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

Dead and buried • If ancient humans had their own funeral rituals, what does that mean for us?

New Scientist

A star-studded view from above

Is it time to aim for 1.7°C? • With the world on the cusp of passing 1.5°C of warming, scientists are turning their attention to defining a new limit – but not everyone agrees that we should, says Madeleine Cuff

A big blow for big bounce theory • Some physicists believe our universe came from a big bounce following another universe’s collapse – but quantum theory could rule this out, finds Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

The world is losing ground in the fight against measles • Anti-vaccine sentiment has spurred outbreaks of the disease around the globe and could lead to a rise in other preventable illnesses, says Grace Wade

Weird galaxies from the early universe have been spotted surprisingly nearby

Human activities have eroded almost all the soil in the Alps

Obesity may come in 11 types • Understanding different forms of obesity could help guide which treatments and prevention strategies work best for individuals, finds Chris Simms

Rare sighting of snow leopard cubs

Modified microbe could stop kidney stones

Neanderthals had local food cultures • Cut marks on bones reveal that Neanderthal groups had their own distinct butchery style

Small worms develop a taste for microplastics

Ancient rocks show earliest evidence of tectonic activity on Earth

Gobbling up dark matter may help stars live forever

Brain changes may lead to anorexia • In children with anorexia nervosa or other restrictive eating disorders, changes in the brain’s outer layer don’t seem to be due to lack of nutrition alone, finds Grace Wade

Don’t fear your child’s afternoon nap

Long-standing knotty problem finally solved

How human eggs stay fresh so long • Slower natural cell processes may explain why eggs have unusually long lifespans

Underwater volcanic brine pools could be home to extreme life

Play on • Music is a powerful, evidence-based tool for promoting mental well-being. It should play a much bigger role in society, says Stefan Koelsch

This changes everything • Social media is dying A new information ecosystem is on the rise, featuring closer connections, cosy media and worker-owned websites, writes Annalee Newitz

New heights

A synthetic sisterhood • A novel about a female robot just won a prestigious literary award. But she is hardly the first of her kind, says Sophie Bushwick

Our favourite robots • From Data and Deckard to WALL-E and BB8, New Scientist staff pick the greatest robots from books, films and TV series

The sci-fi column • Bitter ends In the late 1800s, a feud breaks out between rival magicians who both claim they can teleport. Can either of them really do it, or is it all an illusion? Either way, the newly republished novel The Prestige is extraordinary, says Emily H. Wilson

Your letters

Backdoor to reality • Our search for new particles has been fruitless so far, but they might be hiding in a tiny slice of reality we are only just starting to glimpse, says particle physicist Harry Cliff

The ingredients of reality • The standard model of particle physics lists the particles that constitute matter and the fundamental forces

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