Latest Science news from across the web.
New Scientist reporter Matthew Sparkes secured unrivalled access to Chernobyl's most crucial scientific sites, where researchers are fighting to protect the area and ensure it remains safe amid the constant threat of attack from Russia
Read full article →The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week
Read full article →Changing your opinion can be difficult, and it’s sometimes even seen as a flaw. But research shows being open-minded has a host of benefits. Columnist David Robson finds there are a few simple ways to encourage yourself to withstand the discomfort that gets in the way of mental flexibility
Read full article →Cyclic cosmology, or the big bounce, is the idea that the universe will eventually crunch back together and then go through another big bang. Columnist Leah Crane finds that, appropriately, it’s coming back
Read full article →From huge geese to flying cars, these photographs from a new exhibition at the Rijksmuseum reveal how we have been manipulating images for over a century
Read full article →People who are terminally ill are commonly reunited with lost loved ones in their dreams and have visions of doors, stairways and light, which are said to help them accept the dying process
Read full article →The Lyrid meteor shower will soon hit its peak. Here's how to spot it, including by using the New Scientist stargazing companion
Read full article →A detailed analysis of the best-preserved Neanderthal infant skeleton ever found suggests that our ancient relatives grew much faster as young children
Read full article →A massive Swedish study shows that AI can spot people at higher risk of melanoma using routine health data. Advanced models significantly outperformed basic methods, identifying high-risk groups with striking accuracy. Some individuals flagged by the system had up to a 33% chance of developing melanoma within five years. This approach could pave the way for smarter, more targeted screening.
Read full article →A strange new kind of superconductivity has been uncovered in uranium ditelluride (UTe2), where electricity flows with zero resistance—but only under extremely strong magnetic fields that should normally destroy it. Even more surprising, the superconductivity disappears at first and then dramatically reappears at even higher fields, earning it the nickname the “Lazarus phase.”
Read full article →Perovskite solar cells shouldn’t work as well as they do—but they do. Scientists have now discovered that defects inside the material actually help, creating networks that separate and guide electric charges efficiently. Using a novel imaging method, they revealed hidden structures acting like charge “highways.” This insight could unlock even more powerful, low-cost solar cells.
Read full article →A new chip design from UC San Diego could make data centers far more energy-efficient by rethinking how power is converted for GPUs. By combining vibrating piezoelectric components with a clever circuit layout, the system overcomes limitations of traditional designs. The prototype achieved impressive efficiency and delivered much more power than previous attempts. Though not ready for widespread use yet, it points to a promising future for high-performance computing.
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