New Scientist Australian Edition 12-Nov-22

Instant expert How your brain works Everything that makes you you, and all your experiences of the world, are somehow conjured up by 1.4 kilograms of grey matter beneath your skull. Our book How Your Brain Works explores the amazing world in your head and explains how the latest technology means we can peer within and watch your mind at work. Price £9.99/US$12. shop.newscientist.com Tour Chile: The world capital of astronomy With its unique geography and climate, and 70 per cent of the world’s large ground telescopes, Chile truly is the world capital of astronomy. On this tour you will join New Scientist astronomer and features editor Abigail Beall to explore the Atacama desert and visit world-leading observatories. Perfect for experienced stargazers and beginners alike. Price £7999. newscientist.com/tours Podcast Weekly…

Instant expert How your brain works Everything that makes you you, and all your experiences of the world, are somehow conjured up by 1.4 kilograms of grey matter beneath your skull. Our book How Your Brain Works explores the amazing world in your head and explains how the latest technology means we can peer within and watch your mind at work. Price £9.99/US$12. shop.newscientist.com Tour Chile: The world capital of astronomy With its unique geography and climate, and 70 per cent of the world’s large ground telescopes, Chile truly is the world capital of astronomy. On this tour you will join New Scientist astronomer and features editor Abigail Beall to explore the Atacama desert and visit world-leading observatories. Perfect for experienced stargazers and beginners alike. Price £7999. newscientist.com/tours Podcast Weekly In a special episode, host Rowan Hooper visits Newlands Corner…

THERE are soon to be 8 billion of us and counting. Yet while the world’s population is still growing fast overall, in many countries, the numbers are declining or will do soon. Take the three largest. The population of China will begin to fall soon and could halve by 2100. India’s will peak around 2050. And the US population would fall from the 2030s if not for immigration. So there are two distinct issues to deal with: rapid population growth in some nations and population declines in others. Many see limiting population growth as vital for tackling various environmental catastrophes unfolding around the world, as we report on page 14. Yet for wealthy Westerners to call for lower-income countries to control their populations simply in the name of protecting nature is hypocritical in…

THERE are soon to be 8 billion of us and counting. Yet while the world’s population is still growing fast overall, in many countries, the numbers are declining or will do soon. Take the three largest. The population of China will begin to fall soon and could halve by 2100. India’s will peak around 2050. And the US population would fall from the 2030s if not for immigration. So there are two distinct issues to deal with: rapid population growth in some nations and population declines in others. Many see limiting population growth as vital for tackling various environmental catastrophes unfolding around the world, as we report on page 14. Yet for wealthy Westerners to call for lower-income countries to control their populations simply in the name of protecting nature…

NEGOTIATORS at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt have agreed to discuss setting up a fund that could see higher-income countries pay reparations to vulnerable nations already struggling with the impacts of climate change. “Loss and damage”, referring to the negative effects of climate change and efforts to minimise and address them, has been included in the formal conference agenda for the first time in the history of UN climate talks. The talks opened with a stark message from UN secretary-general António Guterres, who warned that the world is “on a highway to climate hell” with its “foot on the accelerator”. Speaking on 7 November, just days after the UN warned that existing climate plans offer no “credible pathway” to limit global warming to 1.5°C, Guterres told delegates that the planet is…

FAR more people have died from liver disease and diabetes in England and Wales since the coronavirus pandemic began than expected. Exactly why is unclear, but some deaths may be due to difficulties in accessing healthcare during periods of lockdown, along with rising alcohol consumption. Between March 2020 and June 2022, there were 3834 excess deaths caused by cirrhosis and other liver diseases in England and Wales compared with the rolling five-year averages for these conditions, according to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is a 19.7 per cent rise on expected levels. Meanwhile, in the same period, there were 3466 excess deaths caused by diabetes – a 24.4 per cent rise. The five-year averages exclude 2020 to discount the high mortality figures seen at the height of the pandemic,…