Inside the huge London super sewer designed to fight river pollution

A monstrous concrete pipe with a capacity of 1.6 million cubic metres is being built under London to reduce the frequency of sewage discharges into the Thames | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Ancient humans may have risked their lives making stone tools

Modern flintknappers experience a wide variety of injuries that could have led to life-changing consequences or death for ancient humans making stone tools | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Tiny backpack for bees can track their position and temperature

A sensor around a millimetre in size has been tested to monitor a honeybee flying around some flowers. It could also work for medical monitoring inside a person's body | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

We’ve been drastically underestimating Earth’s microbial diversity

A survey of bacteria and archaea living in 99 coral reefs across the Pacific Ocean found these ecosystems may contain more microbes than current estimates for the whole planet – suggesting everywhere else on Earth does too | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Planned moon landings could pelt orbiting spacecraft with dusty debris

The large landing vehicles planned for NASA’s upcoming moon missions could throw up large amounts of dust from the lunar surface, posing a possible danger to orbiters | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Whale shark seen bottom feeding for the first time

An ecotourism guide in Mexico filmed a whale shark gulping down material from the seabed, a behaviour that has never been observed in this species before | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Junk food diet may disrupt sleep by altering brain activity

Men who tried a high-fat, high-sugar diet developed disrupted electrical brain activity during the deepest stage of their sleep, suggesting that the food reduced their sleep quality | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Stem cells from umbilical cord 'goo' delay type 1 diabetes progression

Stem cells found within babies’ umbilical cords, normally discarded as medical waste, could help people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes reduce their need for insulin injections | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

The Limits of Genius review: What made Newton and Einstein stupid?

Being a genius doesn't stop you looking directly at an eclipse or letting a trivial row prevent you finding a planet, says Katie Spalding in her new book | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Tin Can review: Fix your escape pod in this fantastic video game

In Tin Can, you have to patch up a spaceship's disintegrating escape pod – or die. Though the whole game takes place in a single space, exploring its extraordinary detail is a real joy, says Jacob Aron | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

How to spot Ophiuchus, the thirteenth zodiacal constellation

Often referred to as the thirteenth sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus sits alongside Sagittarius and Scorpius. Now is a great time to spot it, says Abigail Beall | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

We already have ethical options for replacing industrial farming

The industrialised food system harms the environment and animal welfare, but new ways of farming are now addressing these issues and further change is coming | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Peter Singer on animal rights, octopus farms and why AI is speciesist

Controversial author Peter Singer, who inspired the animal rights movement, explains why killing humanely reared animals may be a defensible ethical position and why he has rewritten Animal Liberation for the 21st century | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Blue Machine review: Earth's ocean as a giant engine

Helen Czerski's fascinating new book casts the ocean as an extraordinary giant engine, and helps us grasp its complex physics and its key role in climate change | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Why we should do more to protect frogs and toads

Amphibians could help cure our ills, from diabetes to fungal infections – if they don't go extinct first, says Matthew Gould | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Why I can once again eat cheese with a clear conscience

I thought there was no way around cheese being an environmental and ethical disaster, but a new approach to dairy farming has proved me wrong, says Graham Lawton | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

See the magnificent but melting glaciers of the Rwenzori mountains

Spanning Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the glaciers of this little-studied mountain range may vanish this decade. These stunning photographs capture them before they disappear | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

JWST has spotted an enormous plume of water coming out of Enceladus

Saturn’s moon Enceladus has a water ocean that makes it one of the most promising places to search for life, and water is spewing out of it in a jet bigger than any we have seen before | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Desert ants build landmarks to help them find their way home

Desert ants construct mounds to help them navigate the featureless landscape of the North African salt pan | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Bacterium from oak trees could help process rare earth elements

A bacterium found in English oak buds can help separate out the rare earth elements used in technologies such as electric cars and wind turbines | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Watch NASA’s UFO team discuss its findings publicly for the first time

NASA's group that formed around a year ago to study unidentified aerial phenomena is holding its first public meeting ahead of a report expected in the next few weeks | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

NASA’s UFO team discusses its findings publicly for the first time

NASA's group that formed around a year ago to study unidentified aerial phenomena is holding its first public meeting ahead of a report expected in the next few weeks | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Reusable granules suck harmful PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ out of water

UK start-up Puraffinity has created a method of removing pollution from water using a material that selectively binds to PFAS chemicals | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

How you can use the power of exercise to feel better and think clearer

We know that exercising is good for the brain. But now that we understand why, we can say what kinds of workouts maximise the brain-boosting powers of physical exertion | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Situation at Ukrainian nuclear plant is dangerous, IAEA boss warns

Ukraine and Russia must agree to maintain safety at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to prevent a dangerous radiation leak, says the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Monkeys in Japan lost tooth enamel when their forest was destroyed

Macaques living on Yakushima Island in the 1980s experienced severe enamel hypoplasia, probably caused by extreme stress resulting from human activities | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Mathematicians make even better never-repeating tile discovery

An unsatisfying caveat in a mathematical breakthrough discovery of a single tile shape that can cover a surface without ever creating a repeating pattern has been eradicated. The newly-discovered "spectre" shape can cover a surface without repeating and without mirror images | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Quantum sensors could detect space debris from its gravitational pull

Devices based on quantum properties of very cold and very small crystals could be mounted on satellites and sense space debris that could collide with them | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Plague first came to Britain from Europe at least 4000 years ago

DNA from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused the Black Death, has been found in the teeth of three people who lived in Britain during the Bronze Age | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Virus that carries huge amounts of DNA could advance gene therapies

A modified virus that can carry around 20 times more DNA than existing viruses used for gene therapies could allow us to make complex changes to cells | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

We are finally closing in on the cosmic origins of the “OMG particle”

Three decades ago, we spotted the single most energetic particle ever seen, nicknamed the 'Oh-My-God particle'. Since then, we have seen many more ultra-high-energy cosmic rays – and now we are unravelling the mystery of what produces them | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Does covid-19 affect pregnancies and do the vaccines reduce any risks?

The coronavirus has been linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, but vaccines help to keep mothers and babies safe | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Migrating bats use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate in the dark

Soprano pipistrelles can sense the polarity and inclination of magnetic field lines, and use the position of the setting sun to calibrate their internal compass | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Blood test can identify MS in some people years before symptoms start

A unique group of antibodies can be used to predict whether someone will develop multiple sclerosis – they were present in about 10 per cent of people with MS years before they developed symptoms | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Babies can identify people's faces from just 4 months old

Infants may pick up on people's faces before anything else, which could explain why they can be scared of strangers at a young age | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

3D-printed material glows green under pressure or friction

A 3D-printed material emits a green glow when friction or pressure is applied to it. One application could be reducing the chances of a fracture when drilling into bone during surgery | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Nanoscale robotic ‘hand’ made of DNA could be used to detect viruses

A tiny hand crafted out of DNA has jointed fingers that can be used to grab small objects like gold nanoparticles or viruses | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

A wolf-dog hybrid has been confirmed in India for the first time

A strange canine was spotted in a pack of wolves near Pune in western India, but it stood out for its lighter coat and dog-like facial features. It was confirmed to be a wolf-dog hybrid through genetic sequencing | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

How to avoid deer fly bites, according to science

An experiment with a sticky fly trap in a Canadian forest suggests you will get more deer fly bites if you walk around than if you sit still | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

How a UK river serves as a natural lab for flood defence research

A river near Edinburgh, UK, has served for more than a decade as a natural laboratory for studying flood defences, providing benefits such as improved water quality worth millions of pounds | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

US police are selling seized phones with personal data still on them

Nude photos, bank details and stolen credit card numbers have been found on devices sold by US police forces via auction sites | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

We may finally know why psychological stress worsens gut inflammation

A pathway between the brain and the immune system discovered in mice could explain why prolonged stress can exacerbate inflammatory bowel disease | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Elon Musk's brain implant firm Neuralink gets approval for human trial

The brain implant company Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk among others, previously tested implants in pigs and monkeys. Now it has approval for human trials | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

AI is a key issue in negotiations between actors and Hollywood studios

The US actors’ union will negotiate with Hollywood studios over the rights to use AI to create "digital twins" of actors, and the results could determine the viability of acting as a career | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

mRNA trial shows promise for these therapies to revolutionise medicine

People with a rare condition experienced fewer or no complications after receiving an experimental mRNA therapy, with the technology having the potential to treat a range of disorders | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Capital letter test is a foolproof way of sorting AIs from humans

A trick for asking questions using capital letters seems to baffle artificial intelligences like ChatGPT, while humans can easily give the right answer | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Sunlight could cool an atom to its coldest possible temperature

Sunlight transmitted through an optical fibre could be used to help cool a single charged atom to a temperature only a few millionths of a degree above absolute zero | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago

Ocean-fertilising bacteria work together to adapt to light levels

Trichodesmium, a kind of cyanobacterium that is vital to ocean ecosystems, forms colonies that work together and change shape to get the light and nutrients the microbe needs to grow | Continue reading


@newscientist.com | 1 year ago