Several enormous craters left by explosions have been spotted in Siberia over the past 15 years, and a new explanation links them to hot gas – and climate change ⌘ Read more
Several enormous craters left by explosions have been spotted in Siberia over the past 15 years, and a new explanation links them to hot gas – and climate change ⌘ Read more
Invasive mink, which are native to North America, have been eradicated from most of East Anglia in England after a trial used the scent of the animals' anal glands to lure them into traps ⌘ Read more
Titan’s methane seas have ephemeral “magic islands” that have baffled scientists for years. They may be made of odd, porous clumps of snow ⌘ Read more
Brain scans of 110 first-time mothers during and after pregnancy showed that some brain regions become thinner during pregnancy and that giving birth largely reverses this effect ⌘ Read more
NASA is hoping to gather evidence that its X-59 aircraft will be able to fly at the speed of sound quietly, justifying a change in the regulations to allow supersonic commercial aviation ⌘ Read more
A secure exchange between a merchant and a buyer has been successfully tested as a proof of concept using a small quantum computing network in China ⌘ Read more
An artificial intelligence model can discern whether fingerprints from different fingers come from the same person, which could make forensic investigations more efficient ⌘ Read more
By building a 3D image of part of the surface of a comet called 67P, astronomers have discovered caves up to 47 metres deep ⌘ Read more
Big tech companies are offering new ways to interact with devices, powered by natural language processing – but here's why we are unlikely to give up our screens just yet ⌘ Read more
When we exhale, we reveal distinctive information about the shape of our airways, which could serve as an ID test for unlocking smartphones – and unlike some other biometric ID tests, this one can’t be hacked after we die ⌘ Read more
Black holes may be hiding within stars and their extra mass could help explain odd gravitational effects in the universe ascribed to dark matter ⌘ Read more
The Guinness brewery has kept a record of the yeast strains it has used going back to 1903 – a genetic analysis shows these are distinct from those used to brew other Irish beers ⌘ Read more
Venus is wrapped in clouds that are rich in concentrated sulphuric acid, and we now know that several of the amino acids and nucleic acids used by life could survive in them ⌘ Read more
Natural gas plant failures were the main factor behind electricity shortfalls and outages during major winter storms in the US since 2011 – that risk remains as the US faces more extreme cold weather ⌘ Read more
A mysterious civilisation built a network of cities and roads in the Amazon between 3000 and 1500 years ago, and then disappeared ⌘ Read more
Weibo, a social media platform, tried to reduce incivility by displaying estimated locations for users, but this gave trolls another way to target people ⌘ Read more
Ancient fragments of fossilised skin may help us understand how skin evolved as vertebrate animals moved from the seas onto dry land ⌘ Read more
A dinosaur known only from a partial skull has been dubbed Tyrannosaurus mcraensis, adding a new twist to long-running debates about putative relatives of Tyrannosaurus rex ⌘ Read more
The International Energy Agency finds the world is on track to more than double renewable energy capacity by 2030, but more support is needed to reach the target of tripling capacity by the end of the decade ⌘ Read more
The success of a 15-year project to help frogs in California’s Sierra Nevada suggests some amphibian species could be rescued from a devastating fungal disease by evolution – and a little human help ⌘ Read more
An invasion of nomadic herders from the Eurasian steppe profoundly changed the genetic landscape of modern Europe, influencing patterns of modern diseases ⌘ Read more
The mysterious giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki died out up to 295,000 years ago, after failing to adapt to a changing climate and the food variability that went with it ⌘ Read more
Manatees or sea cows usually inhabit coastal waters, but rumour has it that some are hiding out in Upper Guinea. A scientific expedition goes in search of them ⌘ Read more
The experimental X-59 aircraft is designed to break the sound barrier without making the startling booms produced by current supersonic planes ⌘ Read more
The mental health of people who undertake mindfulness or meditation courses offered by their employer is generally no better than those who are not offered such programmes ⌘ Read more
After a rocket uses up its fuel, the tank generally just becomes dead weight, but a prototype rocket that burns its own fuselage as propellant could solve that problem ⌘ Read more
NASA’s Artemis II and Artemis III missions to the moon have been delayed by a year after a series of problems with the spacecraft were revealed during testing ⌘ Read more
The Hubble Space Telescope has pinpointed the origin of the most distant known fast radio burst, which hit our planet in 2022 ⌘ Read more
A moray eel, a robber fly and an ice-topped slime mould appear in winning images from the Close-Up Photographer of the Year competition ⌘ Read more
Researchers used AI to design a new material that they used to build a working battery – it requires up to 70 percent less lithium than some competing designs. ⌘ Read more
We have known for decades that the Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of heart attack and other conditions – now we are starting to understand how certain components of the diet work their magic ⌘ Read more
Measuring “entanglement islands” that contain copies of information that black holes have lost could help us find an answer to Stephen Hawking’s black hole paradox ⌘ Read more
It may be easier than researchers thought to form diamonds inside giant planets, which means that it might rain diamonds on up to a third of the planets we have discovered so far ⌘ Read more
After its 8 January launch aboard a Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander has experienced a fuel leak that may leave it without enough propellant to land on the moon ⌘ Read more
Grasslands are almost 40 per cent less productive after a year of extreme drought, an experiment spanning six continents suggests ⌘ Read more
Own brand one-litre water bottles from three unnamed US supermarkets each contained hundreds of thousands of microscopic plastic particles ⌘ Read more
A Finnish start-up has developed a method of grinding up chicken or fish bones into a nutritious paste to make meat production more efficient. New Scientist conducted a taste test with mixed results ⌘ Read more
It may be easier than researchers thought to form diamonds inside giant planets, which means that it might rain diamonds on up to a third of the planets we’ve discovered so far ⌘ Read more
Bitcoin miners seem unwilling to take action to curb the cryptocurrency's energy and water use – so some campaigners argue that it is time for governments to intervene ⌘ Read more
Christina Koch, who will become the first woman to go to the moon with the Artemis II mission, on what space smells like, why it is difficult to return to Earth and how astronauts play human bowling ⌘ Read more
NASA has launched a robotic lander towards the moon in its first mission to the lunar surface since the Apollo programme ⌘ Read more
The United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket is scheduled to launch for the first time on 8 January, carrying the Peregrine lander to the lunar surface ⌘ Read more
An artificial skin that delivers a waterproof sense of touch could speed up underwater robotic exploration and ocean clean-up operations while reducing harm to marine life ⌘ Read more
An artificial intelligence model has unpicked some of the linguistic influences behind England's place names, which could help us to understand their meaning ⌘ Read more
Cosmology has transformed our understanding of time past and the aeons to come, pointing to a deep future in which life may morph into incredible forms, says Astronomer Royal Martin Rees ⌘ Read more
Military veterans with traumatic brain injury saw drastic reductions in depression and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after using the psychedelic drug ibogaine ⌘ Read more
Venus spins in the opposite direction to the other planets, which may have been caused by an ancient moon that orbited the planet backwards and then fell to the surface ⌘ Read more
An unusual material that consists of a complex jumble of intricately entwined tubes isn't much use on its own – but the technique needed to build it could be ⌘ Read more
Researchers have created a functional semiconductor from graphene for the first time, creating the possibility of computer chips with greater performance and efficiency ⌘ Read more
The populations of species including bateleurs and secretary birds have fallen precipitously within the past 50 years, putting these birds at risk of extinction ⌘ Read more
Electrically stimulating part of the brain makes people more susceptible to hypnosis, which has shown promise for treating conditions such as chronic pain ⌘ Read more
In the largest survey yet of AI researchers, a majority say there is a non-trivial risk of human extinction due to the possible development of superhuman AI ⌘ Read more
A large language model can translate written instructions into code for a robot’s movement, enabling it to perform a wide range of human-like actions ⌘ Read more
Fossilised bacteria from Australia contain the earliest evidence of photosynthetic structures called thylakoids, which may have driven the accumulation of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere ⌘ Read more
A newly discovered drug treated infections in mice caused by a strain of bacteria that is resistant to most available antibiotics ⌘ Read more
An AI analysis of satellite images reveals fishing, shipping and offshore development activities worldwide by monitoring boats that don't publicly broadcast their location ⌘ Read more
Neutrinos produced inside an exploding star could betray exotic particles that would lead to a deeper theory of physics. Will our detectors be ready in time for the next nearby supernova? ⌘ Read more
The 2024 Quadrantids meteor shower will peak on 3 and 4 January. While moonlight may get in the way, here’s what to do for your best chance of spotting it ⌘ Read more
In Iceland, scientists are planning to drill two boreholes to a reservoir of liquid rock. One will give us our first direct measurements of magma – the other could supercharge geothermal power ⌘ Read more
A non-lethal method of catching great white sharks and releasing them 500 metres further out to sea can make the predators steer clear of beaches where people swim ⌘ Read more
People with severe covid-19 infections are more than 4 times as likely to later be diagnosed with schizophrenia than people who have not been infected, though the risk of developing the condition is relatively low ⌘ Read more
Palaeontologists can’t agree on whether fossils from several small dinosaurs represent juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex or smaller adults of a separate species that lived alongside them ⌘ Read more
NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew past Io on 30 December and took one of our best pictures yet of this moon of Jupiter ⌘ Read more
The birth of a child is a happy time for most, but overwhelming anxiety can take hold for some parents. Why does this happen and what can we do about it? ⌘ Read more
An area of the seabed north of Australia has been mapped in detail for the first time, revealing that large numbers of people could have lived there until it was inundated by rising seas ⌘ Read more
Taking a vaginal probiotic, either on its own or with an oral probiotic, for four months reduced the incidence of urinary tract infections in women with a history of recurring UTIs ⌘ Read more
NASA’s DART mission slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, and the European Space Agency is sending the Hera mission to investigate the collision’s aftermath ⌘ Read more
Shortly after hatching, chicks quickly learn to recognise moving objects with only a few examples – now AIs can do the same ⌘ Read more
The moon will cover the sun on 8 April 2024 for people in parts of the US, Canada and Mexico, creating an experience unlike any other ⌘ Read more
We probably don't need to worry about quantum computers being able to break encryption in 2024, but cryptographers are planning a security upgrade just in case ⌘ Read more
A quantum state of matter comprising molecules with opposite charges at each end has been made for the first time. It could help probe our understanding of the quantum properties of exotic materials ⌘ Read more
A battery-like device known as a supercapacitor can be created from different parts of aloe vera plants – and it can be used to make living plants power lights ⌘ Read more
If governments step up support for renewable energy and other efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 2024 could see total carbon emissions begin to fall ⌘ Read more
A virus engineered using CRISPR technology spread its DNA to other viruses in mice, causing them to become harmless ⌘ Read more
Astronomers have spotted a set of 35 mysterious flashes of radio waves from space that seem to show a strange phenomenon of decreasing frequency that has never been seen before ⌘ Read more
Most metals oxidise, or rust, when exposed to air, which normally weakens them, but a kind of metallic glass instead gets more springy ⌘ Read more
Europe will get its first exascale supercomputer next year, called JUPITER, and it should allow simulations that are currently possible only on a few machines worldwide ⌘ Read more
The Martian Moons eXploration mission is slated to launch for Phobos in September 2024 – once it gets there, it will drop off a rover, pick up some samples and head home ⌘ Read more
Like a tuning fork, living human cells have frequencies at which they naturally vibrate – and now we have estimates for what some of them are ⌘ Read more
Younger people move their arms more quickly than their older counterparts when they slip, helping them to regain their balance and prevent a fall ⌘ Read more
There are untold legions of viruses, fungi and bacteria living in your mouth. It now seems we can stave off conditions from Alzheimer's disease to cancer by keeping them in a healthy balance ⌘ Read more
A global agreement at the COP28 climate summit promised to begin "transitioning away" from fossil fuels, but will we see this start to happen in 2024? ⌘ Read more
Puzzling ancient galaxies and oddly shaped clusters suggest we have glimpsed cosmic strings travelling at the speed of light – and with them clues to a deeper theory of reality ⌘ Read more
A study modelling the impact of a major hurricane in New England suggests carbon-offsetting schemes are greatly underestimating the risks posed by storms ⌘ Read more
A system that detects forces and interprets which stimuli have the potential to cause harm could imbue robots with a sense akin to pain ⌘ Read more
Recently approved in the US, the weight-loss drug Zepbound will reach more people in 2024, with research suggesting its effects trump those of the much talked-about Wegovy and Ozempic ⌘ Read more
Scientific bodies are due to make an official decision in the coming year about whether to declare a new geochronological unit precipitated by the impact of humans on Earth ⌘ Read more
Climate change and biodiversity loss may seem like insurmountable problems, but data scientist Hannah Ritchie is cautiously optimistic we can solve them ⌘ Read more
A pair of mathematicians studied the UK National Lottery and figured out a combination of 27 tickets that guarantees you will always win, but they tell New Scientist they don't bother to play ⌘ Read more
Long-tailed macaques on the island of Koh Ped appear to have learned a new way to forage when the pandemic put a stop to feeding by tourists ⌘ Read more
Perucetus colossus lived 39 million years ago and weighed in at between 85 and 340 tonnes, meaning it was probably larger than even blue whales. The discovery has inspired both fan art and music ⌘ Read more
Physicists have proposed that a mirror universe alongside our own might explain dark matter – and we might be able to see traces of its stars ⌘ Read more
A mathematical game governed by simple rules throws up patterns of seemingly infinite complexity – and now a question that has puzzled hobbyists for decades has a solution ⌘ Read more
A drilling project in the Taklamakan desert is aiming to reach more than 11,000 metres below Earth’s surface as China explores the deep earth for resources ⌘ Read more
Over the next several years, many regions of the US and Canada may struggle to ensure a reliable electricity supply amidst soaring energy demand from the tech industry and electrification of buildings and vehicles ⌘ Read more
The first study to capture brainwaves from reindeer shows that they take small naps throughout the day while chewing ⌘ Read more
The stratosphere seems to be full of aluminium particles and other metals that come from spacecraft burning up in the atmosphere, and those particles could mess up polar clouds ⌘ Read more
A worldwide collaboration among meteorology services is trying to fill in the huge gaps in weather observations in countries vulnerable to climate change ⌘ Read more
The US approved lecanemab to slow cognitive decline among people with early Alzheimer's, but not everyone is convinced the drug has that big of an impact – not to mention concerns over its safety and practicality ⌘ Read more
An artificial fibre that mimics polar bear fur has been made into a sweater that is said to be as warm as down feather but without its thickness, but not everyone is convinced by the researchers' claims ⌘ Read more