New Scientist International Edition - June 18, 2022

60 Pages·2022·28.9 MB·English

This week’s issue
On the Time special issue 38 Features
cover 39 What is time?
“ To slow
41 How do we sense time?
47 Can we live without time?
down time,
46 How do we make the
most of our time? you must
40 Why does time only
move forwards? always have
43 How much time
does evolution take? something
45 Is time the key to a
new, new,
theory of everything?
42 What affects our
new”
perception of time?
48 When will time end?
Vol 254 No 3391
Cover image: Julia Lee
News Features
8 Turning back time 38 Mysteries of time
Images from the Gaia News Delve into the nine biggest
space telescope let us questions about the fourth
rewind the paths of stars dimension
9 Machine mind
The back pages
Claims that an AI has achieved
sentience don’t stand up
51 Stargazing at home
16 Stem cell therapy Get up early to spot five planets
Rare disease treated aligned in order
with umbilical cord cells
53 Puzzles
Try our crossword, quick quiz
Views
and logic puzzle
27 Comment 54 Almost the last word
We need to rethink anonymity How and where was water
in organ donation, say Nicholas first created?
Murphy and Charles Weijer
55 Tom Gauld for New Scientist
28 The columnist A cartoonist’s take on the world
Graham Lawton on biodiversity
pitfalls of green diets Y 56 Feedback
R
A
BR Spare parts and leaky tanks:
LI
30 Aperture TO the week in weird
O
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Specimens of life on the brink E P
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CI
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32 Letters PY/
O
At last, Australia has emerged SC
O
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from its climate wars MIC
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34 Culture S K
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A history of how we gauge EN
D
the world measures up well 14 Cutting cholesterol One-off injection switches off a gene in liver cells
18 June 2022 | New Scientist | 1
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The leader
New adventures in time
The mysteries of the fourth dimension are a never-ending source of fascination
THERE is nothing quite so simultaneously discovered a new kind of time crystal on the chemical composition of almost
familiar and enigmatic as time, the focus (see page 12), strange oscillating materials 2 billion stars to help us build a better
of this week’s issue. Which is perhaps what that may offer a new window on events picture of our galaxy’s history. We can
always makes it such a joy to indulge in at the quantum scale. also speculate about the deep future,
our unique ability to explore the many We can’t physically go back in time – not least the ultimate question – will
ongoing mysteries of time – and to chase for now, at least (see page 40). But that time ever end (see page 48)?
a better understanding of the most doesn’t stop us from venturing into the But arguably some of the most
puzzling dimension of all. deep past through the fossil record, which fascinating questions about time have to
We can’t even agree on what time is, do with how we relate to it. In the past few
“ Some of the most fascinating
though many people suspect answers years, neuroscientists have made strides
questions about time have to
could lie in the mismatch between in understanding how our brains measure
do with how we relate to it”
how it manifests in general relativity – time (see page 41) and psychologists have
Einstein’s theory of gravity – and quantum demonstrated the role our bodies play
mechanics, which describes the behaviour is revealing that evolution happens on in warping our perceptions of its passage
of subatomic particles and forces (see two timescales at once (see page 43), or (see page 42). They even have surprising
page 39). Figuring that out could finally by studying stars and galaxies millions proposals for how we might rethink our
lead us to a quantum theory of gravity of light years away. This form of time relationship with time – for example, by
(see page 45). That is proving to be a travel has just received a boost with the tapping into the fact that each of us only
difficult quest, but fresh clues are arriving latest release of data from the Gaia space enjoys a limited supply – to live more
all the time. Just this week, researchers telescope (see page 8), featuring details fulfilling lives (see page 46). ❚
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18 June 2022 | New Scientist | 5

News
Evolution debate Hot-headed Green guardians Quantum advantage Covid in pregnancy
New mutations Brains can be Trees protect art Exotic computers Infection linked to
appear vital for long- warmer than the from air pollution have the edge in developmental delays
term adaptation p10 rest of our bodies p14 in Rome p18 some tasks p19 in some babies p20
A dead pink-footed
goose on a beach
in Dumfries, UK
“So even once this wave of
disease passes, it’s going to
take the populations much
longer to recover compared with
quite fast-breeding species like
geese,” says Stuart Butchart at
the non-profit organisation
BirdLife International.
The loss of seabirds in the UK
has global ramifications because
the country is home to so many
K of them: about two-thirds of the
C
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S world population of gannets and
R
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T great skuas are in the UK.
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S/S Conservationists say the flu’s
W
NE impact compounds existing long-
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L
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S/ “It’s particularly concerning for
W
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H the seabirds because they’re being
T
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M impacted already by fisheries,
N
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RI climate change, disturbance and
B
other threats,” says Butchart.
Environment Reynolds says that in the
Bird flu hits UK seabirds short term, better monitoring and
surveillance of flu in wild birds is
needed, along with swift removal
of carcasses to avoid more birds
Deadly avian influenza is spreading in the UK’s globally significant being infected. The Scottish
government held an urgent
populations of gannets and geese, reports Adam Vaughan
meeting on 14 June to see how
the RSPB and authorities can
CONSERVATIONISTS fear that Solway Firth and Norway’s currently devastating wild birds – better coordinate a national
a highly pathogenic bird flu is Svalbard, are estimated to have predominantly caused by the response to the unfolding disaster.
to blame for a growing wave died from flu during the recent H5N1 virus – is a recent issue The risk to human health is
of mortality in UK seabirds, winter, says James Reynolds at the that has its origins in intensive seen as low. However, people are
which were already facing Royal Society for the Protection poultry production in eastern advised not to touch birds they
severe pressure from climate of Birds, a UK charity. Asia. This form of flu was first suspect of being killed by flu. If
change and overfishing. “But the epicentre now is… in they find one, they are asked to
“ We are seeing significant
The H5N1 avian influenza has Shetland and in the Northern Isles call a UK government helpline.
mortality in a wider
killed wild birds including cranes [of Scotland] and it’s also showing Butchart says the loss of wild
range of wild birds
in Israel, Dalmatian pelicans in up in the Western Isles and around birds could still have a “huge
and in various areas”
Greece, knots (a type of shorebird) mainland sites,” says Reynolds. impact” on the poultry industry
in the Netherlands and now “Wildlife has been particularly by forcing chickens, ducks and
several UK seabird species, affected this [bird flu] season,” says spread through the movement geese to be kept indoors again,
primarily gannets. More than a spokesperson at WOAH. “We are of poultry and is now doing so a step which he says will
383,000 bird deaths from the virus seeing significant mortality in a through the migration of wildlife. have “massive economic
have been counted by the World wider range of wild birds and in While the flu is unwelcome consequences”. UK consumers
Organisation for Animal Health various geographical areas, in wildfowl such as the Svalbard have only been able to resume
(WOAH) since October 2021. which is unusual.” barnacle goose, it is a particularly buying free-range eggs since
About 16,500 of a population Birds have had to cope with acute threat for seabirds because early May, after UK bird flu
of 43,000 Svalbard barnacle geese, avian influenza for thousands they tend to be long-lived species control measures introduced
which migrate between Scotland’s of years. However, the illness with low reproductive rates. last November were relaxed.  ❚
18 June 2022 | New Scientist | 7
News
Astronomy
Rewinding the Milky Way
The European Space Agency has released a new tranche of data from its Gaia space
telescope, and now we can look back into the history of our galaxy, finds Alex Wilkins
OUR map of the Milky Way has
been upgraded and it now lets us
rewind the paths of stars to look
back in time. The data set that
enables this, released by the
European Space Agency (ESA)’s
Gaia space telescope, includes the
detailed chemical make-up and
speeds of almost 2 billion stars.
“You can point to a
particular star and say,
‘I want to know where that
was billions of years ago’ ”
From its vantage point
1.5 million kilometres from Earth,
Gaia has been measuring already
known stars and seeking new ones
since its launch in 2013. The first
data release, published in 2016,
contained information on the
brightness and positions of
1.1 billion stars, and a second
release in 2018 followed up with The Gaia telescope team To create this chemical that star was billions of years
the colours, temperatures and has produced beautiful map, which tells us where ago’, and you can do that with
radii of a total of 1.7 billion stars. maps of the Milky Way stars form and where they these models.”
Now, ESA has published came from based on the metals Repeated measurements
information on almost 2 billion they contain, Seabroke and his of the same stars has helped
stars overall, increasing the colleagues analysed Gaia’s latest separate out stronger signals
2 billion
number that we know the spectroscopic data. This contains from statistical noise. One
chemical compositions of by a varying frequencies of starlight, consequence of this is that Gaia
factor of 10, and the number of We now have data on nearly this which is linked to the chemical appears to be able to detect small
radial velocities – how fast they many stars in the Milky Way make-up of the stars. variations and vibrations on
are moving away from or towards some star surfaces that it wasn’t
us – by a factor of five. It also originally designed to pick up.
Galaxy evolution
provides greater detail on star One particular type of
temperatures, colours and masses. A snapshot of Measurements from Gaia’s tsunami-like vibration that
What’s more, the information asteroids orbiting spectrometer also helped produce changes a star’s shape, known
hoard contains the largest known the sun on 13 June the most detailed radial velocity as a starquake, was detected on
catalogues of binary stars, map of the Milky Way. This tells us some stars where it shouldn’t
asteroids and moons, as well which stars are moving away from have been possible according to
as millions of other galaxies. or towards us when looking at the current theories. “Gaia is opening
Gaia can now produce more galaxy from the side on. When a goldmine for ‘asteroseismology’
detailed chemical and radial combined with the motion of the of massive stars,” said Conny Aerts
velocity maps than ground-based stars as seen from Gaia, this 3D at KU Leuven in Belgium in an
telescopes, which will allow us to map can help us trace how the ESA statement.
C
A
trace the Milky Way’s evolution. P galaxy might have evolved. ESA has performed some
D
A/
“Gaia is like a time machine that AI “You can run time forwards and preliminary analysis on the
G
A/
allows us to look back and infer S backwards when you know their data set, but more discoveries will
E
E:
the history of our galaxy,” says OV orbits,” says Seabroke. “So, for a arrive in the coming months and
B
A
George Seabroke at University & particular star, you can point to years as the scientific community
T
College London. GH it and say, ‘I want to know where examines it in more detail.  ❚
RI
8 | New Scientist | 18 June 2022