The high-powered chips required for training the most advanced artificial intelligences are in short supply, with big firms winning out over academics and activists ⌘ Read more
The high-powered chips required for training the most advanced artificial intelligences are in short supply, with big firms winning out over academics and activists ⌘ Read more
In the US, more adults between 35 and 50 years old are binge drinking than ever before, while rates have declined in younger age groups ⌘ Read more
We thought Earth's water cycle was resilient to human meddling, but new analysis shows our supplies of water in plants and soil that are critical to generating rainfall are dangerously low. Here is what we must do to repair the damage ⌘ Read more
Animals found around hydrothermal vents – from snails covered in metal plates to hairy crabs – have unusual adaptations to survive with no sunlight and extreme pressure ⌘ Read more
Certain prompts can encourage chatbots such as ChatGPT to ignore the rules that prevent illicit use, and they have been widely shared on social platforms ⌘ Read more
It has been almost 50 years since Russia - then the Soviet Union - landed safely on the moon. The crash of Luna 25 on the lunar surface means that won't change any time soon ⌘ Read more
You may never need to clean a toilet again, thanks to a new material that keeps the bowl free of any waste ⌘ Read more
An artificial intelligence from Google can predict floods even in regions with little data on water flow, and its predictions four days in advance are as accurate as conventional systems manage for the same day ⌘ Read more
A container ship on its way from South Korea to Denmark is using methanol fuel that reduces emissions – although future fuels may be greener ⌘ Read more
The difficulty of quantum error correction has been a major stumbling block for quantum computers, but IBM researchers have developed a way to make it far more efficient ⌘ Read more
Researchers have mapped how clusters of nerve cells in the brain connect to regulate wakefulness, which could open doors to new treatments for people in comas ⌘ Read more
Analysis of gene activity in a blood sample can help determine if a fever is caused by bacterial infection, a virus or an inflammatory disease ⌘ Read more
If a person says they believe an objectively false statement, AIs tend to agree with them – and the problem seems to get worse as models get bigger ⌘ Read more
An African bird called the greater honeyguide is said to lead honey badgers to beehives. Despite decades of reports, including faked footage, hard evidence has been tough to come by – but it’s more than just a myth ⌘ Read more
Thanks to the way human eyes work, a system that makes your phone screen blurry can prevent people reading it from a distance while still remaining legible up close ⌘ Read more
The award-winning author of The Shining Girls on how her 'magpie curiosity' about everything from neuroparasitology to music theory led to her multiverse novel Bridge, our latest Book Club pick ⌘ Read more
This tantalising extract is taken from Bridge by Lauren Beukes, the latest pick for our New Scientist Book Club. It sees Bridge discovering something mysterious in her late mother's freezer - something which might open doors to other worlds ⌘ Read more
Over the past few years, the white clouds that usually shroud Neptune’s surface have disappeared, and it may be because of changes in the sun’s activity over its 11-year cycle ⌘ Read more
When two black holes merge to form a single one, it can zoom off at an extraordinary pace – but scientists have found that it does have a speed limit ⌘ Read more
Fruit flies with access to a spinning carousel seem to ride on it for fun in a rare case of play-like behaviour in an invertebrate ⌘ Read more
The accuracy of pedestrian-detecting AI systems may be biased against some groups of people, fuelling calls for more transparency and tighter regulations ⌘ Read more
Wildfires in the northern hemisphere burn more fiercely when plants start growing earlier in the year, which they do because of the warming climate ⌘ Read more
When people are shown pictures evoking negative emotions, they remember time as passing more slowly, however, this is only true when the negative images are seen after a neutral one ⌘ Read more
An autonomous flying robot can float in place like a bird, using its throttle just 0.25 per cent of the time – which could make it useful for surveying a single spot for an extended period of time ⌘ Read more
The emergency contraceptive levonorgestrel is much more effective at preventing pregnancy if the anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam is taken at the same time ⌘ Read more
It has been 32 days since Maurice Miller, a dead man who is being kept on life support, received a genetically modified pig kidney, and it is still functioning with no signs of rejection or infection ⌘ Read more
We can change the flavour and texture of foods like bread and rice wine by tweaking the genomes of the yeasts that are used to make them ⌘ Read more
Clouds are made up of many tiny drops of liquid water suspended at temperatures below freezing, before they are penetrated by ice. Understanding this process better could help improve climate models ⌘ Read more
The genome of Ötzi, the 5300-year-old mummified man found in the Alps, was first published in 2012, but a more accurate readout has changed the story of where his ancestors came from ⌘ Read more
A technique for reprogramming adult cells that removes any trace of their origins could help produce stem cells at larger scales ⌘ Read more
Far from serene, the night sky is a riot of spectacular bangs and flashes that reveal the universe at its most extreme. Here, an astronomer explains the explosive physics behind them and what they tell us ⌘ Read more
Extreme weather and temperatures made July 2023 a shocking month, with human-driven global warming, the El Niño climate pattern and even perhaps even a 2022 volcanic eruption contributing to the broken records ⌘ Read more
A lampshade coated in either a copper or iron substance removes indoor air pollutants released by cooking or from cleaning products ⌘ Read more
The documentary Panthera Britannia Declassified claims to show clear evidence of a black leopard or panther in the UK, but most experts remain sceptical ⌘ Read more
Blackbirds given an injection that mimics a bacterial infection remained active during the day, but rested earlier in the evenings for up to three weeks ⌘ Read more
AIs that work in multiple languages responded more accurately to questions when they were asked to translate them into English first ⌘ Read more
An artificial intelligence can guess what a song sounds like based on patterns of brain activity recorded while people were listening to it ⌘ Read more
Understand the surprising power of gesture and you could use it to boost your learning, improve your memory and influence others ⌘ Read more
When we detect gravitational waves, it’s because they are warping space and time by a tiny amount – but this episode of Dead Planets Society is about making one that is far more powerful ⌘ Read more
Low levels of oxygen on planets where alien life could potentially evolve may make developing technology impossible there because there would be no combustion ⌘ Read more
In the absence of tourists during lockdown, elephants at a wildlife park in South Africa showed much lower rates of behaviours thought to be a sign of anxiety ⌘ Read more
The sighting of a Cuvier’s beaked whale off the Spanish coast circling her dead calf, touching his head and lifting his body adds to growing evidence that cetaceans experience something similar to human grief ⌘ Read more
A robotic gripper can pick up items ranging from a drop of water to something thousands of times heavier than the gripper itself ⌘ Read more
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a court in Montana in the US sided with a group of young activists who said the state had violated their right to a “clean and healthful environment” ⌘ Read more
Small trial in rhesus macaques shows a one-off gene therapy can cut alcohol consumption ⌘ Read more
Climate change means extreme heat will become the norm for millions across the world. We joined an experiment in the Saudi Arabian desert designed to find out what that means for our brains and bodies ⌘ Read more
A binary star system shines 20 per cent more brightly whenever the smaller star gets close to its giant partner, because of the immense waves that break on the larger star ⌘ Read more
After sex with males, females of Japanese stick insect species Ramulus mikado have offspring that are genetically identical to themselves and lack male DNA, so why do they bother? ⌘ Read more
Raised levels of certain proteins in the blood may indicate if someone is more likely to develop conditions such as cancer, heart disease or motor neurone disease in the next decade ⌘ Read more
The ozone hole over Antarctica may get close to its record size this year due to repercussions from the ferocious Tonga volcano eruption in 2022 ⌘ Read more
Grey wolves living on the southwest coast of Alaska are regularly eating a diet rich in marine animals ⌘ Read more
Waymo and Cruise can now charge for ride-hailing services throughout San Francisco despite objections that driverless cars interfere with traffic and first responders ⌘ Read more
Every couple of decades Saturn develops a huge storm, and now researchers have found that the atmosphere keeps chemical records of those storms for hundreds of years ⌘ Read more
As the US coal industry slowly dies, a poignant documentary explores the communities left in some of its Virginian heartlands and finds hope for the future ⌘ Read more
Among a group of people who listened to different audiobooks before bed, researchers could identify what story they heard based on the descriptions of their dreams ⌘ Read more
Juveniles of a common household spider have been shown to eat their siblings in the lab, and they are probably doing it in our cupboards too ⌘ Read more
What we can learn from efforts to protect Tane Mahuta, a giant kauri tree in New Zealand, and Pando, a forest of thousands of genetically identical trees that make up one organism ⌘ Read more
Exotic stars may be scattered throughout the cosmos, from boson stars that could look like black holes to dark stars that might be powered by dark matter ⌘ Read more
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now joins other forecasters in projecting an above-average number of hurricanes will form across the Atlantic this year ⌘ Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has made new observations of Earendel, the most distant single star ever seen, and it seems like it has a cooler companion star ⌘ Read more
The shipping industry has significantly reduced its sulphur emissions since 2020, and in doing so has inadvertently contributed slightly to global warming ⌘ Read more
A modelling study suggests that increases in photosynthesis have slowed since 2000, opposing previous research that said this effect would remain strong, helping to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere ⌘ Read more
The plastics polyethylene and polypropylene, which are used in shopping bags, bottles and food packaging, can be turned into the ingredients for detergents ⌘ Read more
Jane Friedman discovered that Amazon was selling five books under her name that she hadn't written, but rather seemed to be AI-generated impersonations ⌘ Read more
Russia's first lunar mission in nearly 50 years is designed to land near the moon’s south pole and is being viewed as an attempt to show that the country can still compete in the international space industry ⌘ Read more
An AI can detect what is being typed according to the sounds different keys make when being pressed on a keyboard ⌘ Read more
The Perseids are a major meteor shower - here is your guide to spotting them during their peak on 12 and 13 August 2023 ⌘ Read more
The relationship between ultra-processed foods and health isn’t as clear cut as many make it seem, and in some cases eating such foods might actually be beneficial to health ⌘ Read more
Following a flurry of replication attempts, the claim that LK-99 perfectly conducts electricity at room temperature and pressure is looking unlikely to hold up ⌘ Read more
Galactic-02, Virgin Galactic’s first mission to carry paying civilian customers to space, is scheduled to launch from New Mexico on 10 August ⌘ Read more
Ancient faeces contains the first evidence that terrestrial vertebrates living during the Late Triassic epoch hosted multiple parasites ⌘ Read more
The closest living relatives of the bacteria that moved into the cells of a larger organism more than a billion years ago and eventually became mitochondria powering our cells may have been identified living in hot springs ⌘ Read more
The genetic variant APOE4 substantially raises the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but it has also been linked to women having more children in an Indigenous group in Bolivia ⌘ Read more
A particle called Pines's demon has been seen inside a superconductor, decades after it was first predicted ⌘ Read more
The Curiosity rover has discovered hexagonal patterns in ancient mud on the Red Planet, which hints at cyclical wet and dry periods and boosts chances Mars once hosted life ⌘ Read more
Your body is ageing down one of four - or more - possible pathways. Figuring out your "ageotype" could help you zero in on the things you can do to stay healthier for longer ⌘ Read more
A “failed star” known as a brown dwarf is orbiting so tightly with a small star that both of them would fit inside our sun, and at least one of them won’t survive ⌘ Read more
Running Tide, a carbon-removal company in the US, has sunk more than 10,000 tonnes of waste wood into the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere – but experts aren't convinced it will work ⌘ Read more
Archaeologists previously believed the Tibetan plateau was one of the last places to be settled by humans or hominins – over the past couple of decades that notion has been slowly but comprehensively blown apart ⌘ Read more
Predatory reptiles move quickly and aggressively towards the sound of babies crying and can tell if they are in genuine distress and so potentially vulnerable ⌘ Read more
The National Nature Assessment slated to be complete in 2026 will be the largest assessment of water, land and wildlife in the US ⌘ Read more
Scientists have created an "unknome" of proteins encoded by human genes, whose existence is known but whose functions are mostly not ⌘ Read more
The use of CAPTCHA tests to prove that website users are human and not bots might come under scrutiny given research showing that bots complete them faster and more accurately than we do ⌘ Read more
A vaccine has induced antibodies and other immune cells against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in mice. EBV can cause flu-like symptoms but is also increasingly being linked to multiple sclerosis ⌘ Read more
Physicists are using quantum computers to conjure various exotic phenomena and are claiming that their creations are truly real. The work is forcing us to ask challenging questions about the nature of quantum reality ⌘ Read more
A neural network trained on hundreds of images of hair styles can render hair so it actually looks realistic, which could be a boon for video games and animated films ⌘ Read more
From shrinking sea ice to the wildest heatwave ever, the extreme events happening recently in Antarctica could be a sign of much worse to come ⌘ Read more
The small predatory West Atlantic trumpetfish swims close by to the much larger herbivorous stoplight parrotfish to get near its prey ⌘ Read more
There were at least 361,103 sewage spills into English rivers last year, but there are several things we can do to clean up the mess - as a society and from your own home ⌘ Read more
Blood tests for Alzheimer’s risk are finally here, so what are the pros and cons of taking a test? ⌘ Read more
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Small, flat “metalenses” are made up of billions of nano-sized components, and they could image the cosmos using less space on a satellite than bulkier traditional devices ⌘ Read more
Researchers have been trying to determine if a material called LK-99 really is a superconductor at room temperature and pressure. Here's what is making it so difficult ⌘ Read more
Some patterns of gene expression in umbilical cord blood are associated with childhood obesity, suggesting that these markers could identify newborns at risk of developing the condition ⌘ Read more
An AI that analyses live video from California’s statewide wildfire detection system could speedily focus human attention on possible wildfires ⌘ Read more
The MorphoLander drone carrier, which holds smaller "worker bee" drones, could be useful in search-and-rescue missions or industrial surveys ⌘ Read more
Injecting CO2 underground might increase pressure along geological faults and cause earthquakes, but a report concludes the risk is minimal for a proposed CO2 storage site near Vancouver Island ⌘ Read more
A study that filmed people's skin while they watched emotional videos found that most of them incorrectly reported when they did or did not have goosebumps ⌘ Read more
The pygmy right whale doesn't go on long migrations for food or reproduction, unlike most other species of baleen whale ⌘ Read more
Asteroids are far weirder than we had imagined – landing on one wouldn't go as you expected, says astronomer Phil Plait ⌘ Read more