Everyone agrees that complex life originated on Earth about 1.6 billion years ago. Everyone except geochemist Abderrazak El Albani, who says he’s found multicellular organisms in rock layers dating back two billion years —a time when that should be impossible. Our November cover story examines the implications of this discovery, which could upturn our understanding of life on Earth.

Elsewhere in the new issue, we look into new research into chronic inflammation –and why the multibillion-dollar dietary supplement industry that promises to treat it may be selling snake oil. Once you’ve read that, check out our article about the science of morality: Neuroscientists believe that lying tends to numb our brain and create neural habituation that can lead to ethical collapse; cheat one customer, and it gets easier and easier until you’re selling sugar water as a cancer treatment to lots of unsuspecting victims.

We’ve also got a fantastic scientific detective story. Scientific American senior editor Dan Vergano has followed a trail of theft, lies, smuggling and death to track how the ninth-largest meteorite in the world disappeared into a sketchy world of black market collecting.

Finally, be sure you check out the results of our #SciAmInTheWild photo competition. Entrants participated by taking photographs of a print issue of Scientific American placed in a setting where science meets scenery. I think the winning entries are funny and creative and smart –just like our readers.