New Scientist

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

Stephen Hawking’s parting gift • The physicist’s final theorem will inspire deep debate for years to come

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1.5°C climate goal is slipping away • The latest IPCC report reiterates that unless we take drastic action to cut emissions now, the world will miss its global warming target, explains Michael Le Page

Covid-19 may have first jumped to people via raccoon dogs

The best way to spot a liar is to focus on the details of what they say

Quantum physics might be key to life on Titan

Some asteroids may be ‘dark comets’ with invisible tails

Beethoven’s genome hints that he died from liver damage

Superconductor discovery called into question

NASA unveils new spacesuit for moon mission astronauts

Bird flu infects mammals’ brains • H5N1 virus may be causing neurological symptoms in foxes and other animals

Earliest evidence of meteorite impact is 3.48 billion years old

Quantum computers may have found a practical use

Earth’s early oxygen may be a result of earthquakes

Notre Dame’s innovative use of iron • The 2019 fire at the cathedral has revealed how metal staples were used as reinforcements

How poisonous amphibians evolved warning colours

Signs of cellular ageing start earlier in women than men

Algae-farming fish help coral bounce back from bleaching

Umbilical blood stem cell transplant puts woman in HIV remission

Gene-edited rice may be able to grow in Martian soil

Expanding vent is a sign that Venus is volcanically active

Jumping parasitic worms use static to hit their targets

Killer infection on the rise in Africa

How shiny ghost fish gets its many colours

Coffee habit link to smaller diabetes risk and lower BMI

Really brief

It’s now or never • Achieving a sustainable human population is critical if we are to address our overconsumption of resources, argues Chris Packham

Artificially intelligent • A robotic personality For all their unsettling emergent abilities, chatbots are still just next-word predictors and we need to be wary of anthropomorphising them, warns Alex Wilkins

It’s snowtime!

Your letters

Living in Earth’s dark future • It is crunch time for the planet’s climate in a sci-fi that takes the sledgehammer approach. But does it do enough to make us really care, asks Jon O’Brien

The power of art • A fascinating update on how cultural pursuits help our brains narrowly misses out on being a great read, finds Grace Wade

Don’t miss

The film column • The coming fire Atomic Light, an uneven collection of films by video and installation artist David Blandy, is rescued by the story of two solar astronomers who drew the sun on the day of the Hiroshima blast, says Simon Ings

Why is the universe just right for life? • It is a question that captivated Stephen Hawking and his final thesis contains a surprising answer – as his long-time collaborator Thomas Hertog explains

The people’s vet • Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka set out to help gorillas by improving the health of their human neighbours. As she tells Graham Lawton, the results speak for themselves

Far-sighted thinking • Our tendency to focus narrowly on the now lies behind the most serious problems we face. How can we...