Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 13, 2024

Volume 630 Issue 8016

Nature Magazine – June 12, 2024: The latest issue features ‘Complex System’ – AlphaFold 3 powers predictions of protein molecule interactions…

Mystery of huge ancient engravings of snakes solved at last

The depictions along South America’s Orinoco River are some of the biggest rock art known.

AI finds huge cache of anti-bacterial peptides hidden in genomic data

Machine-learning technique uncovers nearly 900,000 microbe-fighting peptide sequences in genomes collected from soils and other sources.

‘Sugar world’ sweetens the Solar System’s remote reaches

The icy body Arrokoth has a sugary coating that gives the body its distinctive red appearance.Research Highlight03 Jun 2024

A huge outbreak of butterflies hit three continents — here’s why

Swarms of painted ladies that descended on the Middle East, northern Africa and Europe have been traced to their source.

National Geographic Traveller – July/Aug 2024

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National Geographic Traveller Magazine (June 11, 2024): The July/August 2024 issue features a look beyond California’s vineyards and glacier-carved national parks to savour its tranquil coast, home to laid-back surf resorts and wave-lashed islands harbouring wildlife found nowhere else on Earth with the Jul/Aug 2024 issue. Plus, high-octane thrills in the deserts and mountains of Ras Al Khaimah and a slow journey along ancient trails in Cape Verde’s elemental hiking country.

Also inside this issue:

Ras Al Khaimah: The Emirate state of mountains, deserts and coastline is now emerging as an adventure hub 
Cape Verde: The West African archipelago is prime hiking country, with ancient trails running through farms and mountains
Slovakia: The past is felt with every step in the central region of Horehronie, home to lush valleys and a diverse folk culture 
Peru: Unforgettable itineraries through which to discover the nation’s cuisine, culture and complex history 
Barcelona: There’s always time for one more cocktail on streets peppered with clandestine speakeasies 
Hamburg: Wedded to the water, Germany’s ‘gateway to the world’ has long welcomed the tides of change  
Danish Lakes:Dive into the waters around Silkeborg, where wild swimming spots mingle with fairytale forests 
South Devon: Award-winning wines, local rums and stellar farm shops in the south west 
Rome: Savour the Eternal City with a stay that incorporates its rich history, from secluded boutiques to grand palazzi

Plus, The return of Liguria’s much-loved Via dell’Amore; Ireland’s new national park; the story of Belgian cuisine; Tartu’s best hotels; a salsa-lovers guide to Cali, Colombia; Alpine thrills in Austria; a UK break in North Staffordshire; books for the summer months and kit for family trips to the coast. 

We talk with author Sophie Yeo on the legacy of ice fishing in the Finnish wilderness, and ranger Edward Ndiritu on the future of anti-poaching in central Kenya. In our Ask the Experts section, the experts give advice on planning a food tour in Malaysia, low-impact French hiking holidays and more. The Info peeks behind the curtain of the Edinburgh Fringe, while Hot Topic explores the state of travel in Cyprus 50 years since its division. After a look at the winning images of this year’s Photo Competition, photographer Ulf Svane discusses distilling the magic of Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival for our June issue in How I got the shot.

Previews: Country Life Magazine – June 12, 2024

Country Life Magazine (June 11, 2024): ‘The Green Issue’ features How to make the Countryside beautiful again….

The Country Life green manifesto

As the General Election looms large, we present our practical 10-point plan that could make a real difference to the planet

What lies beneath

Soil is both full of life and the very stuff of life, so it’s high time we stopped treating it like dirt, suggests Sarah Langford

Bridges to survival

Building ‘ecoducts’ to connect wildlife habitats separated by road and rail is the way forward, argues John Lewis-Stempel

Over the moon

Jane Wheatley meets the biodynamic farmers following the lunar calendar to tend their crops in tune with Nature

A woolly good story

What happened to the golden fleece? Harry Pearson tracks the fall of wool from medieval marvel to unwanted by-product

Country Life’s Little Green Book

Madeleine Silver profiles the people, places and products currently turning heads with genuinely green credentials

Neptune’s larder

Helen Scales wades in to forage for seaweed, seeking everything from sea spaghetti to sugar kelp

Rebel gardener

James Alexander-Sinclair talks to John Little about the amazing diversity of his garden in Essex

The man with his head in the clouds

Royal favourite Edward Seago lived a life as vibrant, varied and colourful as his paintings, discovers Peyton Skipwith

Lt-Col Frederick Wells’s favourite painting

The commanding officer of the Coldstream Guards chooses a majestic portrait of Elizabeth II

The best of both worlds

Minette Batters celebrates the remarkable recovery of grey partridge on the South Downs

Just right: Walpole’s balance

In the first of two articles, John Goodall examines the creation of Wolterton Hall in Norfolk

 ‘A better use of Sundays’

Russell Higham applauds the enduring appeal of Britain’s  elegant Victorian bandstands

The legacy

David Austen dedicated his life to creating the perfect English rose, as Tiffany Daneff reveals

The good stuff

Hetty Lintell casts her net far and wide for fishy accessories

Interiors

Giles Kime hails designers who are at one with the environment

Hard landscaping

The Dunvegan Castle gardens are a verdant oasis on the Isle of Skye, finds Caroline Donald

Native herbs

Wormwood is an old absinthe ingredient best kept at arm’s length, advises John Wright

You’ve got to break a few eggs

Tom Parker Bowles is hoping practice makes perfect as he eyes the immaculate omelette

News: Elections In Iran And Europe, Belarus Nuclear Drills With Russia

The Globalist Podcast (June 11, 2024): We examine the latest developments in Iran’s presidential race and take stock of last week’s European Parliament elections. Plus: a closer look at Belarus’s participation in nuclear drills with Russia.

The New York Times — Tuesday, June 11, 2024

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U.N. Passes Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution as Blinken Presses Israel and Hamas

The Security Council endorsed a U.S.-backed plan, while Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited the Middle East to lobby for it, but Hamas and Israel were noncommittal.

In Calling Elections in France, Macron Makes a Huge Gamble

The president has challenged voters to test the sincerity of their support for the far right in European elections. Were the French letting off steam, or did they really mean it?

She’s Fighting to Save America’s ‘Last Best Place’ From Suicide

Montana’s suicide rate has been the highest in the U.S. for the past three years. Most of the deaths involved firearms. But suicide rarely registers in the national debate over guns.

A Democrat, Siding With the G.O.P., Is Removing Limits on Political Cash at ‘Breathtaking’ Speed

The Federal Election Commission has long done little more than reach deadlock, but an ascendant bloc of three Republicans and one Democrat has begun to unravel longstanding restraints.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – June 17, 2024

People play chess in Washington Square Park.

The New Yorker (June 10, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Victoria Tentler-Krylov’s “Pawns in the Park” – The artist captures a corner of calm contemplation in the midst of New York’s hustle and bustle.

A Striking Setback for India’s Narendra Modi

The truly disquieting thought was that the cult of personality around the Prime Minister had become suffocating and seemingly impossible to pierce—until now. By Isaac Chotiner

A Journey to the Center of New York City’s Congestion Zone

A Journey to the Center of New York City’s Congestion Zone

After Governor Kathy Hochul’s flip-flop on congestion pricing, a cop reconsiders his retirement while inching his Lexus through snarled-up traffic on the F.D.R.

By Ben McGrath

How Liberals Talk About Children

Many left-leaning, middle-class Americans speak of kids as though they are impositions, or means to an end.

By Jay Caspian Kang

News: Far Right Gains In EU Elections, Macron Calls For ‘Snap’ French Election

The Globalist Podcasts (June 10, 2024): News from this weekend’s EU elections. Plus: Brics foreign ministers meet in Nizhny Novgorod, the latest on Rafah and how might the detainment of a French scholar in Russia further strain relations with the West?

The New York Times — Monday, June 10, 2024

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Israel’s Euphoria Over Hostage Rescue May Be Fleeting

The operation conducted by Israel’s military to free four hostages resulted in a high death toll among Palestinians and has not resolved the challenges facing the Israeli government.

Hunter Biden Is on Trial, but All Eyes Are on the Biden Women

The women called to testify have at different times tried to support a man whose history of addiction continues to hit them with shrapnel.

46 Children Were Taken From Ukraine. Many Are Up for Adoption in Russia.

The New York Times traced how a web of officials and politicians aligned with President Vladimir V. Putin’s party carried out a campaign to permanently transfer Ukrainian children from Kherson.

The New York Review Of Books – June 20, 2024

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The New York Review of Books (June 9, 2024)The latest issue features:

Livelier Than the Living

In the Renaissance, reading became both a passion and a pose of detachment—for those who could afford it—from the pursuits of wealth and power.

A Marvelous Solitude: The Art of Reading in Early Modern Europe by Lina Bolzoni, translated from the Italian by Sylvia Greenup

Untold Futures: Time and Literary Culture in Renaissance England

Black Atlantics

The scholar Louis Chude-Sokei does the urgent work of reimagining the African diaspora as multiple diasporas.

Floating in a Most Peculiar Way by Louis Chude-Sokei

The Last “Darky”: Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora by Louis Chude-Sokei

The Sound of Culture: Diaspora and Black Technopoetics by Louis Chude-Sokei

Africa Travel: The Top Ten Places To Visit In Namibia

Ryan Shirley Films (June 9, 2024): Namibia, a country in southwest Africa, is distinguished by the Namib Desert along its Atlantic Ocean coast. It is home to diverse wildlife, including a significant cheetah population.

The capital, Windhoek, and coastal town Swakopmund contain German colonial-era buildings such as Windhoek’s Christuskirche, built in 1907. In the north, Etosha National Park’s salt pan draws game including rhinos and giraffes.