IBM says it will build a practical quantum supercomputer by 2029
The company has unveiled new innovations in quantum hardware and software that researchers hope will make quantum computing both error-proof and useful before the end of the decade ⌘ Read more

The chilling discovery that nerve cells help cancers grow and spread
A new understanding of how tumours exploit our nervous system is leading to new ways to treat cancer using familiar drugs like Botox and beta blockers ⌘ Read more

Sauropod dinosaur’s last meal reveals that it didn’t bother to chew
A sauropod dinosaur fossil has been found with preserved stomach contents for the first time, providing insights into what they ate and how ⌘ Read more

Forest crisis sparks alarm that Europe will miss net-zero targets
Extreme weather, pest outbreaks and overharvesting are turning forest carbon sinks into carbon sources across Europe, undermining a crucial part of countries’ net-zero plans ⌘ Read more

US stops endorsing covid-19 shots for kids – are other vaccines next?
When Robert F Kennedy Jr announced that the US would stop recommending covid-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnancies, he bypassed standard protocols and set the stage for future vaccine rollbacks ⌘ Read more

Could we build space-time computers that run on gravity?
New mathematical work provides a way to identify when information has been changed by manipulating space-time – and it may form a foundation for future space-time computers ⌘ Read more

Women find other women’s faces even more attractive than men do
Across many cultures, both men and women rate female faces as more attractive, and women exhibit this preference even more strongly than men ⌘ Read more

We may have discovered the first-ever stars powered by dark matter
Dark stars were first suggested in 2007, but now observations with the James Webb Space Telescope hint that we may have actually found some of these unusual cosmic objects ⌘ Read more

The best new science fiction books of June 2025
June’s sci-fi hot tips feature a sleep-killing neural chip from Laura Elliott, plus Will Carver’s vision of a world where a virus makes us kinder ⌘ Read more

Taurine may not be a key driver of ageing after all
Taurine supplements have previously been found to extend the lifespan of monkeys and mice, but a new study in humans shows that the amino acid doesn’t decline with age ⌘ Read more

Retinal implant restores sight for blind mice
Metallic nanoparticles injected into the retina partly restored vision in blind mice and could work as a treatment for conditions that damage light-sensitive cells in the eye ⌘ Read more

Fusion power may never happen if we don’t fix the lithium bottleneck
Nuclear fusion power will probably require vast quantities of enriched lithium – but we aren’t making nearly enough, and ramping up production will mean using toxic mercury ⌘ Read more

We’ve figured out how our brains sort imagination from reality
Two brain regions seem to work together to determine whether we are seeing something real, or merely a product of our imaginations - and understanding them further may help treat visual hallucinations ⌘ Read more

Ancient humans evolved to be better teachers as technology advanced
As our ancestors developed more advanced tools and cultural practices, they also developed new ways of explaining concepts to others – culminating in the emergence of complex language ⌘ Read more

The bizarre story of a maths proof that is only true in Japan
A 500-page proof that only a handful of people in the world claim to understand kicked off a saga unlike anything else in the history of mathematics – and now there’s a new twist to the story, says Jacob Aron ⌘ Read more

Is ADHD on the rise? No – but that answer doesn’t tell the whole story
Despite reports of a recent surge in ADHD, a global analysis has found no reliable evidence of an increase in the number of children diagnosed with the condition since 2020 ⌘ Read more

Why avoiding a sixth mass extinction is easier than it sounds
Putting an end to a mass extinction sounds like an impossible task, but some researchers argue that doing so would be setting our ambitions too low ⌘ Read more

Rivers are leaking ancient carbon back into the atmosphere
Carbon stored in landscapes for thousands of years is leaching back into the atmosphere via rivers, and human activity may be to blame ⌘ Read more

Massaging the neck and face may help flush waste out of the brain
The glymphatic system flushes out waste products from the brain – now scientists have found a way to boost it in mice, which could open treatment possibilities for neurodegenerative diseases ⌘ Read more

TB’s extraordinary evolution reveals why the ancient disease lives on
Once thought to have originated in cows and spread through dust, the surprising evolutionary story of tuberculosis reveals why it’s so hard to stamp out this ancient disease, writes Carl Zimmer ⌘ Read more

Quantum computers are on the edge of revealing new particle physics
Computer simulations of high-energy particles are pushing the boundaries of what we can learn about the interactions that happen inside particle colliders ⌘ Read more

Can AI understand a flower without being able to touch or smell?
AI may be limited by a lack of taste, touch and smell which prevents it from fully understanding concepts in the same way as humans - suggesting that more advanced models may need to have a robot body ⌘ Read more

Crafty cockatoos learn to use public drinking fountains
Sulphur-crested cockatoos are waiting in line at public drinking fountains in Sydney to have their daily drinks of water in the latest example of cultural evolution in urban birds ⌘ Read more

Infant RSV shot may be more effective than vaccines during pregnancy
When an RSV vaccine became available for use during pregnancy, it offered a natural experiment between various countries to see how it compared to a one-time antibody injection ⌘ Read more

NASA is facing the biggest crisis in its history
Widespread proposed budget cuts have left the US space agency facing an uncertain future at the same time as NASA’s intended new leader has been withdrawn by the Trump administration ⌘ Read more

Why it’s taking a century to pin down the speed of the universe
The Hubble constant, a set number that connects a galaxy’s speed to its distance from Earth and tells us how fast the universe is expanding, was first described more than a hundred years ago – but astronomers have debated it ever since ⌘ Read more

Super-invasive termites could spread from Florida around the world
Two of the most destructive invasive termite species are interbreeding in the US – they can survive a wider range of temperatures and could easily spread across the globe ⌘ Read more

Private ispace Resilience probe will attempt lunar landing this week
If successful, Resilience will be only the third private spacecraft to complete a landing on the moon, and the first operated by a non-US company ⌘ Read more

Discovering the marvels of mucus is inspiring amazing new medicines
Mucus does far more than just act as a protective barrier. Emerging research reveals ways to harness its power and deliver treatments for everything from yeast infections to inflammatory bowel disease ⌘ Read more

Quarter of people follow rules even with no downside to breaking them
Why do we follow rules? A series of experiments with more than 14,000 people reveals that around a quarter of us will follow rules unconditionally, even if obeying them harms us and there is no downside to breaking them ⌘ Read more

There may be a surprising upside to losing coral reefs as oceans warm
As warmer waters and ocean acidification reduce coral formation, the seas will take up more carbon dioxide – an effect that hasn’t been included in climate models ⌘ Read more

Best quantum ‘transistor’ yet could lead to more accurate computers
Microwaves can control a single quantum bit more precisely than ever before, creating a device similar to a quantum transistor – and potentially making quantum computers more reliable ⌘ Read more

Trillion dollars’ worth of platinum waiting to be mined on the moon
Mining craters on the moon could be more practical than extracting precious metals from asteroids, but it might also introduce new legal difficulties ⌘ Read more

There’s growing evidence the big five mass extinctions never happened
Surprising new fossil evidence undermines the idea that there was ever a mass extinction on land – and may force us to reframe the current biodiversity crisis ⌘ Read more

Dogs pollute water with pesticides even weeks after flea treatment
When dogs given spot treatments for fleas go swimming, they release levels of pesticides dangerous to aquatic life for at least a month after the treatment ⌘ Read more

The global temperature may be even higher than we thought
Researchers have proposed a more accurate way to calculate the global surface air temperature, which suggests we are just three years away from breaching the 1.5°C climate goal ⌘ Read more

Any wall can be turned into a camera to see around corners
Researchers have developed algorithms that reconstruct a hidden image from the scrambled light waves that bounce off a wall, making it possible to see things behind a corner ⌘ Read more

At this rate, carbon dioxide removal will never matter for the climate
The carbon dioxide removal industry is struggling to grow at the pace needed to have a significant role in meeting climate targets ⌘ Read more

Should you still learn a second language if AI can translate for you?
Artificial intelligence has removed many of the barriers to understanding a new language, but there are still good reasons to do things the old-fashioned way ⌘ Read more

PTSD in 9/11 responders didn’t start improving for nearly a decade
Most 9/11 first responders experienced improvement in PTSD symptoms about 10 years after the traumatic event, but approximately 10 per cent saw symptoms worsen even two decades later ⌘ Read more

How does the pill affect your brain? We’re finally getting answers
Millions of women and teenage girls use oral contraception, but we are only now getting an idea of what effect these drugs have on our brains ⌘ Read more

Our verdict on Ringworld by Larry Niven: Nice maths, shame about Teela
Culture editor Alison Flood rounds up the New Scientist Book Club’s thoughts on our latest read, the science fiction classic Ringworld by Larry Niven ⌘ Read more

Read an extract from time-travel novel The Ministry of Time
In this short extract from Kaliane Bradley’s sci-fi novel, her protagonist makes a startling discovery about the nature of time ⌘ Read more

‘Time travel was just a metaphor for controlling a narrative’
The Ministry of Time author Kaliane Bradley on how she made time travel work in her bestselling novel, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club ⌘ Read more

First evidence of ancient birds nesting above the Arctic circle
Tiny bone fragments from Alaska suggest birds started breeding and nesting in the Arctic 30 million years earlier than previously thought ⌘ Read more

Leprosy was in the Americas long before the arrival of Europeans
The history books say Europeans brought leprosy to the Americas, but analysis of ancient DNA reveals that a form of the disease was present in Argentina and Canada much earlier ⌘ Read more

Will SpaceX’s Starship rocket ever work - and what if it doesn’t?
The failure of SpaceX’s ninth Starship launch has raised fresh concerns about the future of the rocket, but is there any alternative to Elon Musk’s approach to space? ⌘ Read more

Amazing images reveal new details in the sun’s atmosphere
City-sized droplets and twisting streams of plasma have been picked up by incredibly detailed images of the sun’s corona, showing our star as we’ve never seen it before ⌘ Read more

Qubit breakthrough could make it easier to build quantum computers
Quantum computers that correct their own errors usually require hundreds of thousands of qubits. Start-up Nord Quantique claims it can dramatically decrease that number – but many challenges remain ⌘ Read more

Dark chocolate is rich in flavanols. Does that make it a health food?
Antioxidants like cocoa flavanols may benefit heart health, brain ageing and the microbiome. Columnist Alexandra Thompson investigates whether it’s time to rethink chocolate ⌘ Read more