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.

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Quantum secrecy • Disclosing the rationale for quantum computer regulations would be better for all

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Stunning in shocking blue

Life from a digital primordial soup • Google has shown that virtual life forms can emerge from randomness with no rules or direction, hinting at the process behind biological life on Earth, says Matthew Sparkes

The perfect-sized bowl to store used pistachio shells

Roman Britain saw a ‘modern’ kind of economic growth

Analysis Nutrition • Is ultra-processed food unhealthy? Here’s why no one can agree While highly processed food is the latest fixation in nutrition, the evidence for how it affects our health continues to point in different directions, says Grace Wade

Mining flowers for nickel • A start-up in Albania is farming plants that take up nickel from the soil while also aiming to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, finds James Dinneen

Food production • Synthetic butter made from CO₂ shows a way to use less land to feed the world

Weird ‘dangling’ ice seen in space for the first time

Gene therapy targets brain tangles • A one-off treatment could prevent the formation of protein aggregations linked to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions, says Michael Le Page

Analysis Water infrastructure • Thousands of US dams may be unprepared for extreme rain Many were designed using estimates of precipitation based on outdated science, which makes them vulnerable to extreme weather, says James Dinneen

New snake discovered • The blue-lipped green pit viper has been recognised as a new species

Your face temperature can reveal your age

Viruses can spread by using ChatGPT • Chatbots can be abused by malware to help them propagate via emails

Warm waters stop shark eggs from hatching

Complex mazes found in structure of bizarre crystals

50,000-year-old pig picture is the oldest known narrative art

The mysterious quantum export deal • Identical wording placing limits on the export of quantum computers has appeared in regulations for several nations – which can be traced to secret international discussions, finds Matthew Sparkes

Blue sheep and snow leopards were on the menu for ancient human group

Best way to keep a city cool is to paint the roofs white

A bit of outside help • Grief has a profound effect on our bodies. Taking it into nature offers better healing in the long term than shutting it away, says Ruth Allen

This changes everything • Flying into the future Tired of today’s instability, I asked some experts what Earth will look like in 25 years, says Annalee Newitz. Get ready for green mining, soft cities and robo-taxis

Star turns

Your letters

Think like a teenager • An eye-opening new book lifts the lid on the surprisingly rational strategies behind the risky behaviours of adolescents, finds Catherine de Lange

Failure to launch • From flying cars to smart robots, why do many promised technologies remain out of reach, asks Matthew Sparkes

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The TV column • Raw reality In Apple TV+’s Sunny, Japan-based expat Suzie is grieving the loss of her husband and son in a plane crash as a cute housebot mysteriously arrives. It is out to befriend her – and to prime us to love the show, says Bethan...