New Scientist - 22 August 2026

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Liam

Issue highlights the connection between female hormones and ADHD, detailing how fluctuating oestrogen levels across monthly cycles, puberty, pregnancy, and menopause can shape symptom severity and treatment response. It discusses why excluding women from research hindered understanding and fueled the misconception of ADHD as a male condition. The issue also covers memory storage, replication challenges in quantum computing, ocean-current risks from rapid CO₂ rise, and features on wildfires, black hole triplets, and sound.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages52

Reading Time2 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

News

Replication and quantum computing

CO₂ rise and ocean currents

Total recall: memory storage

Views

Asking questions and curiosity

Matter and particle physics

Features

Tangled ties: ADHD and hormones

Wakeful rest benefits

Sean Carroll on a repeating universe

Earliest urges to adopt pets

Back pages

Puzzles and quiz

Letters and feedback

YOUR BRAIN SLEEPS WHILE YOU’RE AWAKE SEAN CARROLL ON OUR ETERNALLY REPEATING UNIVERSE DID ANCIENT WILDFIRES SHAPE OUR EVOLUTION? WEEKLY 22 August 2026 We’re finally untangling the profound inﬂuence of female hormones on ADHD PLUS BLACK HOLE TRIPLETS /IRON AGE MATRIARCHS /RAINBOW OF SOUND This week’s issue On the cover 28 We’re finally untangling the profound influence of female hormones on ADHD News 4 A new replication crisis? Results from one quantum computer may not be reproducible on another 5 Current warning Rapid CO₂ rise could seethe end of critical ocean current 9 Total recall A new understanding of how brains store memories Views 17 How curious Why do people ask so few questions, asks David Robson 18 What matters for matter Chanda Prescod-Weinstein looks into eliminating particles from the standard model 20 Aperture A polar bear’s icy feast 22 Book of the week The gripping story of the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT 27 Letters One reader on why Finland is the happiest nation on Earth Vol 271 No 3609 Cover image: Made Up 34 Your brain sleeps while you’re awake 38 Sean Carroll on our eternally repeating universe 7 Did ancient wildfires shape our evolution? 13 Black hole triplets 8 Iron Age matriarchs 9 Rainbow of sound News 7 A fiery history Ancient wildfires shaped human evolution BLICKWINKEL/ALAMY 28 Features “As one woman put it:‘I feel like it’s just chaos in my brain, constantly’” Features 28 Tangled ties Unravelling the link between ADHD and hormones in women 34 The power of wakeful rest We may be able to get some of the benefits of sleep while we are awake 38 History, repeated Sean Carroll on our eternally repeating universe 42 Making furry friends When did our ancestors first get the urge to adopt pets? The back pages 45 Puzzles Try our crossword, puzzle and quick quiz 46 Almost the last word Do all bee species speak the same language? 48 Feedback A look atthe death rate of archaeologists in film 48 Twisteddoodles for New Scientist Picturing the lighter side of life 22 August 2026 |New Scientist|1 The leader Abit hormonal For too long, scientists have ignored the impact of fluctuating female hormones THE first rule of hormones was always that you don’t talk about your hormones. For decades, women have often felt the need to minimise or hide the impactthat fluctuating levels of female sex hormones can have. The shiftsin oestrogen levels experienced by many can be as profound asthey are frequent–fluctuating monthly and also changing dramatically during puberty, pregnancy and menopause. These hormonal ups and downs don’t just have a personal impact, but are also a nuisance for medical research, where it was long common to exclude women from studies to prevent their hormones from muddying the results. One consequence of this exclusion was the view of ADHD as a male condition, particularly one involving hyperactive PUBLISHING & COMMERCIAL Display advertising Tel +44 (0)203 615 6456 [Email](Email displayads@newscientist.com)[ displayads@newscientist.com](Email displayads@newscientist.com)[ ](Email displayads@newscientist.com)Sales director Claudia Nicoletti Partnership growth lead Joe Teal Agency partner Daniel Sinclair New Scientist Events Tel +44 (0)[203 615 6554](203 615 6554 Email live@newscientist.com)[ Email](203 615 6554 Email live@newscientist.com)[ live@newscientist.com](203 615 6554 Email live@newscientist.com)[ ](203 615 6554 Email live@newscientist.com)Sales director Jacqui McCarron Sales manager Maureen Ignacio Head of product delivery Henry Gomm Events and projects manager Georgia Hill Events and projects executive Ciara Lucas New Scientist Discovery Tours [Email](Email tours@newscientist.com)[ tours@newscientist.com](Email tours@newscientist.com)[ ](Email tours@newscientist.com)Director Kevin Currie Head of travel marketing Ginny Smith Head of travel product Lara Paxton T

FAQs

为什么文中强调女性激素会影响ADHD？

文中指出，雌激素在月经周期以及青春期、怀孕、更年期的剧烈波动，可能深刻影响ADHD症状与治疗效果。

过去研究为何容易把ADHD当作“男性疾病”？

文中提到，医疗研究长期常见做法是排除女性参与，以避免激素波动“掩盖”结果，从而导致对ADHD的性别差异理解偏差。

本期除激素与ADHD外还重点讨论了哪些科学主题？

本期还涉及量子计算的可重复性问题、快速CO₂上升对关键海洋环流的风险、记忆如何被大脑存储，以及野火与人类进化等内容。

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Liam