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
A note from the podcast editor
Change or be changed • Time is running out for fossil fuel companies to accept the reality of their situation
New Scientist
Indian variant goes global • India’s wave is receding, but other countries are now battling to contain the variant that first emerged there, reports Michael Le Page
Variants renamed
Did covid-19 come from a lab? • Could the coronavirus have sprung from a lab or did it pass to humans from an animal? The evidence is out there, but it could be difficult to locate, says Graham Lawton
The pandemic by numbers • What is it like to produce the data that presidents and the public alike use to understand the spread of covid-19? Hannah Ritchie tells Adam Vaughan
First carbon-negative power plant • Plans for the world’s first carbon-negative power station have been criticised
Oldest known war memorial identified in Syria
Human genome finally complete • The sequencing of the human genome was announced 20 years ago, but bits were missing
Mystery genome
Ancient jawbone reveals trek from Sudan to Rome
Autonomous military drone may have attacked humans
Laser pulses appear to travel faster than the speed of light
First complex cell had extra DNA • Ancestor of all animals and plants may have had multiple nuclei, which allowed it to thrive
Soil microbe transplants could boost tree growth
The UK’s plastic problem • Many countries have stopped accepting plastic waste exports, so the UK needs to find ways to reduce and recycle its own, reports Adam Vaughan
What is the UK government doing?
Amazon monkeys can ape ‘accent’ of rival primates
Dark matter map is most extensive yet
Ancient bones shed light on kosher rules
Really brief
Warming behind 1 in 3 heat deaths
You can tell a city from its mix of microbial life
Backpack reduces the effort of walking
Don’t kill, repel • The world’s insects are in trouble – changing how we use pesticides could help them recover, say Théotime Colin and Andrew B. Barron
The fight against fake news • The world has undoubtedly got a fake news problem. There is a compelling case for setting up an international body to combat it, writes Graham Lawton
Your letters
Squid power
A toast to civilisation • Social drinking created civilisation by fuelling creativity and innovation, claims a new book. Vijaysree Venkatraman investigates
Humans and other life • From escaped hippos to plant smarts, exploring how we interact with living things is great fun, says Sandrine Ceurstemont
Don’t miss
Logistics doesn’t get tougher than this • Several games put resource management and setting up supply chains front and centre. They are a lot more interesting and fun than you might think, says Jacob Aron
The truth about mindfulness • Many bold claims have been made about the wildly popular practice. Do they stand up? Jo Marchant investigates
The road to pandemic recovery
Filthy lucre • Anyone who has paid into a pension is probably fuelling global warming – but it isn’t so easy to stop, says Graham Lawton
THE 27X FACTOR
WHAT CAN I DO?
“As you go towards the centre of our galaxy, things become more extreme in almost every way you...
