Science News

Researchers have discovered a small group of brain cells that prevents dangerous blood pressure swings, even when average readings appear normal. The finding reveals a hidden source of cardiovascular risk and could open ...

Scientists have defied a long-standing rule of laser physics by generating X-rays with much higher energies than conventional theory predicts. The surprising discovery reveals how two electrons working together can overc...

Scientists have uncovered seven surprising stages that space rocks go through as they hurtle toward Earth, revealing that melting and violent fragmentation, rather than simple evaporation, determine their fate. The disco...

Scientists have discovered that magma deep inside Earth can store surprising amounts of extra oxygen, potentially revealing a hidden contributor to our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere. The findings suggest that ancie...

Why do some hugs stay with us while others fade away? A survey of more than 15,000 UK adults published in PLOS One shows that 70% remember hugs for comfort, with empathy, relationship attachment styles, and body percepti...

Researchers at Kyushu University have found that an ultrathin layer of iridium manganese (IrMn) can improve two spin-related signals in a structure made of a magnetic insulator and a platinum film. By examining how spin ...

The Defense Intelligence Agency's latest "Challenges to Security in Space" report included a declassified satellite photo of China's Shenlong, or "divine dragon," space plane, which has released a...

Glasses are (mostly) brittle, metals can be ductile (plastic), and liquids flow easily. Polymers are interesting because they exhibit all three types of behavior, depending on their chemical nature, temperature, and defo...

The King's Observatory in London, built on the orders of King George III so he could watch the 1769 transit of Venus, is up for sale. Feedback is interested - but not sure if our bank balance will stretch to the aski...

Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon

This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles

This question was posed as part of New Scientists Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each others questions. Heres what our readers had to say

A spinal cord transplant happened in people for the first time during a surgery in Russia, but the evidence underpinning it is lacking

The BBC has another game-changing hit in Blue Planet III, says Michael Le Page, with David Attenborough narrating and a smart dolphin

Ecologist Steven Allison argues for the importance of microbes in fighting climate change in a convincing and hopeful book, The Age of Microbes, says Christa Lesté-Lasserre

The New Scientist Book Club has been reading the Station Eleven author's latest speculative novel. While they found lots of things to praise, there were criticisms of the pace of this near-future-set story, says Alis...

Are chatbots becoming informal therapists? A new study reveals that nearly half of adults experiencing severe psychological distress turn to generative AI tools for emotional support, raising urgent questions about clini...

Can breathing thin mountain air help Parkinson's patients? Researchers demonstrated that 39 minutes of controlled intermittent hypoxia safely lowers stress hormones, raises anti-inflammatory adiponectin, and protects...

Why does the prenatal brain overproduce millions of neurons only to eliminate them? A landmark Nature study led by Harvard Medical School and Boston Childrens Hospital shows that the developing brain uses competitive syn...

A 2,175-person study led by CIMH reveals prefrontal cortex activation does not reflect how well an individual regulates emotions via cognitive reappraisal.

A new study with data from mice and human tissues suggests that, in ulcerative colitis, immune cells in the gut might make pain-sensing nerves hypersensitive.

How common is CTE among professional football players? A new study corrects for brain donation selection bias, estimating that 74.5% of all NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy....