Science
Why cosmology seems to be caught in a vibe shift
Whether you call it a vibe shift or a paradigm shift, physicists must be ready to challenge their fundamental...
Ancient 'weirdo' reptile graduated from 4 legs to 2 in adolescence
Sonselasuchus cedrus, discovered in fossils from Arizona, was a crocodile relative from the Triassic period th...
We must close the 'shocking' knowledge gap in women's health
This International Women's Day, we should prioritise groundbreaking research into women's health, such as stre...
The moment that kicked off the AI revolution
It's been 10 years since Go champion Lee Sedol lost to DeepMind's AlphaGo. Has the technology lived up to its...
Adrian Tchaikovsky's new Children of Time novel is brilliant
The latest novel in this entirely original science-fiction series features a human-size mantis shrimp as an "u...
How an intern helped build the AI that shook the world
Chris Maddison was just an intern when he started working on the Go-playing AI that would eventually become Al...
NASA changed an asteroid's orbit around the sun for the first time
NASA’s DART mission slammed into the small asteroid Dimorphos in 2022, and the impact slowed its orbit around...
Chemistry clues could detect aliens unlike any life on Earth
Looking for molecular evidence of life on other worlds is tricky, but a test based on the reactivity of carbon...
Inflammation might cause Alzheimer's – here's how to reduce it
Persistent inflammation in the gut, lungs and skin might lead to Alzheimer's disease, but lifestyle choices -...
The best new popular science books of March 2026
A new book from Rebecca Solnit, promising to bring us hope in these “difficult times”, is among our pick of po...
Shift in the Gulf Stream could signal ocean current collapse
Models show that as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation gets weaker, the Gulf Stream will drift no...
Earth is now heating up twice as fast as in previous decades
Since 2014, the planet has been warming by about 0.36°C per decade, according to an analysis of five temperatu...
The secret to guessing more accurately with maths
What do a 20th-century physicist, an 18th-century statistician and an ancient Greek philosopher have in common...
Why Yuri Gagarin wasn’t the first in space – and who beat him to it
Everyone knows Yuri Gagarin as the first person to go to space. But was he? Physicist Vladimir Brljak tells th...
New Scientist recommends real-world stealth game LANDER 23
The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week
Möbius strip-like molecule has an entirely new and bizarre shape
A ring of 13 carbon atoms and two chlorine atoms has a remarkable molecular structure that means you would hav...
Just one dose of psilocybin relieves symptoms of OCD for months
Taking psilocybin – the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms – eased symptoms of obsessive compulsive diso...
Two marsupials believed extinct for 6000 years found alive
Indigenous people in Papua, Indonesia, have helped scientists track down two animals that were thought to have...