A new type of crystal that absorbs heat when released from extreme pressure could lead to climate-friendly refrigerators and air conditioners ⌘ Read more
A new type of crystal that absorbs heat when released from extreme pressure could lead to climate-friendly refrigerators and air conditioners ⌘ Read more
A robotic hand uses fingertip sensors and AI to determine how firmly to grip before closing in on an object, overcoming a persistent problem for prosthetics ⌘ Read more
Although popular AI models score highly on medical exams, their accuracy drops significantly when making a diagnosis based on a conversation with a simulated patient ⌘ Read more
Covid-19 is responsible for the deaths of millions of people around the world, but researchers fear the next global outbreak could be even worse, making it vital that we start preparing for that unknown pathogen now ⌘ Read more
It is tempting to lock memories of the height of covid-19 away but looking back is vital for preparing properly for the next pandemic ⌘ Read more
Foxes and cats weren’t just caught for their pelts, hint cut marks and burns on bones found at a site in Israel ⌘ Read more
When reading a book, we tend to blink over less familiar words, which suggests it may have a cognitive role ⌘ Read more
The surprise discovery that ancient human DNA can survive in sediments and soil is revolutionising the study of Paleolithic minds, behaviours and lifestyles ⌘ Read more
Entire atoms have been put through a classic quantum experiment for the first time and the breakthrough could lead to better detectors for picking up the gravitational waves that ripple across the universe ⌘ Read more
Several start-ups are preparing to launch new foods made without plants, animals or soil, claiming that their products have a lower environmental impact ⌘ Read more
Following successful early demonstrations of linking two quantum computing chips, IBM is aiming to break records for the largest quantum computer yet by combining many of them in parallel ⌘ Read more
Hartmut Neven, who leads Google's Quantum AI lab, wants to entangle our brains with quantum processors to test the idea that consciousness involves quantum phenomena ⌘ Read more
Textile fragments found in a 2800-year-old grave in the Netherlands were once part of a woven dress with a red and blue checked pattern, molecular analysis has revealed ⌘ Read more
A study in pigs has shown that the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy directly boosts heart health, in addition to the benefits of losing weight ⌘ Read more
By the end of the century, the eastern and southern US may never see deep snow cover the ground, with consequences for water storage as well as for the life on and beneath the snow ⌘ Read more
There is growing interest in exploring ways to counteract global warming by intervening in the atmosphere and the oceans, but planned trials are highly controversial ⌘ Read more
Several prototype aircraft that are intended to bring back commercial supersonic travel have been making big strides in recent years – but it is unknown how well the return of Concorde-like flights will go down with customers ⌘ Read more
As part of a project to make mathematics machine-readable, mathematicians have discovered an error in an important proof. Thankfully there was a fix, but the incident highlights the potential for other errors to be lurking in the mathematics literature ⌘ Read more
The coding that forms the basis of Google’s recent breakthrough in error-correcting quantum computers is facing fierce competition ⌘ Read more
The teeth of dolphins and other toothed whales are connected to a uniquely thick bundle of nerve fibres, which might play a role in sound detection ⌘ Read more
Some quantum fields that extend throughout all of space-time could be a rich resource of quantum entanglement that can be extracted forever ⌘ Read more
A scorpion discovered in South America can spray venom out of its stinger and hit targets up to 35 centimetres away ⌘ Read more
Two separate theoretical studies published this year argued that time itself is bound up in the odd quantum property of entanglement, but deep mysteries remain ⌘ Read more
New research shows that ensuring the skin is in excellent condition should be a priority for anyone who wants to increase their chances of living a long life ⌘ Read more
A large number of damaging and deadly hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, floods and droughts this year were photographed from land, air and space ⌘ Read more
Understanding how stress can affect your skin could lead to reductions in conditions like acne and eczema ⌘ Read more
Smoke lofted into the upper atmosphere on towering pyrocumulonimbus clouds can spread around the globe and affect the climate ⌘ Read more
In the quest for better skin, we are faced with an overwhelming choice of creams and serums to enhance our appearance. Here's what works – and what doesn't ⌘ Read more
The songs of male humpback whales seem to become more complex in the months before they look for a mate, suggesting a rehearsal period may be important for good performance ⌘ Read more
The geometric Langlands conjecture poses deep questions for mathematicians, and a 1000-page proof published this year has left them both celebrating and puzzled ⌘ Read more
The latest AI model from OpenAI achieved an “impressive leap in performance” but it still hasn’t demonstrated what experts classify as human-level intelligence ⌘ Read more
There is more research than ever focused on reflecting sunlight away from the planet to cool the climate – but there are still far more questions than answers about the effects ⌘ Read more
A new type of norovirus is causing a very high number of cases in countries like England, just as a large trial of an mRNA vaccine is starting up ⌘ Read more
The Ingenuity autonomous helicopter surpassed all expectations to fly dozens of missions over several years on the Red Planet, only stopping this year when an accident damaged one of its rotors ⌘ Read more
Hundreds of community websites run for fans of everything from cycling to Sunderland AFC may be forced to shut down by the UK's Online Safety Act, which is designed to protect children from harmful content ⌘ Read more
A newly described species of giant pitcher plant is one of the biggest ever found, with leaves covered in fur the same colour as orangutans ⌘ Read more
Blazing the Trail, a new podcast from the Australian Museum, delves into topics from how language evolved to the implications of harnessing fire ⌘ Read more
We asked New Scientist writers to pick their favourite sci-fi short story. From H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine to Octavia E. Butler’s Bloodchild, via stories from George R. R. Martin and Ursula K. Le Guin, here are the results ⌘ Read more
Recent findings show that Stonehenge’s stones came from all over Britain – and this offers clues to the monument’s purpose, say archaeologists ⌘ Read more
Endangered skates and kingfishers were brought back from the brink this year and scientists found a way to protect frogs from deadly infections ⌘ Read more
A simple change to maize, sorghum and sugarcane that allows them to take advantage of rising CO2 levels can boost their growth by around a fifth ⌘ Read more
Advances in artificial intelligence mean that machines can now perform certain diagnostic tasks with far better accuracy than human doctors - but the picture is more complicated than you might think ⌘ Read more
Analysing footage of what happens when people jump into water, and using a robot to mimic them, has revealed how do the perfect dive-bomb using a Maori technique called the Manu ⌘ Read more
This year has delivered some awe-inspiring imagery of space, from the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning shots of faraway stars and galaxies to images of the skies taken from here on planet Earth ⌘ Read more
Small robots directed by magnetic fields can cooperatively lift heavy objects, form floating rafts and push through clogs. They may one day deliver drugs within the human body ⌘ Read more
Electronics made using diamond-based chips would have many advantages, but have been hard to make – a new technique involving sticky tape could change that ⌘ Read more
Researchers have tried to work out how fast Australopithecus afarensis could run by creating a 3D digital robot of the ancient hominin ⌘ Read more
Quantum computing hardware has been progressing rapidly in recent years – and quantum software is following ⌘ Read more
Biological nanopore technology revolutionised DNA sequencing – now it has been adapted for analysing alcoholic drinks, providing a quick test for quality and safety ⌘ Read more
The biodiversity, climate, health, water and food crises need to be addressed together rather than regarded as separate issues, urges a major report ⌘ Read more
An asteroid orbiting near our planet that temporarily became our second moon seems to have come from the actual moon, hinting that a hidden population of lunar rocks is drifting in space ⌘ Read more
Renewable energy continued to grow in 2024, and there were other hopeful developments in technologies aiming to reverse the rise in greenhouse gas emissions ⌘ Read more
One of the biggest uncertainties in the ongoing AI revolution is whether these systems can legally be trained on copyrighted data. Now, the UK says it plans to clarify the matter with a change to the law ⌘ Read more
The fossilised remains of an ancient carnivore provide intriguing hints about how early relatives of mammals began regulating their own body temperature ⌘ Read more
A long-envisioned futuristic world of humanoid robots doing all the work has yet to arrive, but these startling images reveal some of the surprising ways that advanced robotics is becoming more ubiquitous in people's lives ⌘ Read more
Eating disorders have increased - and many are pointing the finger at sites like Instagram and TikTok ⌘ Read more
A review of chemical exposures across 38 countries finds common plastic products are linked to millions of cases of heart disease and thousands of strokes ⌘ Read more
The age of the rings that encircle Saturn is under dispute thanks to calculations that show they could have been formed billions – rather than millions – of years ago ⌘ Read more
The past 12 months have been packed for the world’s wealthiest person as he has juggled Tesla, X, Neuralink, SpaceX and relations with Donald Trump – has it been a success? ⌘ Read more
The Greater Mekong region of Asia hosts a wealth of rare and unstudied species – 173 new species of plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and three mammals were described last year. Here are six of them ⌘ Read more
Geologists estimate Earth contains several trillion tonnes of natural hydrogen that could be used as a clean fuel, but a global search for large reserves hasn’t delivered so far ⌘ Read more
Surging mpox cases in East, West and Central Africa prompted the World Health Organization to once again make the infection a global health emergency ⌘ Read more
From not smoking to maintaining a healthy weight, there are many healthy habits that could help keep your brain young ⌘ Read more
The ability to admit ignorance could be a sign of truly intelligent AI, and a new quiz of unsolved or perhaps even unsolvable questions aims to put this idea to the test ⌘ Read more
Many children in the US seem to be using a chatbot to help them with their work, despite the risks of errors and often in defiance of school rules ⌘ Read more
The US Navy has many tasks it wants quantum devices to tackle, from setting maintenance schedules to enabling nearly unhackable communication ⌘ Read more
A survey of more than 56,000 sun-like stars reveals that “superflares” that could play havoc with electronics on Earth may happen every 100 to 200 years and the last big one to hit us was in 1859 ⌘ Read more
The oldest genomes ever recovered from modern humans have helped pin down when and how the momentous mingling of two hominins played out ⌘ Read more
Large drones have been spotted flying over the US for weeks, and state and federal officials say they still have no idea who is behind the flights ⌘ Read more
A fungus named Psilocybe ochraceocentrata is the closest relative of a widely cultivated psychedelic mushroom, giving clues to their evolutionary origins ⌘ Read more
La Niña conditions are expected to lead to a slightly cooler average global surface temperature in 2025, though it does not mean the planet as a whole has stopped warming ⌘ Read more
On 24 December, the Parker Solar Probe will be the closest human-made object ever to a star, taking unprecedented measurements of the sun ⌘ Read more
Just a few months after the previous record was set, a start-up called Quantinuum has announced that it has entangled the largest number of logical qubits – this will be key to quantum computers that can correct their own errors ⌘ Read more
Solving challenges like climate change not only requires ambitious targets, but also an honest appraisal of uncertainty and possible failure ⌘ Read more
They were loved by Charles Darwin, they build brilliantly bad nests and they even produce a kind of “milk”. Surely, these facts are more than enough to foster a love for the urban pigeon ⌘ Read more
Rather than getting its water from impacts, our planet may have drawn in water vapour after the sun boiled it off early icy asteroids ⌘ Read more
The unusual properties of gallium have helped scientists to create delicate moulds that can be used to grow cultures of human cells resembling tiny blood vessels ⌘ Read more
Hope for a much-needed treatment for the common pregnancy complication pre-eclampsia has been raised by a successful test of an mRNA therapy in mice ⌘ Read more
From the first private moon landing to the first civilian spacewalk, Elon Musk’s SpaceX helped drive a big year for private space flight ⌘ Read more
Rats of the sky? Pigeons are often the target of human ire, but there's a lot to cherish – or at least appreciate – in these scrappy survivors ⌘ Read more
Dog harnesses are sometimes claimed to reduce pulling forces on the leash, but an experiment found they have the opposite effect ⌘ Read more
People in multiple US states tested positive for bird flu this year, raising concerns about the pandemic potential of the virus ⌘ Read more
The electricity required to support AI could contribute to approximately 600,000 asthma cases and create a $20 billion public health burden by 2030 ⌘ Read more
For millennia, Arctic ecosystems have stored more carbon dioxide than they release, but that has shifted as warming temperatures have boosted wildfires and melted permafrost in the north ⌘ Read more
The electricity required to support Silicon Valley’s AI ambitions could contribute to approximately 600,000 asthma cases and create a $20 billion public health burden by 2030 ⌘ Read more
Atoms cooled to near absolute zero let researchers make a measurement of gravity 20 per cent more precise than the standard quantum limit usually allows ⌘ Read more
The ocean carbon sink – which removes about a quarter of our emissions from the atmosphere each year – was much weaker than expected in 2023 ⌘ Read more
Dog owners often wonder what's really going on between their pets' fluffy ears. Now, savvy experiments and new technology are finally giving us a clearer glimpse ⌘ Read more
Many ancient board games have been discovered, but there are no rulebooks so we don't know how to play them. Now AI is bringing these games back to life by working out likely rules ⌘ Read more
Google has unveiled a new quantum computer that excels at a benchmarking problem, but it still isn't clear whether these machines can serve a practical purpose ⌘ Read more
Higher or lower levels of certain proteins in your blood appear to indicate if your brain's age is older than your actual age ⌘ Read more
The moving sofa problem, which involves negotiating furniture around an awkward hallway, has puzzled mathematicians for decades - but now we have an answer ⌘ Read more
You might expect a child's belief in Santa Claus – with his ability to discern whether children have been naughty or nice – would have an impact on their behaviour. But it turns out other festive trappings like Christmas jumpers and carols may play a more important role ⌘ Read more
A technology that packs more optical fibre connections onto chips could let them transmit 80 times as much information, speeding up AI training and slashing data centre energy costs ⌘ Read more
In a surprise discovery, researchers found a new way to generate quantum entanglement for particles of light, which could make building quantum information networks easier ⌘ Read more
As the Arctic ground thaws due to climate change, trees are struggling to stay upright – and this slows their growth and makes them store less carbon ⌘ Read more
It may sound strange, but mathematicians have created an entire ladder of infinities, each larger than the next. Now a new kind of infinity threatens to upset that order, and perhaps redefine the structure of the mathematical universe ⌘ Read more
Scuba divers will attempt to collect semen from at least nine wild male leopard sharks for the first time, for use in captive breeding programmes aiming to boost wild populations ⌘ Read more
A high-resolution view of hailstones the size of tennis balls can reveal how they form – and help researchers better forecast which storms will generate these destructive pieces of ice ⌘ Read more
Bees visited flowers on plants inoculated with diverse fungi more than plants without this treatment – but not every combination of fungus had the same effect ⌘ Read more