Stay informed about scientific discoveries, research developments and new findings from around the world.
As AI churns out mathematical proofs, a DeepMind study raises a bigger question: What do we lose when we focus only on the answers?
From ice groaning to a very noisy troop of monkeys, Wilderness Songs by Justin Anderson shows some of the best nature stories are told through soundscapes as well as words – with added QR codes, finds Dhruti Shah
When There Are Wolves Again by E. J. Swift somehow delivers both a determined call for more wildernesses globally – and a great novel. Sci-fi columnist Emily H. Wilson is thrilled she gave it another chance
Why do humans enjoy black-and-white photos or videos, but have less tolerance for images that have only two other colours? If two chromosomes are better than one, why not three?
Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images El Niño brings weather of opposite extremes – floods, droughts, cyclones, wildfires – to opposite sides of the planet. But we often forget that most of this extreme weather is highly predictable.For example, all eight strong El Niños in the past 70 years have caused drought in Indonesia. All major models predict the current record El Niño will lead to a dry autumn and winter there. So it’s little surprise that Indonesia is struggling with worsening drought and wildfires. Similarly predictable effects will be seen worldwide over the next year. Because of this predictability, some experts argue that there are no “natural” disasters. With enough pr...
Dr Kandi Ejiofor (right) and epidemiologist Tim Spector unpack the risks in modern diets on the Mind and Body StageAlistair Veryard The hall hummed with joyous curiosity at this year’s New Scientist Live at Excel London, which ran from 10 to 12 October and attracted thousands of visitors of all ages. With topics including the search for extraterrestrial life, what AI is teaching us about consciousness and the maths behind Pokémon, there was a delightful range to explore. Highlights included physicist Jim Al-Khalili diving into the deepest mysteries of time and psychologist Kimberley Wilson on how to build lifelong brain health. Other packed talks ranged from how we evolved, from anthropologi...
Tom Gauld
Twisted Doodles
Researchers say they've developed a simple mathematical formula that can predict when certain ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots will "go rogue," suddenly switching from helpful responses to potentially harmful ones. In a new study published Oct. 8 in the journal Patterns, physics professor Neil Johnson and doctoral student Frank Yingjie Huo, both at The George Washington University, show how the order in which a chatbot is given certain prompts can drastically reshape its answers, leading to "tipping points" that can send the chatbot down a rabbit hole of bad advice. However, Johnson and Huo say their formula can easily predict these tipping points.There have been horror sto...
Fish meal is a commercial, protein-rich product created from raw fish and their byproducts, such as the heads and bones. It tends to be made from smaller fish species, including anchovies, sardines and herring. The fish are cooked, dried and ground into a powder, and then used to feed livestock, farmed fish and pets. But it is not a straightforward market. In this excerpt from "Every Last Fish: A Deep Dive into the World of Fishes and Fishing" (Granta Books, 2025), journalist and author Rose George looks at how vast quantities of staple fish are taken from the sea off West Africa and turned into fishmeal for farming in Europe and China, instead of ending up on the plates of people in Africa....
NASA’s PUNCH mission is showing a rarely seen aspect of our nearest star—the churning chaos of the solar corona
Leaf-peeping season is ramping up—here’s what to expect
Archaeologists digging in the medieval city of Great Zimbabwe have discovered pieces of jade-green Chinese pottery, suggesting that the enigmatic empire had long-distance connections with East Asia more than 1,000 years ago. Great Zimbabwe, located in the southeastern part of modern-day Zimbabwe, was the capital of an ancient empire that arose in southeastern Africa in around A.D. 1000. Little is known about this precolonial empire because its people did not leave a written history, but new archaeological excavations are shining a light on the enormous scale of the centuries-old civilization known for its intricate metalworking and ritual stone carvings.In the new PBS documentary "Secrets of...
Wildlife photographers need a camera that is reliable and built to capture fast-moving action at a moment's notice. A fast burst rate, accurate autofocus and robust handling are vital when it comes to wildlife cameras, or you'll end up with sad, blurry photos of an empty tree stump.We've curated a list of the best models from each of the top camera brands, so no matter which system you want to invest in, there will be something for you here.Best Canon cameras for wildlife photography Best for detail Canon EOS R5 II Canon's highest-resolution mirrorless camera with a 45MP stacked sensor, the R5 II is for wildlife photographers who want a professional workflow and need to crop aggressively. It...
Researchers made a rat’s front-leg movement trigger its back leg. The experiment could point to a new kind of body-based network to connect implants.
Illustration of the flightless Jurassic bird Yuezhuornis yangyuanensis, which had features of both birds and dinosaurs. (Image credit: Mr. Chung-Tat Cheung)Paleontologists in China have discovered a small Jurassic bird that was likely a land-based predator — like a carnivorous pheasant with killer claws. It had some features of birds and others of dinosaurs, suggesting that the earliest birds had a greater diversity of lifestyles than previously recognized.Jurassic birds first emerged 150 million to 148 million years ago, and fossils of them are rare, so experts are just starting to understand how early birds diversified and evolved the ability to fly. The researchers discovered the newly id...
A stratagem that dates back two millennia leads to a math puzzle that took 30 years to solve
“The climate emergency is already here”
One of America's largest meteor craters is around 100 million years younger than scientists thought, which means the ancient impact coincided with — and potentially contributed to — one of the biggest global extinction events in Earth's history, according to a new study.The underground impact structure, known as Ames crater, is located in northern Oklahoma and is named after a small town that sits above the submerged crater. At around 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide, it is the fourth-largest impact structure in the U.S.Ames crater was created when an Eiffel Tower-size space rock slammed into our planet at more than 70,000 mph (110,000 km/h). At the time, the region was covered in a shallow oce...
On November 18, Voyager 1 will reach one light-day from Earth. It’s still finding surprises in interstellar space.
Ice baths, massages, compression garments, and recovery supplements promise faster muscle recovery, but research suggests their benefits are often overstated, and some techniques may even undermine long-term gains. Scientists say the most effective recovery methods are far simpler and cheaper: getting enough sleep, eating well, and giving muscles time to rebuild.
Two unusually long-legged cats have helped scientists uncover the first genetically confirmed cases of Marfan syndrome in domestic felines. Researchers at Cornell University discovered that the brothers carried two altered copies of a gene linked to the rare connective tissue disorder, which can affect the eyes, heart, and blood vessels. Surprisingly, the cats survived into adulthood because their genetic mutation still allowed some normal function.
Retailers have every reason to be interested in AI. A shopping assistant that answers questions at any hour, compares products instantly and offers personalized recommendations sounds like a win for customers and businesses alike.
Exercise during childhood could have a surprising lifelong benefit, potentially making physical activity less exhausting in adulthood. In a study involving guinea fowl, researchers discovered that birds accustomed to carrying weights while growing up could carry those weights as adults without using extra energy, while untrained birds burned 23% more.