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

The straight dope • Performance-enhancing drugs aren’t the only source of sport inequality

New Scientist

Caught in the line of fire

Oldest rocks reveal bizarre cells • Fossils from up to 3.8 billion years ago look weirdly different from modern cells, and evidence now suggests they are of a life form that couldn’t control its structure, reports Michael Le Page

Mars rock shows hints of ancient life

AI grabs silver medal at human maths competition

Is Olympic drug testing good enough? • Measures are in place to catch athletes at the games who use performance-enhancing drugs. Christa Lesté-Lasserre examines whether they are up to the job

We may finally know what caused the biggest cosmic explosion ever seen

Biodegradable plastic may actually be worse for plants

The truth about Alzheimer’s drugs • A new class of drugs has been hailed as a breakthrough, but are the treatments the game changers they are being billed as, asks Grace Wade

Clinical trial phases

Bronze Age had a modern economy • An analysis of 20,000 metal objects from ancient Europe suggests human economic behaviour may not have changed much over the past 3500 years, reports Becky Ferreira

We may soon be able to make the heaviest element

Social media firms change their policies after bad press

AI can predict when dangerous tipping points will occur

How diseases like smallpox survived long ocean voyages

No amount of alcohol is good for you • Claims that moderate drinking could help people live longer are often based on flawed science

Komodo dragons have teeth capped with a layer of iron

The great Neanderthal cook-off • Putting ancient human food-preparation techniques to the test reveals their culinary secrets

Trees are even better for the climate than we thought

Moon bases may need to be buried underground to avoid radiation

Spending time in space speeds up muscle ageing

On thin ice • The frozen Arctic sea I trekked across to reach the North Pole is melting, creating a potential shipping super-highway. It’s very worrying, says Pen Hadow

No planet B • Time for change The Conservative party’s war on the environment cost them dearly in the UK election. Voters around the world support green policies, and politicians should take note, says Graham Lawton

Island woes

The irresistible rise of RNA • The amazing journey of RNA from background role to star in its own right is told by a wonderful guide who was a big part of the story, says Tom Leslie

Flying close to the wind • A detailed account of efforts to pull three bird species back from the brink shows the scale of the task, finds Adam Weymouth

New Scientist recommends

The sci-fi column • Uncanny valleys An ordinary-looking town has a secret. If you manage to leave, you will find each successive valley to the east is 20 years ahead. Go west, and the reverse is true. This thought experiment is a heartfelt debut, says Emily H. Wilson

Your letters

Becoming human • What is a human and when did such a being emerge? These fundamental questions about ourselves are surprisingly difficult to answer, finds Colin Barras

Finding Lucy

FIRST LIGHT • The earliest stars changed the course of cosmic history. We are finally on the verge of...