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Sleepwalking to disaster
LEADERS
Editorial Editor-in-chief Sumit Paul-Choudhury Executive editor Graham Lawton Head of production Julian Richards Art editor Craig Mackie Editor at large Jeremy Webb
News Chief news editor Niall Firth Editors Sally Adee, Jacob Aron, Penny Sarchet, Jon White, Chelsea Whyte ROLAND SEITRE/NATUREPL.COM
Reporters (UK) Andy Coghlan, Jessica Hamzelou, Michael Le Page, Timothy Revell, Clare Wilson, Sam Wong, (US) Leah Crane, Aylin Woodward, (Aus) Alice Klein
Features Chief features editor Richard Webb Editors Catherine de Lange, Gilead Amit, Catherine Brahic, Julia Brown, Daniel Cossins, Kate Douglas, Alison George, Joshua Howgego, Tiffany O’Callaghan, Sean O’Neill
Culture and Community Editors Liz Else, Mike Holderness, Simon Ings, Frank Swain
Subeditors Managing subeditor Eleanor Parsons Vivienne Greig, Tom Campbell, Hannah Joshua, Chris Simms
Design Kathryn Brazier, Joe Hetzel, Dave Johnston, Ryan Wills
Picture desk Chief picture editor Adam Goff Kirstin Kidd, David Stock
Production Mick O’Hare, Alan Blagrove, Anne Marie Conlon, Melanie Green
Contact us newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1202 [email protected] UK 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1200 AUSTRALIA Level 11, Suite 3, 100 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060 Tel +61 (0)2 9422 8559 US 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel +1 781 734 8773
© 2017 New Scientist Ltd, England New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387 Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Williams Gibbons (Wolverhampton)
Reasons to be cheerful? Earth optimism looks like an oxymoron, but give it a chance FIFTY-FIVE years ago last month, Rachel Carson published her seminal book Silent Spring. Its warning that indiscriminate use of pesticides was poisoning the planet is frequently credited with having started the modern environmental movement. What has that movement achieved? Arguably not much. Certainly not enough. Pesticides still abound, we’re in the midst of a human-made mass extinction and decades of warnings about irreversible climate change appear to have fallen on deaf ears. But amid the doom there have been some accomplishments. Emphasising those is the aim of
a new environmental campaign that calls itself Earth optimism. Its proponents point out successes in protecting individual species like the scimitar oryx (above) and the Togo slippery frog, a decline in deforestation rates in the Amazon, the gradual transformation of our energy system and more (see page 38). The overall message is an Obama-esque “Yes we can!” The movement is open to accusations of wearing rose-tinted spectacles, cherry-picking success stories and making mountains out of molehills. Saving the Togo slippery frog is an achievement, but in the grand scheme of things
Sleepwalking to disaster IN THE week that the Nobel Prize was deservedly awarded to biologists working on the circadian clock, the importance of their research to life and health has come into even sharper focus. It turns out that regularly failing to get adequate sleep puts us at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A single night of poor slumber is enough
to see damaging effects in the brain (see page 30). This is worrying news for all of us. The cult of busyness now rules, burning the candle at both ends has become a badge of honour. English does not yet have an equivalent of the Japanese word inemuri – falling asleep in meetings, which is considered an honourable sign of dedication
it hardly registers. But the Earth optimists’ aim is not to claim that all is well. Rather, they point out that we cannot expect people to rise to the challenge without concrete examples of success. They have a point. Despite having their hearts and heads in the right place, environmental campaigners all too often come across as doom-mongering, guilt-tripping party poopers. We need a new message. Whether Earth optimism is it remains to be seen, but it is an interesting experiment in shifting the narrative. A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Or maybe a Togo slippery frog. ■
to the cause – but may need one sooner rather than later. We ignore the link between sleep and dementia at our peril, not just as individuals but as societies. Alzheimer’s is a dreadful condition that will exact a huge burden on health and social care systems. Governments have a duty to protect citizens and foster their well-being. The promotion of adequate sleep must become a priority, lest we sleepwalk our way into a public health crisis. ■ 14 October 2017 | NewScientist | 3
Editorial Editor-in-chief Sumit Paul-Choudhury Executive editor Graham Lawton Head of production Julian Richards Art editor Craig Mackie Editor at large Jeremy Webb
News Chief news editor Niall Firth Editors Sally Adee, Jacob Aron, Penny Sarchet, Jon White, Chelsea Whyte ROLAND SEITRE/NATUREPL.COM
Reporters (UK) Andy Coghlan, Jessica Hamzelou, Michael Le Page, Timothy Revell, Clare Wilson, Sam Wong, (US) Leah Crane, Aylin Woodward, (Aus) Alice Klein
Features Chief features editor Richard Webb Editors Catherine de Lange, Gilead Amit, Catherine Brahic, Julia Brown, Daniel Cossins, Kate Douglas, Alison George, Joshua Howgego, Tiffany O’Callaghan, Sean O’Neill
Culture and Community Editors Liz Else, Mike Holderness, Simon Ings, Frank Swain
Subeditors Managing subeditor Eleanor Parsons Vivienne Greig, Tom Campbell, Hannah Joshua, Chris Simms
Design Kathryn Brazier, Joe Hetzel, Dave Johnston, Ryan Wills
Picture desk Chief picture editor Adam Goff Kirstin Kidd, David Stock
Production Mick O’Hare, Alan Blagrove, Anne Marie Conlon, Melanie Green
Contact us newscientist.com/contact General & media enquiries Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1202 [email protected] UK 25 Bedford Street, London, WC2E 9ES Tel +44 (0)20 7611 1200 AUSTRALIA Level 11, Suite 3, 100 Walker Street, North Sydney, NSW 2060 Tel +61 (0)2 9422 8559 US 45 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139 Tel +1 781 734 8773
© 2017 New Scientist Ltd, England New Scientist is published weekly by New Scientist Ltd. ISSN 0262 4079. New Scientist (Online) ISSN 2059 5387 Registered at the Post Office as a newspaper and printed in England by Williams Gibbons (Wolverhampton)
Reasons to be cheerful? Earth optimism looks like an oxymoron, but give it a chance FIFTY-FIVE years ago last month, Rachel Carson published her seminal book Silent Spring. Its warning that indiscriminate use of pesticides was poisoning the planet is frequently credited with having started the modern environmental movement. What has that movement achieved? Arguably not much. Certainly not enough. Pesticides still abound, we’re in the midst of a human-made mass extinction and decades of warnings about irreversible climate change appear to have fallen on deaf ears. But amid the doom there have been some accomplishments. Emphasising those is the aim of
a new environmental campaign that calls itself Earth optimism. Its proponents point out successes in protecting individual species like the scimitar oryx (above) and the Togo slippery frog, a decline in deforestation rates in the Amazon, the gradual transformation of our energy system and more (see page 38). The overall message is an Obama-esque “Yes we can!” The movement is open to accusations of wearing rose-tinted spectacles, cherry-picking success stories and making mountains out of molehills. Saving the Togo slippery frog is an achievement, but in the grand scheme of things
Sleepwalking to disaster IN THE week that the Nobel Prize was deservedly awarded to biologists working on the circadian clock, the importance of their research to life and health has come into even sharper focus. It turns out that regularly failing to get adequate sleep puts us at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A single night of poor slumber is enough
to see damaging effects in the brain (see page 30). This is worrying news for all of us. The cult of busyness now rules, burning the candle at both ends has become a badge of honour. English does not yet have an equivalent of the Japanese word inemuri – falling asleep in meetings, which is considered an honourable sign of dedication
it hardly registers. But the Earth optimists’ aim is not to claim that all is well. Rather, they point out that we cannot expect people to rise to the challenge without concrete examples of success. They have a point. Despite having their hearts and heads in the right place, environmental campaigners all too often come across as doom-mongering, guilt-tripping party poopers. We need a new message. Whether Earth optimism is it remains to be seen, but it is an interesting experiment in shifting the narrative. A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. Or maybe a Togo slippery frog. ■
to the cause – but may need one sooner rather than later. We ignore the link between sleep and dementia at our peril, not just as individuals but as societies. Alzheimer’s is a dreadful condition that will exact a huge burden on health and social care systems. Governments have a duty to protect citizens and foster their well-being. The promotion of adequate sleep must become a priority, lest we sleepwalk our way into a public health crisis. ■ 14 October 2017 | NewScientist | 3