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

All to play for • China has entered the generative AI game, with gains to be had for many

New Scientist

Giant hole opens up on sun’s surface

Does DeepSeek herald AI’s future? • The success of Chinese firm DeepSeek suggests tech companies can train and run powerful AIs without consuming vast amounts of power, finds Alex Wilkins

Are US export controls affecting China’s AI industry?

Asteroid has low chance of hitting Earth in 2032

Antarctic ice sheet may not be as vulnerable as we thought

Salamanders fill their toes with blood before each step

Vast moon ravines carved in minutes • An asteroid strike rapidly formed two valleys that are on the same scale as the Grand Canyon

Rat populations in cities are booming as the planet warms up

Analysis Health • Is recycled plastic in utensils really a big health concern? A recent scientific paper created alarm around the chemicals in black plastic utensils, but the extent to which they cause harm is up for debate, finds Chris Simms

37-dimension light shows strangeness of quantum physics

Aerial urine may help dolphins communicate

Creatine may help treat depression • The supplement showed promise alongside talking therapy for mild to severe depression

Surge in ocean heat hints climate change is accelerating

Quantum-inspired algorithm could give us better weather forecasts

Scratching an itch could help boost immune defences

Analysis Genetic engineering • Mice with two dads born – but don’t expect the same for people For the first time, mice with two fathers have survived to adulthood, but trying the same method in people would be “unthinkable”, finds Michael Le Page

Quantum spookiness illuminated • Twisted light reveals secrets of quantum entanglement’s “spooky action at a distance”

XB-1 aircraft goes supersonic for the first time

How polar bears stop ice from freezing on their fur

Muscle patch made from stem cells could treat heart failure

Tree scars reveal how wildfires in centuries past differed from today

‘Obsolete’ ear muscle may be helping us listen

The truth is out there • Increasing numbers of people believe Earth has probably been visited by aliens. That’s a societal problem, says Tony Milligan

This changes everything • Life in the fast lane The term “futurism” was coined in 1909 and went on to take an abrupt right turn. This way of thinking about the future still influences us today, says Annalee Newitz

Meltdown • Onewater Walk of Water competition

Why space rocks are hot • Hunting for meteorites can be a thrilling, high-octane business as private collectors and scientists go head-to-head, finds Chris Simms

Origin story, part one • A driven teenager up nights working on computer schemes. Could this be Bill Gates? Chris Stokel-Walker explores

New Scientist recommends

The sci-fi column • A kind of contact Would humans recognise intelligence in aliens – and would the aliens recognise it back? Two women marooned on a moon try to find out in Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s intriguing new novel, finds Emily H. Wilson

Your letters

The enemy within • A new understanding of our relationship with our gut microbes shows they might not be our friends after all, discovers Graham...