# I am the Watcher. I am your guide through this vast new twtiverse.
# 
# Usage:
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/users              View list of users and latest twt date.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/twt                View all twts.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/mentions?uri=:uri  View all mentions for uri.
#     https://watcher.sour.is/api/plain/conv/:hash         View all twts for a conversation subject.
# 
# Options:
#     uri     Filter to show a specific users twts.
#     offset  Start index for quey.
#     limit   Count of items to return (going back in time).
# 
# twt range = 1 8122
# self = https://watcher.sour.is?uri=https://feeds.twtxt.net/New_scientist/twtxt.txt&offset=7022
# next = https://watcher.sour.is?uri=https://feeds.twtxt.net/New_scientist/twtxt.txt&offset=7122
# prev = https://watcher.sour.is?uri=https://feeds.twtxt.net/New_scientist/twtxt.txt&offset=6922
How AI mathematicians might finally deliver human-level reasoning
Artificial intelligence is taking on some of the hardest problems in pure maths, arguably demonstrating sophisticated reasoning and creativity – and a big step forward for AI ⌘ Read more
Treating gum disease may ward off an irregular heartbeat
Inflamed gum tissue may allow bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream, which could affect the heart ⌘ Read more
Mathematician wins Turing award for harnessing randomness
Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 Turing award for his work on understanding how randomness can shape and improve computer algorithms ⌘ Read more
Phone batteries could last 50% longer if more 5G towers are built
Adding more masts could reduce the overall energy use of phone networks by two-thirds and boost handset battery life by 50 per cent ⌘ Read more
Peter Higgs, physicist who theorised the Higgs boson, has died aged 94
Nobel prizewinning theoretical physicist Peter Higgs has died aged 94. He proposed the particle that gives other particles mass – now named the Higgs boson and discovered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2012 ⌘ Read more
Oral vaccine prevents recurring UTIs for nine years
An oral vaccine in the form of a pineapple-flavoured spray prevented recurrent urinary tract infections in 53.9 per cent of clinical trial participants ⌘ Read more
Australia’s Indigenous people were making pottery over 2000 years ago
An excavation on an island in the Coral Sea shows that Indigenous Australians were producing ceramics long before the arrival of Europeans ⌘ Read more
Peter Higgs: Physicist who theorised the Higgs boson has died aged 94
Nobel prizewinning theoretical physicist Peter Higgs has died aged 94. He proposed the particle that gives other particles mass – now named the Higgs boson and discovered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2012 ⌘ Read more
One of the biggest mysteries of cosmology may finally be solved
The expansion rate of the universe, measured by the Hubble constant, has been one of the most controversial numbers in cosmology for years, and we seem at last to be close to nailing it down ⌘ Read more
Are you languishing in life? Here’s how to find your purpose again
If your life feels aimless and joyless, you may be languishing, says psychologist Corey Keyes — who reveals how it differs from depression and what you can do to flourish instead ⌘ Read more
The multiverse could be much, much bigger than we ever imagined
A new way of interpreting the elusive mathematics of quantum mechanics could fundamentally change our understanding of reality ⌘ Read more
Physicists created an imaginary magnetic field in real life
Researchers have used quantum light to create a magnetic field with a strength that is measured in imaginary numbers ⌘ Read more
Dumping green sand in shallow seas could let them absorb more CO2
Releasing 1 gigatonne of ground-up olivine on coastal shelves each year could help lower atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, find researchers, but questions remain over the ecological impact ⌘ Read more
March 2024 is the 10th consecutive month to break temperature records
Every month since April 2023 has been the hottest on record, as climate continues its record-breaking streak ⌘ Read more
Eclipse 2024: 5 of the best pictures of the total solar eclipse
On 8 April, a total solar eclipse passed over Mexico, the US and Canada – here are some of the most stunning images ⌘ Read more
Long covid linked to signs of ongoing inflammatory responses in blood
People with long covid after a serious covid-19 infection have raised levels of many immune molecules in their blood. Better understanding how these molecules can vary could lead to more targeted treatments ⌘ Read more
Why you may have a stealth liver disease and what to do about it
One in three adults have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – often without knowing. Now we understand what causes this stealthy condition and how to reverse it ⌘ Read more
Stone Age blades could have been used for butchery, not just hunting
A modern butchery experiment using replicas of Stone Age tools raises new questions about how often prehistoric peoples hunted large animals such as bison or mammoths ⌘ Read more
Eclipse 2024 live: Watch the full NASA broadcast – latest
The eclipse is about to begin. Totality will arrive at Mexico’s west coast around 11.07am local time, moving east until it leaves Newfoundland, Canada, around 5.16pm there ⌘ Read more
When is the next total solar eclipse visible from the UK?**
The next time a total solar eclipse will be visible from the UK is decades away, but there are other places nearby that will experience one sooner ⌘ Read more
Cannabis use in pregnancy may raise children’s risk of ADHD and autism
A study of more than 220,000 people found that cannabis use during pregnancy was associated with their children having roughly twice the risk of ADHD, autism and intellectual disability ⌘ Read more
Eclipse 2024 live: Watch the full NASA broadcast – latest
The eclipse is about to begin. Totality will arrive at Mexico’s west coast around 11.07am local time, moving east until it leaves Newfoundland, Canada, around 5.16pm there ⌘ Read more
5 solar eclipse activities to do with children
From building an eclipse viewer to using the sun to pop balloons, here's a child-friendly activity guide for April's eclipse ⌘ Read more
We finally know why Stephen Hawking's black hole equation works
Stephen Hawking and Jacob Bekenstein calculated the entropy of a black hole in the 1970s, but it took physicists until now to figure out the quantum effects that make the formula work ⌘ Read more
Suppressing wildfires is harming California’s giant sequoia trees
California’s rare sequoias rely on high heat to disperse their seeds, and efforts to reduce the size of wildfires may be damaging their ability to reproduce ⌘ Read more
How a total solar eclipse in 1919 left physicists 'more or less agog'
One total solar eclipse changed physics forever – and even to this day these celestial phenomena are astonishing viewers and teaching us crucial lessons about the universe ⌘ Read more
Left-handed monkeys prompt rethink about evolution of right-handedness
A popular idea links primates living on the ground with a tendency for right-handedness, but findings from urban langurs in India cast doubt on the idea ⌘ Read more
How mass bleaching has pushed the Great Barrier Reef to the brink
Diving at One Tree Island in one of the most highly protected parts of the Great Barrier Reef reveals the shocking extent of the latest mass bleaching event ⌘ Read more
The Biology of Kindness review: Living well and prospering
Can cultivating positive behaviours and tweaking our lifestyles lead to healthier, happier lives – even longer lives? Discover the daily choices that may make the difference in a fascinating new book ⌘ Read more
Could an MRI scan make prostate cancer screening more accurate?**
Combining PSA blood tests with MRI scans is making the screening less harmful, but it still should be targeted only at high-risk groups, such as men who are Black or have a family history of prostate cancer, says a new report ⌘ Read more
Why some songs make our heart swell and others give us butterflies
Where in our body we feel the physical sensation of hearing music seems to depend on how surprising the piece's chords are ⌘ Read more
Bisexual women expect to have an orgasm with women more than with men
When asked to imagine a hypothetical sexual encounter, bisexual women anticipated that they would be more likely to orgasm with another woman than with a man ⌘ Read more
Electric vehicles have lowered San Francisco's carbon footprint
A network of sensors stretching from San Francisco to Sonoma county’s vineyards shows that electric vehicles have helped lower carbon emissions by almost 2 per cent per year within the Bay Area ⌘ Read more
Marine protected areas aren't helping fish populations recover
Protected zones are meant to let adult fish populations recover from overfishing, but an analysis of 111 sites in the Caribbean finds that this is not happening in most cases ⌘ Read more
Climate change can disturb the accuracy of trees’ biological clocks
Trees use circadian genes to time photosynthesis and reproduction – but as temperatures rise, the clocks may not work as well ⌘ Read more
Life’s vital chemistry may have begun in hot, cracked rock
Amino acids and other molecules important to the origin of life can be enriched within networks of rocky fractures, which would have been common on the early Earth ⌘ Read more
Anxiety really has increased over the past 10 years – but why?**
The covid-19 pandemic saw a pronounced uptick in anxiety levels globally, but levels were rising in some countries before the pandemic began. The race is on to explain this trend ⌘ Read more
Is anxiety rising in children and if so, why?**
Evidence points to more children today feeling anxious than a few years ago, with a complicated picture emerging encompassing everything from the pandemic to social media ⌘ Read more
The surprising benefits of anxiety and how you could harness them
There can be no doubt that extreme anxiety is highly debilitating, but at moderate levels, our nervous feelings can make us smarter problem solvers and fuel original thinking ⌘ Read more
Laser-powered licence plates could help avoid satellite collisions
It can be difficult to identify satellites that have lost power, increasing the risk of a dangerous collision in space, but licence plates could be a solution ⌘ Read more
Snakes show signs of self-recognition in a smell-based 'mirror test'
Garter snakes may recognise their own scent and react differently when it is altered, hinting at self-awareness in reptiles ⌘ Read more
Babies recognise spoken nursery rhymes they heard in the uterus
Previous research suggests that babies can recognise nursery rhymes that were sung to them while they were in the uterus. Now, scientists have found they also seem to remember nursery rhymes that are spoken with no tune ⌘ Read more
Showing AI just 1000 extra images reduced AI-generated stereotypes
Researchers made an AI image generator produce less offensive images by feeding it a tiny amount of additional training data ⌘ Read more
Planet caught in a gravitational 'tidal storm' is so hot that it glows
A strange world is being stretched out of shape by its neighbouring planets, heating it up so intensely that it probably has a molten surface ⌘ Read more
I went hunting for a zombie fungus worth more than its weight in gold
The fungus yartsa gunbu, which grows by turning caterpillars into zombies, is prized in traditional medicine, but its harvest is having an increased ecological impact on its native Himalayan home ⌘ Read more
Therapy that turns lymph nodes into livers gets first human trial
An experimental therapy that grows miniature livers inside a person’s lymph nodes has been used in a human for the first time, but it will be months before we know if it fully replaces their liver function ⌘ Read more
The new evidence that explains what anxiety really is
What anxiety actually is has puzzled scientists for decades. Now we are starting to figure out how it may arise from miscommunication between the body and the brain ⌘ Read more
Astronomers have found what may be the smallest galaxy ever
A tiny clump of stars orbiting our galaxy should have been ripped apart by the Milky Way, but its continued existence hints it may be held together by a massive amount of dark matter ⌘ Read more
Bird flu confirmed in person who had contact with infected dairy cows
A person in Texas has been infected with bird flu after exposure to dairy cows who had the virus – it is the first time a human has contracted the disease from a mammal ⌘ Read more
How the infamous Pitcairn Island became a model of ocean conservation
Pitcairn Island, one of the remotest places on Earth, was once home to mutineers. Today it’s a trailblazer in biodiversity protection with lessons for us all ⌘ Read more
‘Yell at your robot’ technique teaches robots household chores
AI allows robots to listen to verbal instructions while learning to correctly perform household tasks. That could enable more natural interactions between humans and robots ⌘ Read more
How solar eclipses have been revealing cosmic secrets for centuries
Records of total solar eclipses go back thousands of years, and in all that time they have allowed scientists to uncover key information about not just the sun but the whole universe ⌘ Read more
Why vigorous exercise could inadvertently lead to weight gain
Intense exercise may make the body compensate for energy used during this vigorous activity by reducing other forms of energy use, leading to weight gain, according to a study in mice ⌘ Read more
The best new science fiction books of April 2024
There’s an abundance of exciting new science fiction out in April, by writers including The Three-Body Problem author Cixin Liu, Douglas Preston and Lionel Shriver ⌘ Read more
AI chatbots beat humans at persuading their opponents in debates
When people were challenged to debate contentious topics with a human or GPT-4, they were more likely to be won over by the artificial intelligence ⌘ Read more
Physicists have worked out how to melt any material
A new equation shows a surprisingly simple relationship between pressure and the temperature needed to melt any solid substance into a liquid ⌘ Read more
Heatwaves now last much longer than they did in the 1980s
A global analysis of heatwaves over a span of 40 years shows that they are getting more frequent, moving slower and lasting longer ⌘ Read more
Tooth loss linked to early signs of Alzheimer’s disease
A brain region critical for memory is smaller in older adults with fewer than 10 teeth than in those who have most of their teeth, suggesting that tooth loss may precede the development of dementia ⌘ Read more
DNA sequencing may give hope to critically ill adults in hospital
Genome analysis as a way of helping people with baffling medical conditions has so far mainly been seen as a diagnostic tool for babies and children, but it also helps adults ⌘ Read more
The ambitious plans to study the sun during April's solar eclipse
Solar scientists have been preparing for years for a 4-minute window, during the total solar eclipse on 8 April, in which they will study the sun's corona ⌘ Read more
Hyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
A super-stretchy hydrogel can stretch to 15 times its original length and return to its initial shape, and could be used to make soft inflatable robots ⌘ Read more
Japan’s SLIM moon lander surprisingly survived a second lunar night
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon spacecraft has sent back images after surviving its second lunar night – generally these periods are so cold they destroy spacecraft electronics ⌘ Read more
Could bone marrow transplants transmit Alzheimer's disease?**
The mainstream view is that Alzheimer's starts in the brain, but researchers were able to transfer the condition in mice by injections of bone marrow ⌘ Read more
Chair for gamers boosts player performance and prevents muscular aches
Gamers seemed to be more comfortable after playing in a specialist gaming chair compared with a standard office chair ⌘ Read more
Mars may have captured and split a comet to create its two moons
How the Red Planet acquired its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, is unknown – they could have formed after something collided with the planet, or started out as asteroids – but now there is a hint of a cometary origin ⌘ Read more
Early galaxy seen by JWST contains giant young stars and supernovae
The light signature from GLASS-z12, one of the most distant galaxies we have ever seen, suggests some of its stars have already exploded as supernovae ⌘ Read more
Spreading rock dust on farms boosts crop yields and captures CO2
We already have evidence that rock dust can remove carbon dioxide from the air – now there are signs that spreading the dust on farm fields also enhances crop growth ⌘ Read more
NASA’s Artemis astronauts will try to grow plants on the moon
Three experiments have been selected to fly to the moon alongside NASA’s Artemis III astronauts, all designed to help with future long-term stays on the moon and eventually Mars ⌘ Read more
Antibody therapy makes the immune systems of old mice young again
A novel antibody therapy makes the immune system of old mice appear younger, allowing the animals to better fend off infections and reduce inflammation ⌘ Read more
We've glimpsed something that behaves like a particle of gravity
Gravitons, the particles thought to carry gravity, have never been seen in space – but something very similar has been detected in a semiconductor ⌘ Read more
Is every species necessary or can we let some die out?**
There are thousands of species at risk of extinction, and we can’t save them all – how do conservationists think about which ones to focus on? ⌘ Read more
How mastering the art of being alone can boost your mental health
We are finally getting to grips with why solitude is so important. Here's how to use your alone time to get the biggest boost to your health and relationships ⌘ Read more
Implantable battery is charged up by the body's oxygen supply
Many medical implants run on batteries that need to be recharged, but what if you could do so just by breathing? ⌘ Read more
Eclipse 2024: When is it and where can I see it?**
North America will have a total solar eclipse on 8 April – here is where, when and how to view it safely ⌘ Read more
New view of our galaxy's black hole reveals a swirling magnetic field
The black hole at the centre of our galaxy, known as Sagittarius A\\*, has been captured in polarised light to reveal its magnetic field ⌘ Read more*
Most accurate clock ever can tick for 40 billion years without error
The record for the most accurate clock has been broken in an experiment with strontium atoms almost as cold as absolute zero, and it is twice as accurate as any predecessor ⌘ Read more
AI chatbots are improving at an even faster rate than computer chips
The large language models behind AI chatbots are developing so rapidly that after eight months, a model only needs half the computing power to hit the same benchmark score - which is much faster than the rate at which computer chips improve ⌘ Read more
Horses used in therapy often avoid people if they are given a choice
Horses show signs of stress if people touch them while they are tethered, but they appear much less anxious if they are able to walk away ⌘ Read more
Some bamboo toilet paper contains only tiny amounts of bamboo
Toilet paper made from bamboo is supposed to be more eco-friendly than traditional paper made from virgin wood pulp. But new tests suggest some products contain as little as 3 per cent bamboo ⌘ Read more
Not getting enough sleep may make you feel years older
Insufficient sleep seems to result in people feeling older than they are, with a higher "subjective age" previously being linked to depression ⌘ Read more
Unexploded bombs from the second world war are getting more dangerous
An explosive found inside many bombs and shells used during the first and second world wars is becoming more likely to explode in response to impacts ⌘ Read more
Bird flu detected in US dairy cows – here’s what you need to know
The US Department of Agriculture has detected bird flu in dairy cows from Texas and Kansas – the first time the virus has been found in cattle ⌘ Read more
How to make an eclipse viewer
Some basic equipment can help you safely enjoy the eclipse on 8 April – here's how to easily make what you need ⌘ Read more
Flavour-predicting AI can tell brewers how to make beer taste better
An AI model trained on chemical and perceptual data on 250 Belgian beers can predict the flavour profile of a brew – and how to make it tastier ⌘ Read more
The physicist searching for quantum gravity in gravitational rainbows
Claudia de Rham thinks that gravitons, hypothetical particles thought to carry gravity, have mass. If she’s right, we can expect to see “rainbows” in ripples in space-time ⌘ Read more
AI forecaster can predict the future better than humans
An AI forecaster based on the language model GPT-4 can predict the outcome of future events more accurately than single humans. In some cases, it can even outperform the “wisdom of crowds” ⌘ Read more
Heat pumps: How to speed up the switch to low-carbon home heating
The rollout of heat pumps and other green heating technologies is going far too slowly in the UK – here’s what’s needed to get it moving ⌘ Read more
Paper planes made by a robot fly better than ones made by humans
A robot that can design, build and test objects made from folded paper can make paper planes that fly further than ones made by a human having the same number of attempts ⌘ Read more
Ancient people carved mysterious symbols near dinosaur footprints
A unique site in Brazil features rock carvings closely associated with dinosaur tracks, suggesting prehistoric people saw the footprints as meaningful ⌘ Read more
Huge crater in India hints at major meteorite impact 4000 years ago
The Luna structure, a 1.8-kilometre-wide depression in north-west India, may have been caused by the largest meteorite to strike Earth in the past 50,000 years ⌘ Read more
Your nationality may influence how much you talk with your hands
When recounting an episode of the children's TV show Pingu, people from Italy made an average of 22 gestures per 100 words, compared with 11 for Swedish people ⌘ Read more
Wildfire smoke may be deadliest effect of climate change in US
Smoke from wildfires made worse by climate change is set to cause thousands of additional deaths each year in the US ⌘ Read more
The unexpected reasons why human childhood is extraordinarily long
Why childhood is so protracted has long been mysterious, now a spate of archaeological discoveries suggest an intriguing explanation ⌘ Read more
Martin MacInnes: 'Science fiction can be many different things'
The author of In Ascension, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on why he wrote his novel, cultivating a sense of wonder and the role of fiction in the world today ⌘ Read more
Dust clouds from the Sahara are reaching Europe more frequently
Changes in wind patterns and desertification may be increasing the amount of dust from the Sahara desert blown over western Europe and the frequency of these events ⌘ Read more
Birds make an 'after you' gesture to prompt their mate to enter nest
Japanese tits sometimes flutter their wings in an apparent gesture of encouraging their mate to enter their shared nest first ⌘ Read more
Humans spread more viruses to other animals than they give to us
An analysis of viral genomes shows it is more common for viruses to jump from humans to other animals than the other way around ⌘ Read more
Tiny deer from the dry valleys of Peru recognised as new species
A 38-centimetre-tall deer, found in an arid region in the central Andes, is the first new deer species found in South America for over 60 years ⌘ Read more
NASA's mission to Europa isn't meant to find alien life - but it could
Later this year, NASA is launching its Europa Clipper spacecraft to the icy moon of Jupiter. Its mission is only to investigate whether the moon is habitable, but now researchers have found that one of its instruments could look for direct signs of life ⌘ Read more
Medieval horses buried in London had far-flung origins
Isotopic analysis of horse teeth from a medieval burial site suggest that the animals were imported to England from Scandinavia or the Alps, perhaps for use in battle or jousting ⌘ Read more