The Best of The Guardian

World is on track for 2.7C and ‘phenomenal’ human suffering, scientists warn

The long read: For more than half a century, one organisation has been certifying and cataloguing all of life’s superlatives. But has it gone from being about the pursuit of knowledge to simply…

Rediscovering old, simple joys such as music, photography and Lego made me wonder why I abandoned them in the first place, says poet Joseph Coelho

The clock is ticking on the development of policy to meet this huge societal challenge, says Larry Elliott, the Guardian’s economics editor

Short-term memory illusions can happen when we ‘start filling in based on our expectations’, study suggests

The long read: Bulgaria in the 1980s became known as the ‘virus factory’, where hundreds of malicious computer programs were unleashed to wreak havoc. But who was writing them, and why?

From repellants to app-based mosquito monitoring and a new malaria vaccine, researchers are making important breakthroughs in the fight against the biting insects

Trust your gut, boost your memory, de-bias your decision making… can we train our brains to perform better?

«A decade ago, the fashion was to be pessimistic about the prospects of improving our thinking, and even about the value of thinking at all.»

It feels great to give at Christmas. But does that pleasure detract from the good deed?

Earth is already becoming unlivable. Will governments act to stop this disaster from getting worse?

«At 1.5C, about 14% of the world’s population will be hit by severe heatwaves once every five years. with this number jumping to more than a third of the global population at 2C.»

Exclusive: Oil and gas majors are planning scores of vast projects that threaten to shatter the 1.5C climate goal. If governments do not act, these firms will continue to cash in as the world burns

New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers

Unpalatable as it may be for those wedded to producing and eating meat, the environmental and health evidence for a plant-based diet is clear

Dazzling debut novels, searing polemics, the history of humanity and trailblazing memoirs ... Read our pick of the best books since 2000

A fifth part of The Tale of Genji, which was completed around 1010 by a woman later named Murasaki Shikibu, has been found in a house in Tokyo

What to eat, when, how to do it properly – and what to avoid. Experts lay out the food habits that will make a real difference to your health

Every day, around the world, 2bn cups are consumed. But what actually happens after you swallow that first mouthful? Here is everything you need to know

From now, house style guide recommends terms such as ‘climate crisis’ and ‘global heating’

Film by Swedish activist and Guardian journalist George Monbiot says nature must be used to repair broken climate

Chinese-owned social media app bans such content even in countries where homosexuality has never been illegal

The book features gay marriage, hits out at slavery and imperialism and predicts the climate crisis – 200 years after the birth of its author, Herman Melville, it has never been more important

Expert tips on how to be kinder to the planet – from cooking and cleaning to fashion and finance

The breakthrough, spurred by the discovery of plastic-eating bugs at a Japanese dump, could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis

A hi-tech medical exam draws its subject back to a more archaic, essential experience

Hailed as one of the most significant archival discoveries of modern times, text seems to show the Paradise Lost poet making careful annotations on his edition of Shakespeare’s plays

Intensively farmed meat and dairy are a blight, but so are fields of soya and maize. There is another way, says the farmer Isabella Tree

A few weeks into Veganuary, you may be wondering how to keep a plant-based lifestyle going. Whether you’re worried about supplements, expense or food aversions, here’s everything you need to know

Whether it’s taking fruit to work (and to the bedroom!), being polite to rude strangers or taking up skinny-dipping, here’s a century of ways to make life better, with little effort involved …

«Reuse all plastic bags – even bread bags. Much of the packaging you can’t reuse can be taken to larger branches of supermarkets for recycling.»

124,000 documents expose inner workings behind US tech firm’s rise as a global empire responsible for 19m journeys a day

‘I can’t remember anything’ is a common complaint these days. But is it because we rely so heavily on our smartphones? And do the endless alerts and distractions stop us forming new memories?

Social media and many other facets of modern life are destroying our ability to concentrate. We need to reclaim our minds while we still can

«“an attentional pathogenic culture” – an environment in which sustained and deep focus is harder for all of us»

The long read: Every year, thousands of bikes are tossed into rivers, ponds, lakes and canals. What’s behind this mass drowning?