AI’s solution to 87-year-old riddle takes mathematicians by surprise

Mathematicians have been trying to prove the Jacobian conjecture for nearly a century, but now the Claude Fable 5 AI has apparently found a counterexample that disproves it | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 18 days ago

How to maximise the mental health benefits of your vacation

Don’t just hit the beach. Research is revealing how to have a holiday that leaves you mentally restored and refreshed – with long-lasting effect | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 18 days ago

Strange paraparticles could be reality’s missing ingredient

Neither matter nor force, paraparticles would be something else entirely. Fresh hints that they exist are raising hopes that they could explain reality at its deepest level | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 18 days ago

Cloudy skies have slowed global warming – but that may be changing

Low cloud cover has been expanding since 1979, reflecting more sunlight into space, but scientists expect that trend to reverse and accelerate global warming | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 18 days ago

Hunter-gatherers introduced fish to a mountain lake 7000 years ago

Many centuries before the advent of agriculture in Norway, ancient people transported fish into mountain lakes to create a source of food, then built wooden traps to catch them | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 19 days ago

Using AI for creative pursuits? Moderation is key

An experiment showed AI users had the most creative ideas when they used it in moderation – not too much and not too little. Columnist David Robson puts the finding to the test, and explores what we lose when we over-rely on AI | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 21 days ago

Supplement that binds to microplastics may remove them from our body

A supplement comprised of dead bacteria seems to remove microplastics, and prevent their absorption into cells, by attracting them to the bacteria's rough surfaces | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 21 days ago

Why a Ukrainian cruise missile is flying with hobby drone hardware

An open-source flight-control system found in consumer drones has been installed in Ukraine’s latest cruise missile, showing how cheap technology is making military hardware accessible to all | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 21 days ago

Why the upcoming eclipse is still vital in the age of solar probes

Experiments will take advantage of the solar eclipse in August to learn more about the sun and Earth at a relatively low cost | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 21 days ago

Ancient Egyptian princesses buried with weapons may have been fighters

The mummified daughters of pharaohs who lived thousands of years ago have bone changes that suggest they fought with bows and daggers | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

Restoring ability to remove zombie cells may keep us sharp as we age

Zombie, or senescent, cells accumulate in our body with age, when we become less able to clear them. But a study in mice suggests that a drug could restore this ability and improve ageing outcomes | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

Neurostimulation restores feeling in paralysed hand for months after

Keith Thomas, 48, has paralysis, but brain stimulation meant he regained some feeling and movement in his hands – and this was maintained even when the stimulation was turned off | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

We’ve found a rocky, temperate planet’s atmosphere for the first time

Astronomers have only previously found atmospheres around exoplanets that are very large or incredibly hot – but now they have found one adorning a world that may well be right for life | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

Next generation Alzheimer’s drug reduces risk of serious brain bleeds

A new kind of antibody drug that more efficiently enters the brain could slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease with a much lower risk of dangerous side effects than existing therapies | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

Stealth drone spins so fast that it disappears

A drone that spins 25 times a second attempts can avoid being spotted by becoming nothing more than a vague blur – though the creators admit that it can still be easily heard | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

How elite athletes have started training to compete in extreme heat

The 2026 Tour de France has been the hottest ever. Norwegian-method pioneer and Uno-X Mobility coach Olav Aleksander Bu reveals how Nordic athletes have been learning to beat the heat | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 22 days ago

Drug discovery Is changing. Drug development must change too.

In this New Scientist CoLab podcast, experts from global life sciences leader Cytiva explain the hidden, high-stakes science of purification that is required to close the gap between drug discovery and the pharmacy shelf. | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Congolese monkey with mask-like face and strong BO is new to science

A black colobus monkey from a remote part of the Congo Basin rainforest, known locally as likweli, is thought to be severely threatened by poaching | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Best treatment for multiple sclerosis may be antivirals

Low levels of replicating Epstein-Barr viruses might be the main driver of the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis. This may mean that targeting them would be as effective as suppressing the immune system, with fewer side effects | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Negatives saved from Shackleton’s Antarctic trip reveal hidden details

Frank Hurley rescued hundreds of photo negatives from the Endurance when it sank off Antarctica in 1915. Now a book of his surviving images casts new light on the fateful expedition | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

How do fish recognise others of their own species?

Some expert weigh in on this issue, which turns out to be much more complicated than it looks | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

How many known elements could we delete without ill effect? Part 2

How many of the 118 known elements in the periodic table could we permanently delete without any ill effect on our lives? (continued) Guy Cox Sydney, | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

This week’s new questions

Why don’t dogs look up when a low-flying plane or helicopter passes overhead? I’ve never seen one do this. And what changes will occur on Earth as the moon moves further away from us? | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Can you guess the origin of 7 tiny species on a fictional archipelago?

Feedback has been spending far too much time reading the latest output of entirely made-up research studies from the Journal of Imaginary Research | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Tom Gauld on immersive bat research

Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

TwistedDoodles on science podcast demographics

This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

It is vital we understand heat and humidity’s differing effects on us

The impact of high humidity on top of high temperatures is often underappreciated, but most of us aren't prepared for such extreme conditions, which will become more common with global warming | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

This memoir is a personal and moving journey through the quantum world

New Scientist reporter Karmela Padavic-Callaghan combines memoir and science writing to great effect in their first book, Entangled States | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

A neuroscientist explores horses’ minds in a gripping but flawed book

There is much to like in Janet Jones's look at horse "language" and the equine mind, A Horse's World, but beware unexpected issues, says Christa Lesté-Lasserre | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Can consciousness be quantum? We may now have an answer

A mathematical analysis suggests that the notion of agency, which is a prerequisite for consciousness, cannot be purely quantum in nature | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Nicotine pouches may cause receding gums

Nicotine pouches aren't typically associated with the same health harms as similar products that also contain tobacco, but they have now been linked to receding gums and oral irritation | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

We’re finally learning what happens to gifted children in adulthood

A spate of new studies is revealing the lifelong impact of being marked as exceptional during childhood – and the results suggest we may need to revise how we view giftedness | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Queen’s powerful smell suppresses rivals in naked mole rat colonies

In naked mole rat colonies, only the queen can breed – and now we have found out how she maintains control | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 23 days ago

Can everyone live a ‘good life’ without destroying the planet?

Cutting back on our use of energy and materials so that we live within Earth’s means can seem like an insurmountable challenge. But after a decade grappling with these problems, a historic Portuguese city is beginning to walk this tightrope | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 24 days ago

Hard but lightweight ‘bio-metal’ material discovered in sea worm jaws

Marine bristle worms have jaws made from a mix of proteins and metal ions that may constitute a whole new kind of material, with possible applications in engineering | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 24 days ago

Why praying for rain appears to work – but only in some places

In some parts of the world, the probability of rain rises with every day it doesn’t rain, and communities in these places are more likely to carry out rain-making rituals | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 24 days ago

The US-China AI arms race has taken an unexpected turn

Powerful artificial intelligence models built by Chinese companies have gone from inducing widespread panic to being met with a shrug of the shoulders – what changed? | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 24 days ago

Do we owe our existence to weird ‘virtual’ particles?

When considering what makes up a human body, a physicist drills down beyond the atomic level. Columnist Chanda Prescod-Weinstein explores the not-exactly-real particles that allow the stuff we’re made of to hang together | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 24 days ago

Maya mathematician’s name decoded alongside astronomical formula

Hieroglyphs on the wall of a Maya building record calculations concerning the orbits of Earth, Mars and Venus, as well as the name of a mathematician who wrote the text around 1200 years ago | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

How humans evolved to be twice as big as our ancestors

Artistic representations of ancient humans often show large men with bulging muscles – but our ancestors were actually smaller than us, in both height and body mass. Columnist Michael Marshall reveals surprising details about the short kings of prehistory | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

Sugar molecules found in interstellar space for the first time

Researchers have long suspected early life may have been helped by sugars brought to Earth by asteroids – now a sugar found in raspberries has been spotted in a cosmic cloud nearly 27 light years away | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

Alzheimer’s, stroke, depression: The preventative power of sauna

Sustained heat stress is bad for our health and can be deadly. But we’re discovering that heat therapies like sauna, when used in the right way, have surprisingly wide-reaching benefits for health | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

Shifts in the jet stream are behind Europe’s long heatwaves

Two types of jet stream patterns seem to be causing persistent heat domes over Europe, with big questions for the future | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

Game that reduces dementia risk may clear amyloid from men’s brains

Playing a mental speed-training game seems to help the brain clear a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease in men, but may work in women through different mechanisms | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

Four children with terminal brain cancer saved by new cell therapy

An experimental immunotherapy has beaten aggressive brain tumours in a handful of children, and a personalised version is now being tested on more patients | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 25 days ago

UN space database aimed at easing global tensions is mysteriously down

A list of global space launches designed to calm cold war tensions and promote transparency has been missing from the UN's website for months | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 28 days ago

Global warming already causing crop losses of over $20 billion a year

Climate change is already having a big impact on crop yields, and the subsequent financial losses will continue to rise as the world keeps warming | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 28 days ago

UN space database aimed at easing global tensions is mysteriously down

A list of global space launches designed to calm cold war tensions and promote transparency has been missing from the UN's website for months | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 28 days ago