Why open-source software can be both good and bad
Software that is free to use creates many opportunities – not all of which are good
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New Scientist
Science and technology magazine
Science · 31 articles · fetched 9 minutes ago
This twisty sci-fi thriller is a fantastic debut from Isabel J. Kim
Sublimation, in which a person can split into two when crossing an international border, is tip-top stuff. Don't miss…
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Sunshine can help with some serious health problems, argues a new book
While Europe’s heatwave makes us run for shade, the intriguing In Defense of Sunlight reveals sunlight’s health-giving…
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Why do fictional geologists keep getting killed off in movies?
Feedback is surprised to learn that geology is a particularly deadly speciality to pick if you're a fictional…
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This week’s new questions
What is the optimal way to ice a cocktail: fewer big cubes or lots of small ones? And what is the smallest creature…
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Are flies following a strategy when they keep hitting a window? Part 2
Readers take issue with a former answer to this question, arguing for the different behaviour of wasps and flies – and…
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How do fish recognise others of their own species? Part 2
Another expert reader explores this thorny topic, including reference to the behaviour of their own archerfish
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Is it true that fresh air heats up faster than stale air? If so, why?
Readers weigh in on this one, debating everything from the meaning of “stale air” to its heat capacity
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Open AI’s hacking agent went rogue. Should we be worried?
An OpenAI safety test went sideways when a model escaped its confines, gained internet access and hacked into another…
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IVF embryos may thrive when grown with less oxygen
Decreasing the amount of oxygen that IVF-conceived embryos are developed in could improve outcomes, such as reducing…
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What the world’s happiest countries can teach us about joyful living
As editor of the World Happiness Report, few people know more than Jan-Emmanuel De Neve about what makes a country…
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Phone breathalyser can detect when your body switches to burning fat
A handheld breathalyser picks up on a molecule called acetone, revealing that your body is using fat for energy
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China is trying to regulate relationships with AI – can it work?
China is the first country to enact substantial legislation on AI relationships in an effort to protect people from the…
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Magic rituals took place in an Australian cave for 25,000 years
Preserved plant cells show that grasses were brought into Cloggs cave in Australia and burnt over many millennia,…
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The ancient Silk Road city that has a lesson for Silicon Valley
On a trip along the Silk Road, columnist Annalee Newitz discovers that ancient technology can offer us a framework for…
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How to unlock unlimited geothermal energy, anywhere we want
Earth contains more than enough heat to power humanity many times over, but so far only a few lucky places have been…
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Effort to solve biggest controversy in mathematics has made no progress
For more than a decade, mathematicians have been unable to settle the question of whether the ABC conjecture has been…
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Tom Hiddleston’s new Pompeii show is unabashedly cheesy – but it works
The Loki actor is the unlikely host for a three-episode docu-series about the Roman city. It's occasionally a little…
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Everything from cells to stars to particles exists on the edge of chaos
Complex systems, be they living beings or fundamental particles, need to have enough structure to hang together along…
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