New Scientist covers the latest developments in science and technology that will impact your world. New Scientist employs and commissions the best writers in their fields from all over the world. Our editorial team provide cutting-edge news, award-winning features and reports, written in concise and clear language that puts discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life today and in the future.
Elsewhere on New Scientist
Trust your gut • Impressive factoids have nothing on the true story of the microbiome
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Making a bed for native oysters
Tanker surge raises risk of oil spills • Loss of sea ice means ever more Russian oil tankers are travelling through Arctic waters
Beetles raise their young in food waste left by army ants
Frequent cannabis use may raise the risk of heart attack
Astronomers alarmed by satellite that outshines all but seven stars
mRNA work wins medicine Nobel • Nobel prize awarded to researchers whose insights were crucial to developing covid-19 vaccines
Physics Nobel goes to trio who sliced up time with light
Tiny crocodile can moo and that may help us track it
Plastic can be recycled into hydrogen fuel and graphene
Can China turn the world green? • As the world’s biggest carbon emitter and the largest producer of clean energy tech, China is crucial to our climate future, reports James Dinneen
The coal question
Ultra-processed food isn’t always unhealthy, say UK food officials
Heatproof computer could help probe Venus or the sun
Elusive Australian bat sometimes snacks on other bats
Antimatter definitely doesn’t fall up, physicists confirm
Trilobite stuffed itself with food
Baskets made by prehistoric weavers
We finally know what makes orange carrots orange
Really brief
How can artificial intelligence supercharge your business? • That was the theme of New Scientist’s first B2B event, which took place in central London last week.
End the stigma of weight • Anti-obesity efforts are so intertwined with body-shaming attitudes that they actively harm health and well-being, says Becca Muir
Artificially Intelligent • Mysterious models The world has happily accepted large language models, but even researchers working in AI don’t fully understand the systems they work on, finds Alex Wilkins
A golden age
Your letters
Family matters • Scientific progress has made all sorts of families possible. But as a new exhibition shows, it hasn’t been a pain-free shift, says Alison George
Nowhere to hide • A scary future is certain if we fail to safeguard the freedom of being anonymous in public, says Wendy M. Grossman
New Scientist recommends
The film column • Playing sci-fi cinema bingo Set during a futuristic war between humans and artificial intelligence, The Creator is nothing if not spectacular. Shame it is cobbled together from the tropes of other science fiction movies, says Simon Ings
YOU AND YOUR MICROBIOME • The microbes in our gut, and their impact on body and mind, have become a hot topic. But how much of the science holds up? How can we change them for the better? And should their role in our lives change our view of who we really are?
CAN PILLS AND SUPPLEMENTS BOOST YOUR MICROBIOME?
DOES THE GUT MICROBIOME INFLUENCE BODY WEIGHT?
Eclipse chasers • Two upcoming solar spectacles will offer us a unique chance to solve some of our star’s biggest mysteries, says Jamie Carter
All white, alright? • Chicken changes colour when it is safely cooked, right? Not always – and clear juices can’t be relied on either, says Sam Wong
Puzzles
Almost the last word
Tom Gauld for New...