Humans

This vivid guide takes us into the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant that exploded in 1986, revealing a “land of tranquillity and frozen time”

Humans

6 July 2022

By George Bass

BEFORE 26 April 1986, living near the Vladimir Lenin Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Chernobyl (nicknamed Atomic City) or in the nearby workers’ city of Prypyat was highly desirable. There was a new restaurant, supermarket, large playground and immaculate flats, all of which marked it out as one of the Soviet Union’s more prosperous areas. It was so desirable that newspapers ran adverts … More

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

Humans

6 July 2022

Josie Ford
Should that be Beedfack?
Feedback’s whirlwind romance with non-fungible tokens took another knock this week on learning that a celebrity impersonator called Doop Snogg and the man who hired him, Isaac Kamlish of NFT start-up Fair.xyz, arrived at a New York NFT festival to a blizzard of business cards hurled by star-struck CEOs who thought, against all available evidence, that Doop Snogg was the real Snoop Dogg.
Was tulip mania ever this weird, Feedback wonders, putting our autograph book back in our pocket and heading for the West Coast and a bite to eat at NFT-themed burger restaurant Bored & … More

New Scientist’s weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn’t miss

Humans

6 July 2022

Read
Scent explores the mood-altering world of perfume. Elise Vernon Pearlstine, a zoologist-cum-parfumier, tells the evolutionary story of plant fragrances that seduce and repulse, heal and protect. Available to buy from 26 July.
MARCOS CRUZ/NETFLIX
Watch
Resident Evil’s Raccoon City receives a futuristic makeover in a new adaptation of the hit video-game series. You might have thought that their city planners would have learned not to build above secret bioweapon labs by now… Streaming on Netflix from 14 July.
Melvin Nicholson/Bav Media/Shutterstock
Listen
On Sonorous Seas is a podcast accompanying a multimedia exhibition on the Isle of Mull … More

A gentle fantasy about a lonely inventor called Brian, whose world changes completely when a robot he creates comes to life, makes a serious point about the possibilities of personal robots, finds Simon Ings

Humans

6 July 2022

By Simon Ings

Brian’s life changes after he sees a mannequin’s head in some rubbishCourtesy of Will Davie / Focus Features
Brian and Charles
Jim Archer
On general release in US/UK cinemas

AMATEUR inventor Brian Gittins has been having a bad time. He is terribly shy, lives alone and has become a favourite target of the local bully, Eddie Tomington (played by Jamie Michie).
He finds consolation in his “inventions pantry” (“a cowshed, really”), from which emerges one ludicrously misconceived invention after another. His heart is in the right place: his tricycle-powered “flying cuckoo clock”, for instance, is meant as a service to … More

Cold-brew coffee is on the rise. Enthusiasts say it has a smoother, less acidic taste and new research backs this up, finds Sam Wong, who takes his with ice and milk

Humans

6 July 2022

By Sam Wong
Jozef Polc/Alamy
A GOOD cup of coffee is all about balance. Coffee contains more than 1000 flavour compounds, including some that provide the fruity, earthy and chocolatey aromas we detect in our noses and others responsible for the acidity, bitterness and astringency we detect in our mouths.
The challenge is to extract a rich brew of desirable flavour compounds without overextracting those that make the drink bitter and overpowering. The roasting and grinding of the beans, the temperature of the water, the ratio of ground coffee to water and the time they are in contact all play a part, but different brewing … More

As the future generations commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe’s job is to help guide the government’s decisions for the benefit of people yet to be born. She explains how she uses evidence to bring long-term thinking into politics

Humans

5 July 2022

By Graham Lawton
Nabil Nezzar
SOMETIMES it seems like the furthest a politician can think into the future is tomorrow’s front pages. Sophie Howe’s job is to break that vicious cycle of short-termism. As the future generations commissioner for Wales, she advocates for the interests of people who will come of age in the future or have yet to be born.
Created in 2016, her position was a world first. But now, as she nears the end of her term in office, the idea of having a political advocate for people of the future is catching on, with several other nations and even the UN planning to follow suit.
Howe’s role is limited to advising the Welsh government, but she has had a considerable impact. New Scientist caught up with her to find out how you go about advocating for unborn people and how evidence can help.
Graham Lawton: How did your unique job come about?
Sophie Howe: In 2010, the administration in Wales had a national conversation with our citizens to ask: what is the Wales you want to leave to your children and grandchildren? The result was a piece of legislation called the Well-being of Future Generations Act, which was passed in 2015. It sets out seven long-term well-being goals. We want a healthy Wales, a resilient Wales, a prosperous Wales, a more equal Wales, a Wales with vibrant culture and cohesive communities, and a globally responsible Wales. The act also established an independent commissioner to oversee implementation.
That’s you! What does your job involve?
I give advice and guidance on the sorts of policies that would take us closer towards meeting those … More

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

Humans

29 June 2022

Josie Ford
On the scent
It turns out that drinking coffee will unlock Feedback’s wallet faster than rumours of a hot new crypto offering. A study in the Journal of Marketing reports that consuming a caffeinated drink before shopping gets us to spend one-and-a-half times the amount we would have done had we chosen decaffeinated coffee or water instead. Lead author Dipayan Biswas at the University of South Florida blames the dopamine released as a result of the stimulant, which in turn boosts impulsivity, lowers self-control and (quite specifically) sends the sale of scented candles (see page 16) rocketing.
Internet bubbles
Alas, … More

Finding the Higgs boson is the compelling story behind Elusive: How Peter Higgs solved the mystery of mass. But Frank Close’s book lives up to its title as both the man and his particle ultimately slip through the net

Humans

29 June 2022

By Simon Ings

IN HIS latest book Elusive, physicist Frank Close sets out to write about Peter Higgs, whose belief in the detectability of a very special particle that was to bear his name earned him a Nobel prize in 2013.
But Higgs’s life resists narrative. He has had a successful career. His colleagues enjoy his company. He didn’t over-publish or get into pointless spats. Now in his mid-nineties, Higgs … More