Science News

A rigorous study shows that fracking is unharmful when the stakes are high. Not much should be made of it.

Light detection turns out to involve certain cells contracting – and other sensory systems might use the same trick

The phones of 15 million Kenyans have revealed how human travellers spread the disease to areas with fewer infected mosquitoes

"Buyer beware" applies even in space, if you're trying to cut costs with a secondary payload launch for your satellite

All today's stories on newscientist.com, including: turtle urinates through its mouth, how to master your memory, US-China coal exports, and more

More fresh water than ever is draining into the Atlantic from Greenland, potentially changing how the ocean behaves

55 Cancri e seemed like a planet with a deep ocean, but new reasoning about its composition suggests it may be more likely to contain diamond

CultureLab launches the 2012 flash fiction competition, for stories no more than 350 words long and inspired by cutting-edge science and medicine

Just like their late master, Haile Selassie, these top cats have a unique lineage. And like Selassie's Rastafarian followers, they have a distinctive mane

The creation of a separate, halal internet in Iran may mark the beginnings of an online breakaway. The country's leaders proceed at their own risk

Genetic modification of food plants has great potential, if used in conjunction with other farming techniques

Weaning US power plants off the dirtiest fuel will count for little if Wyoming and Montana's huge reserves are shipped to Asia (full text available to subscribers)

In Mind Over Mind, Chris Berdik makes a compelling case that what we assume or expect from the world changes how we experience it

Want to remember, or forget things, at will? These tips will show you how (full text available to subscribers)

Gourmet readers may want to reconsider that soup made with the Chinese soft-shelled turtle – the only animal that practises oral excretion

In the age of the $1000 genome, people's genetic information will need protecting from prying eyes