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

How to eat healthily • Evidence – not stigma – should be at the heart of efforts to tackle processed food

New Scientist

Up close with a Martian moon

Why insects gather at lights • Artificial light doesn’t actually entice insects towards it, but instead interferes with the systems they use to orientate their body when flying, finds Michael Le Page

Stress can biologically age you, but the effect isn’t permanent

Wood transistor could let us embed electronics in trees

Lack of neuron ‘pruning’ behind many brain-related conditions

Martian base on Earth set to host first ‘astronauts’

Evidence is growing for the axion • An overlooked candidate for dark matter may be bending light from distant galaxies

Even dead wolves can send boars into a fright

Analysis History of science • Was Rosalind Franklin really a victim of scientific theft? New documents add to the evidence that the popular story of the discovery of DNA’s structure is misleading, says Michael Le Page

Brightness illusion fools rats in same way as humans

Geoengineering the seas could be catastrophic for marine life

Women’s small intestines are longer than men’s

Confusion over the number of Galapagos giant tortoise species

Carnivorous plants use a sneaky trick for luring different bugs

Starship launches, then explodes • A test of SpaceX’s biggest rocket didn’t quite go as planned

Edible computer chips could guide robots in the body

Synthetic spider silk laced with graphene can rapidly heal itself

Elephant seals take power naps in the ocean

2022 was Europe’s hottest summer but warmer years are likely to come

Heavy element in distant planet is a record find

The brain’s other motion controller • For decades, we have known that the motor cortex directs which body parts we move. Now, it seems we missed a crucial part of it, finds Jason Arunn Murugesu

Skateboard boosts babies’ motor skills

A kelping hand for carbon capture

Zebra finches get out of tune if they don’t practise daily

Really brief

Practical magic • Condensed matter is a huge field of physics that gets less attention than it deserves. We need to start inspiring people, says Felix Flicker

Field notes from space-time • The nature of a proof A 2021 paper has got physicists discussing whether the boundaries we imagine for Newtonian physics are simply failures of imagination, finds Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Abstract nature

Your letters

An infectious history • From the rise of farming to pandemics, pathogens have helped mould human civilisation, says a new book. Elle Hunt finds plenty of surprises

Moving mountains • Max Stainton-Parfitt, who has cerebral palsy, makes an epic journey to Everest South Base Camp, finds Katie Smith-Wong

Don’t miss

Reversing the sands of time • A new podcast series that digs into a controversial attempt to “cure” biological ageing is full of suspense, finds Sandrine Ceurstemont

The universe’s first second • Elusive particles released just after the big bang could paint a never-before-seen picture of the newborn cosmos. Physicist Martin Bauer has a plan to finally snare them

Go with the flow • Taming rivers to suit our needs has had some disastrous environmental...