are filled with suggestive literature,” says
WERE LATER RETRACTED” Loftus. A quick internet search reveals
plenty of symptom checklists for people who
want to find out if they might have repressed
after treatment, not better. In the study, people now refer to buried or lost memories. memories. Sometimes even an engaging
published in 1996, 26 of the 30 individuals Individuals are described as having the television programme can be enough of a
had first recalled childhood abuse during closely related concept of “dissociative trigger for someone to become convinced
therapy. Three of the claimants said they amnesia”, a diagnosis recognised in the latest that repressed memories of trauma might
had considered suicide before therapy, but version of the Diagnostic and Statistical explain their current low mood or poor
20 did after “remembering” abuse. Two had Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), mental health.
been hospitalised before “recalling” the colloquially known as the psychiatrist’s bible. Otgaar believes that better education of
abuse, while 11 were hospitalised afterwards, Meanwhile, legal cases based on recovered lay-people, as well as therapists and people
and one had self-harmed before compared memory continue. In a recent search of the working in criminal justice, is the only way to
with eight afterwards. And while 25 had legal database LexisNexis, Laney Thede put this seductive, yet scientifically unlikely,
jobs before therapy, only three were in found more than 300 US legal cases that have idea to bed. ❚
employment afterwards. used the word “repression” since 2000 and
There are many stories of families torn more than 2000 that reference dissociative Need a listening ear? UK Samaritans: 116123
apart by accusations of abuse that were later amnesia. “This is just the tip of the iceberg, (samaritans.org). Visit bit.ly/SuicideHelplines for
retracted. “They convince people they had because this idea affects many cases where the hotlines and websites for other countries
a much worse life than they had, which is word repression is never uttered, and many
tragic,” says Patihis. more that are not in the database,” she says.
One challenge is a subtle change in Where do we go from here? Some Jessica Hamzelou is a
terminology used in therapy. “The term researchers feel that an important step would reporter at New Scientist
‘repressed memory’ has gained a bad be to remove the term “dissociative amnesia”
reputation,” says Shaw. Instead, she says, from the DSM. The American Psychiatric
Science of gardening
Answers on page 55
Puzzle
Answers and set by Katie Steckles
the next cryptic #134 No time to try
crossword
next week James Blond edges along the corridors of the
supervillain’s base, and comes to two locked
doors, each with a keypad that requires a
ACROSS DOWN four-digit code. He will need to get through
1 Hazardous form of clinical waste (6) 1 Similarity; monotony (8) one of the doors, but there is no time to
4 Solution of formaldehyde (8) 2 Feelers (8) guess a four-digit code – the number of
9 Monster in the Godzilla franchise (6) 3 Fast, powerful bird of prey (9,6) possible combinations is staggering!
10 Of skin or tissues, blue (8) 5 Banded chalcedony (4)
12 Nine-sided figures (8) 6 Purple pigment, NH₄MnP₂O₇ (9,6) But wait! Some of the buttons on the
13 Scientific journal founded in 1869 (6) 7 Dye mixture used in testing pH (6) keypads are visibly worn down, while others
15 Poland-born author of Solaris 8 Ni (6) look as if they have never been pressed.
and The Cyberiad (9,3) 11 Blow up (7)
18 Male sex hormone (12) 14 Tornado (7)
21 Drug formerly used as an emetic (6) 16 Blister resulting from herpes labialis (4,4) 1 2 3 1 2 3
22 ___ table, display of the chemical 17 German automobile marque (8)
elements (8) 19 Fuel derived from organic matter (6) 4 5 6 4 5 6
24 Pale grey or blue-green (8) 20 Total ___ , 1990 adaptation
25 Tree with an edible seed, Prunus of a Philip K. Dick story (6) 7 8 9 7 8 9
amygdalus (6) 23 In the NATO phonetic alphabet, Z (4)
26 Se (8) * 0 # * 0 #
27 Strain; emphasis (6)
Can an organism
Feeling flush
as simple as a fly
Are perimenopausal hot flushes just display free will?
a side effect of changing hormones
or are there possible evolutionary
The existence of time
advantages to them?
Aside from our perception, how
Jane Swan can we know that time exists?
Delabole, Cornwall, UK
I can confirm that hot flushes Ian Machell
contributed to my survival when Trowbridge, Wiltshire, UK
packing daffodils in January and Time – and, by inference,
February in a cold shed at night. the mathematical construct of
Cryptic crossword
#67 Answers
ACROSS 7 Alpha Centauri,
8 Payloads, 9 Test, 10 Carrion,
12 Trait, 14 Stabs, 16 Bentham,
19 Emit, 20 Asteroid,
22 Standard model
IT’S BEHIND THE MILK! Twisteddoodles for New Scientist Rod for your own back
Feedback is *always* favourably Further to the UK’s back-to-the
inclined towards anyone who future re-embrace of imperial
says by way of introduction that measurements (25 September),
they are “a long time subscriber David Clark recalls that when
who *always* reads NS from the original switch to the metric
back to front”. So we are smiling metre/kilogram/second was
beneficently at Cathrine Lowther mooted in the 1970s, someone
as she draws our attention to at his engineering college in
an unfamiliar paper from the the West Midlands suggested
medical literature. we should move instead to
“Admittedly, it is 16 years the rod-ton-fortnight system.
old,” she says. Dear Cathrine, They went as far as publishing a
our extensive piling system has a series of conversion tables, he says,
murky dust-ridden layer towards showing, for example, that 30 miles
its bottom that some archaeologists an hour under the old system
associate with the sacking of equated to about 3.26 million rpf
London by Boudicca. The paper (rods per fortnight) in the new.
in question, by Andrew Macnab We note in passing that this
and Mary Bennett, is entitled is also the number of light years
“Refrigerator Blindness: in a megaparsec, although we
Selective loss of visual acuity will leave it as an exercise for the
in association with a common reader to work out whether that’s
foraging behaviour”. a coincidence. “The preparation
The researchers write that of the tables took an impressive
three male offspring, aged 9 to amount of effort as computer
14, of Bennett were observed to time was pretty well unobtainable
sporadically experience a profound and electronic calculators were
visual problem – this condition Got a story for Feedback? unavailable,” says David. We are
being exclusively associated with Send it to feedback@newscientist.com or New Scientist, unsure whether we should see
an inability to find stuff in the fridge. Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT this as a virtue. We are also slightly
“Even with calm and constructive Consideration of items sent in the post will be delayed worried that whoever it was might
maternal encouragement and have got their mitts on the levers
direction,” they write, “the desired of power in the meantime.
object typically would remain Eye for an eye thought – if you can find your way
unseen until the mother-physician to the optometrist, you don’t need Whistle-blowers wanted
attended the fridge-side and He doesn’t say whether it was to go to the optometrist.
physically identified the precise prompted by rootling in his An as-yet nameless phenomenon is
location of the item. This behaviour fridge, but Jeroen Gildemacher in Cats on the brain in evidence in a paper from 2017 in
was noted only sporadically Groningen, the Netherlands, was the journal Nature Communications
among the female members recently booking an appointment “Speaking of studies that didn’t that Simon Goodman points out to
of the household, but was with his optometrist online. He need to be done,” says a colleague – us. Alongside lead author A. Sucker,
unremitting among the males.” wonders aloud whether the pitfalls we weren’t, but we shall, gladly – as further authors include a B. Real and
Despite an extensive online he encountered – bad contrast, they forward on “Dreaming about a lively trio of Natalia Pieper, Mirko
search, Cathrine was unable text extending rightwards beyond cats: An online survey”, a new paper Trilling and Susanne Horn. We’d love
to come up with any follow-up the edge of the internet and so in the American Psychological to know what’s going on there.
research. “I can’t help but wonder on – were in this case bad design, Association journal Dreaming.
if that is because male scientists or instead clever marketing. The topline results are that cat
Dare not speak its name
fail to appreciate how important Mainly, though, he experienced owners dream more about cats,
and widespread this problem is, a counterexample to the that cats show up in about 5 per More familiarly, you reveal to
or perhaps because they are too sometimes overbearing accuracy cent of remembered dreams and us that the CEO of Transparency
busy rooting through the lab fridge of GPS coordinates (21 August). that therefore, on this metric, International Australia is Serena
searching for their lunch bag that, At the end of the process, under they are better than dogs. A small Lillywhite, that Nick Fisch has
they swear, they put in there only the heading “You can find us here”, percentage of participants indicated been given a grant to attend the
two hours ago,” she writes. We he found a map 330 pixels wide – that they’d had negative experiences World Fisheries Congress and that
couldn’t possibly comment – but of the entire world. with cats in the past; “this is related the CEO of Epik, a company that
we would welcome any further It’s simple, Jeroen. This is an to the frequency of dreams with provides internet services to some
reader insights into this or example of the old “if you drown, threatening cats”, the researchers ugly far-right groups, is Robert
related phenomena. you weren’t a witch” school of write. So now you know. Monster. But let’s not go there. ❚