Do dreams reflect reality?
Sep 3rd 2020THAT DREAMS contain hidden meanings is an old idea. The Biblical Book of Genesis, written down about 2,500 years ago,…
Elon Musk’s vision of the future takes another step forward
Sep 2nd 2020IN IDLE MOMENTS, people sometimes dream about the future. Of cars that can drive themselves. Of travelling to other…
Finding bodies in forests
Sep 3rd 2020THE BODY FARM, known officially as the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility, is a gruesome place….
How to forecast armies’ will to fight
Sep 3rd 2020IN JUNE 2014 around 1,500 partisans of Islamic State (IS) attacked Mosul, a city in northern Iraq. They were outnumbered…
Wildfires will be more common in a warming world
Sep 12th 2020CALIFORNIA BURNS every year. But amid a record-breaking heatwave, 2020 is the fieriest year yet (see map). As The…
Some good news on covid-19
Sep 9th 2020THE BEST hope for ending the covid-19 pandemic is a vaccine. There is no shortage of candidates. The World Health…
How the shark forgot his skeleton
Sep 12th 2020VERTEBRATES—THOSE animals with a backbone—are a diverse bunch, encompassing everything from tuna and budgerigars…
How weird weather can span the world
Sep 12th 2020ON SEPTEMBER 7TH in Denver, Colorado, the temperature reached 34°C (93°F), 6°C above what is normal for the time…
Commercialising quantum computers
Sep 26th 2020BIG, STABLE quantum computers would be useful devices. By exploiting the counterintuitive properties of quantum mechanics…
Tanks have rarely been more vulnerable
Sep 12th 2020TANK BATTLES are rare these days. Crews that wish to prove themselves can turn instead to the Tank Biathlon, part…