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Painstaking study of
Painstaking study of 'Little Foot' fossil sheds light on human origins

Sophisticated scanning technology is revealing intriguing secrets about Little Foot, the remarkable fossil of an early human forerunner that inhabited South ...

Human origins:
Human origins: 'Little Foot' fossil's big journey out of Africa

How the priceless skull of an ancient ancestor was brought to the UK from South Africa for study.

Fossils of oldest member of huge dinosaur group found in Argentina
Fossils of oldest member of huge dinosaur group found in Argentina

Scientists have unearthed in Argentina's Patagonian wilderness fossils of what may be the oldest-known member of the dinosaur group known as titanosaurs that...

An iceberg the size of Los Angeles just broke off Antarctica - and it could happen again within weeks
An iceberg the size of Los Angeles just broke off Antarctica - and it could happen again within weeks

Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf is replete with cracks. One crack has been growing for months, and a 490-square-mile iceberg broke off on Friday.

Fossils of oldest member of huge dinosaur group found in Argentina
Fossils of oldest member of huge dinosaur group found in Argentina

Scientists have unearthed in Argentina's Patagonian wilderness fossils of what may be the oldest-known member of the dinosaur group known as titanosaurs that...

Twitter says it will ban users who repeatedly post misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines
Twitter says it will ban users who repeatedly post misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines

Twitter will use automated and human reviewers to identify and label misleading posts about COVID-19 vaccines.

Scientists are voicing support for a former Trader Joe
Scientists are voicing support for a former Trader Joe's employee who says he was fired for asking for better COVID-19 protections

After a worker was fired, scientists showed support for his "science-based request" that Trader Joe's take more stringent coronavirus precautions.

What if all the clouds disappeared forever?
What if all the clouds disappeared forever?

Clouds cover about 70% of the planet at any moment. But what if - poof - they all disappeared? Long story short, we'd have huge problems on our hands.

Meteorites may be just north of Cheltenham
Meteorites may be just north of Cheltenham

The hunt is on for the fireball fragments that probably fell to Earth over England on Sunday night.

Why wearing tighty-whities can lower your sperm count
Why wearing tighty-whities can lower your sperm count

Wearing tight underwear could lower a man's sperm count and even jeopardize the fertility of men who already suffer from low sperm counts.

Global COVID-19 infections up for first time in 7 weeks, WHO says
Global COVID-19 infections up for first time in 7 weeks, WHO says

The number of new coronavirus infections globally rose last week for the first time in seven weeks, the World Health Organization said on Monday. "We need...

Letter demands action over
Letter demands action over 'UK nature in freefall'

Wildlife experts urge the Prime Minister to step up action on the loss of species in the UK.

Antarctic iceberg larger than New York City breaks off ice shelf
Antarctic iceberg larger than New York City breaks off ice shelf

An iceberg larger than New York City has broken off an ice shelf in Antarctica, scientists say. The 490-square mile glacier broke off the Brunt Ice Shelf...

Archaeologists found the
Archaeologists found the 'Lamborghini' of chariots preserved near Pompeii

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD covered Pompeii in volcanic ash, leaving it preserved and a famous archaeological site.

Fauci says he
Fauci says he 'would have no hesitancy whatsoever' taking the newly authorized Johnson & Johnson vaccine

"All three (vaccines) are really quite good, and people should take the one that's most available to them," Fauci said on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

It
It's 'too premature' to relax COVID-19 restrictions because it could lead to a 'rebound' of cases, Fauci says

About 70,000 new cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed each day in the US, down from more than 300,000 at the height of the pandemic.

Spacewalking astronauts prep station for new solar wings
Spacewalking astronauts prep station for new solar wings

Spacewalking astronauts ventured out Sunday to install support frames for new, high-efficiency solar panels arriving at the International Space Station later...

Testing for COVID-19 has declined. Experts worry it
Testing for COVID-19 has declined. Experts worry it's too soon for the US to let its guard down.

Over 180 sites supported by the government in Los Angeles County, the largest in the country, were working at only a third of their capacity.

UN chief calls new report a "red alert" for Earth
UN chief calls new report a "red alert" for Earth

Global emissions must be reduced by roughly 45% by 2030 to limit devastating impacts of climate change, but nations are on track to reduce emissions by less ...

The CDC says the US will screen and track people traveling from countries with Ebola cases
The CDC says the US will screen and track people traveling from countries with Ebola cases

Travelers coming in from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea will have their info sent to local health departments for tracking purposes.

Bitcoin energy use
Bitcoin energy use 'bigger than most countries'

Could the cryptocurrency's huge electricity consumption also sink it?

Rural communities are pushing back against vaccine-scheduling bots they say are giving out-of-towners an upper hand
Rural communities are pushing back against vaccine-scheduling bots they say are giving out-of-towners an upper hand

One Massachusetts county canceled 350 vaccine appointments after residents of outside towns and cities used bots to scoop up almost every slot.

Netflix
Netflix's diversity study revealed an equity gap behind the scenes, and showed that LGBTQ+ and characters with disabilities are 'rare'

Netflix said the study showed change is needed "particularly for specific racial/ethnic groups, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities."

People are poisoning themselves trying to treat or prevent COVID-19 with a horse de-worming drug
People are poisoning themselves trying to treat or prevent COVID-19 with a horse de-worming drug

Poison control is fielding calls from people using high doses of ivermectin obtained from veterinary offices in a flawed attempt to prevent COVID-19.

Brunt Ice Shelf: Big iceberg calves near UK Antarctic base
Brunt Ice Shelf: Big iceberg calves near UK Antarctic base

An ice block approaching the size of London splits from the White Continent, close to Halley station.

Risk of human spread of H5N8 bird flu deemed low - WHO
Risk of human spread of H5N8 bird flu deemed low - WHO

The risk of human-to-human spread of the H5N8 strain of bird flu appears low after it was identified for the first time worldwide in farm workers in Russia, ...

Climate change: Carbon emission promises
Climate change: Carbon emission promises 'put Earth on red alert'

Nations' current carbon-cutting plans will not keep global temperature rise below 1.5C, the UN says.

FDA advisory panel to review Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine with thumbs up expected
FDA advisory panel to review Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine with thumbs up expected

A panel of expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began a meeting to discuss Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine on Friday...

As a child, she beat bone cancer. Now she
As a child, she beat bone cancer. Now she's headed into space.

Bone cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux is thrilled to be going into space. As a crew member on SpaceX's Inspiration4, the world's first all-commercial...

Queensland skies light up as Chinese space burns up in atmosphere
Queensland skies light up as Chinese space burns up in atmosphere

"I thought it was a meteorite at first, but later as it split, my mate and I began thinking it was space junk," said Jasper Nash, who filmed one of the...

Human genome sequencing rises to the next level of diversity and accuracy
Human genome sequencing rises to the next level of diversity and accuracy

Twenty years after the first human genome sequence was published, an international research team has kicked the sequencing game to the next level with a set ...

A 150-million-mile selfie stick: How NASA
A 150-million-mile selfie stick: How NASA's Perseverance rover overcame 'time and space' to capture first Mars panorama

The panorama is a composite of 142 individual images taken by Perseverance's Mastcam-Z camera system and shared by the rover's Twitter account.

National Trust to plant blossom trees around UK
National Trust to plant blossom trees around UK

The National Trust is planning to plant dozens of blossoming trees at different sites around the UK.

Fauci urges Americans to get vaccinated, not to cherry-pick the brand they receive
Fauci urges Americans to get vaccinated, not to cherry-pick the brand they receive

A third coronavirus vaccine by Johnson & Johnson could be approved for emergency use by the FDA by Friday, accelerating the US vaccine rollout.

NASA backs concepts for deep-drilling Mars rover and interstellar-object probe
NASA backs concepts for deep-drilling Mars rover and interstellar-object probe

The latest crop of NASA-backed concepts for far-out space exploration includes "borebots" that could drill as far as a mile beneath the Martian surface in...

A stunning photo shows both red-sprite and blue-jet lightning in the skies above Hawaii
A stunning photo shows both red-sprite and blue-jet lightning in the skies above Hawaii

An observatory in Mauna Kea photographed a "red sprite" and "blue jet" during a storm. These lightning phenomena are tricky to catch on camera.

What
What's inside an elephant trunk

Elephant trunks are the most impressive noses in the animal kingdom. Almost entirely muscle, trunks lift hundreds of pounds and sniff out landmines.

AI conquers challenge of 1980s platform games
AI conquers challenge of 1980s platform games

A computer program that can solve 1980s exploration games could help improve robot intelligence.

U.S. administers 68.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC
U.S. administers 68.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines: CDC

The tally of vaccine doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech, vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, the agency said. According to the tally posted...

After losing launch competition, Blue Origin delays New Glenn rocket
After losing launch competition, Blue Origin delays New Glenn rocket's first flight until late 2022

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space venture says it's targeting the fourth quarter of 2022 for the first flight of its orbital-class New Glenn...

France admits it needs to repair the image of AstraZeneca
France admits it needs to repair the image of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine after struggling to convince people to take it

The admission came amid a wider trend of Europeans hesitating over the jab. Regulators say it is safe, but it has a more troubled history than others.

Alaska thunderstorms could triple if climate trends continue, scientists warn
Alaska thunderstorms could triple if climate trends continue, scientists warn

Alaska may need to brace for more thunderstorms - along with the landslides, floods and wildfires they can bring - if current climate trends continue, a team...

California
California's iconic redwoods threatened by climate change

California's coastal redwoods, some standing since before Julius Caesar ruled Rome, are in a fight for their lives.

Pfizer
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine performs just as well in the real world as it did in trials, a landmark Israeli study of more than 1 million people suggests. It was 94% effective.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was 94% effective against symptomatic coronavirus, a week after the second dose. This compared to 95% in clinical trials.

Italy
Italy's Mount Etna lights up night skies

Europe's tallest active volcano, Italy's Mount Etna, has been lighting up the night sky with explosions, lava fountains and ash plumes, dazzling onlookers...

Mars rover beams back spectacular panorama
Mars rover beams back spectacular panorama

The rover's high-power Mastcam-Z dual camera instrument provides astonishingly detailed images of the red planet.

Pfizer is testing out a 3rd booster shot to bolster its COVID-19 vaccine against new variants
Pfizer is testing out a 3rd booster shot to bolster its COVID-19 vaccine against new variants

Vaccine makers are testing the safety and efficacy of third doses in anticipation of new coronavirus variants.

In boost for COVID-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world
In boost for COVID-19 battle, Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in real world

The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing COVID-19, in a...

How 30,000 elephant
How 30,000 elephant 'selfies' will help in conservation

Researchers are developing new technology to help reduce human-elephant conflicts.

NASA just unveiled a high-def, 360-degree panorama of Mars from the Perseverance rover. It
NASA just unveiled a high-def, 360-degree panorama of Mars from the Perseverance rover. It's made from 142 photos.

The Perseverance rover wasted no time snapping photos on Mars. NASA scientists stitched together 142 of them to create a high-definition panorama.

Global CO2 emissions have already rebounded above pre-pandemic levels

Covid-19 lockdowns helped global emissions plummet by a record 5.6 per cent during 2020, but new data shows worldwide emissions are already back to levels seen before the pandemic

‘Little Foot’ hominin was either ill or very hungry in her childhood

An Australopithecus woman who lived 3.67 million years ago has defects in her teeth enamel that suggest she was either deprived of food or seriously ill as a youngster

Dolphins that help humans catch fish are being disturbed by ship noise

Some dolphins help humans catch fish, but an uptick in the levels of noise pollution from nearby ships is changing the way the dolphins communicate with one another

Covid-19 news: Search underway in UK to identify Brazil variant case

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Conversations go on too long because people are too polite to end them

People mask how they feel about an ongoing conversation and leave others unsure of whether to stop talking, so dialogues can carry on longer than desired, according to a study in the US

How much of a threat is the Brazil variant of coronavirus to the UK?

The P.1 variant from Brazil that has been detected in six people in the UK can partly evade existing antibodies, but vaccines should still protect against severe disease

What you eat is influenced by the food choices of people you dine with

You are more likely to eat healthy foods if your dining companions eat healthily, or vice versa, according to a study of 39,000 students and staff at a university

Covid-19 news: One dose of Pfizer vaccine greatly reduced transmission

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Motor industry lobbied for a loophole in UK fossil fuel car ban

The UK government plan announced in 2020 is to ban new petrol and diesel model cars by 2030, but some fossil-fuelled cars are to be exempt. Now it has emerged that the concession came after lobbying by the UK car-makers' trade body

The Perseverance rover runs on processors used in iMacs in the 1990s

The processor in the Perseverance rover on Mars is similar to the one that powered the colourful iMacs from the late 1990s, with some added radiation shielding

We are nowhere near keeping warming below 1.5°C despite climate plans

The world is wildly off track meeting the Paris Agreement goal of holding temperature rises to 1.5?°C, despite a recent series of more ambitious new national climate plans

Covid-19 news: 1.4m doses of AstraZeneca vaccine unused in Germany

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

We've finally figured out why there were no medium-sized dinosaurs

Fossil hunters struggle to find evidence of medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur species – perhaps because juvenile forms of giants like T. rex outcompeted them

Google uses underwater fibre-optic cable to detect earthquakes

A team including researchers at Google has used one of the search giant's underwater fibre optic cables to detect earthquakes and ocean waves generated by storms, without needing any extra equipment

Woolly mammoths were hit by climate change but humans wiped them out

The extinction of woolly mammoths was hastened by a warming climate that shrank and fragmented their habitat, and was then exacerbated by human hunting

Pufferfish blink by pulling in their eyeballs and puckering their skin

Pufferfish are the only bony fish that can blink – and they do so by sinking their eyeballs deep into their sockets and puckering the skin surrounding the eye together

Is MSG bad for you or is mass aversion to it just a cultural oddity?

Monosodium glutamate is eaten without problems in many countries, yet in the West there is a strange cultural aversion to it. James Wong investigates what’s going on

A shadow snake has been rediscovered in Ecuador after 54 years

In the rainforests of Ecuador, researchers found a rare snake that hasn’t been seen in 54 years, known as a shadow snake for its dark colour and cautious nature

First universal coronavirus vaccine will start human trials this year

The world is in urgent need of a vaccine that protects against all coronaviruses, even those we've not met yet, warn scientists, as plans for human trials of potential candidates ramp up

Children are getting long covid and being left with lasting problems

UK officials have called the lack of support for children with long covid a “national scandal” and parents are raising alarms about the risks posed by school reopening

Why insulting people's intelligence is incompatible with open debate

We too often turn to insulting people’s brain power – and that closes off our ability to understand others, argues Melanie Challenger

Earliest American dog hints pets accompanied first people in Americas

The oldest confirmed dog remains found in North America support the idea that the first Americans – and their dogs – travelled along the Pacific coast

Whales and dolphins can resist cancer and their DNA reveals why

Whales, dolphins and porpoises are much better at fighting cancer than we are, and a DNA analysis brings us closer to understanding why cetaceans can do this

Moth species becomes more sexually active when bathed in red light

An Asian-Australian moth becomes more sexually active under red light than under another colour of light, or in dark conditions

Mutation test can quickly reveal which coronavirus variant you have

A new way of detecting the coronavirus could increase surveillance of dangerous mutations and alert individuals to which variant of the virus they are carrying

Covid-19 news: UK reviews vaccine passports for travel and pubs

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Face masks needed in the UK until 2022, says poll of disease experts

People in the UK will be wearing face masks and social distancing until 2022 and possibly 2023, predict infectious disease experts polled by New Scientist

Perseverance rover has sent back stunning video and audio from Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has sent back incredible video footage from throughout its landing on Mars, as well as the first audio recordings from the Red Planet

Australia's oldest known rock art is a 17,000-year-old kangaroo

A large, life-like painting of a kangaroo on the ceiling of a rock shelter is the oldest known painting in Australia, and was dated using ancient wasp nests

We've spotted a neutrino blasted out by a black hole shredding a star

For the first time, researchers have detected a high-energy neutrino emitted when a black hole ripped up a star, confirming these cataclysmic events act as particle accelerators

Soft gel could power robot muscles that grow stronger with a workout

Our muscles get stronger when put under stress and now robot ones could do the same, thanks to a soft gel that becomes harder when exposed to vibration

Covid-19 news: True US death toll could be more than 720,000

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

First real world covid-19 vaccine studies show 'spectacular' results

One dose of coronavirus vaccine cut hospitalisations in Scotland by up to 94 per cent, while further analysis shows a significant drop in death rates in the over-80s

Watch a slug use a thin thread of slime as a slide to reach the ground

In a world first, a slug in Australia has been recorded descending from a fence post to the ground by sliding down a thin thread of slimy mucus

Soil safely filters 38 million tonnes of human waste each year

With some types of sanitation, such as pit latrines, human waste can be filtered through soil. Across the world around 38 million tonnes of human waste is sanitised this way – the equivalent of around £3.2 billion of commercial water treatment

Covid-19 news: 95 per cent of over 70s in Great Britain given vaccine

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

What’s next for the Mars Perseverance rover? Your questions answered

Now that NASA’s Perseverance rover has landed safely on Mars, it will start taking samples and release the Ingenuity helicopter to test flying drones on other planets

Sun's bumpy magnetic fields might explain why its atmosphere is so hot

The best measurements yet of the magnetic fields in the upper layers of the sun have revealed a landscape of lumps and bumps that may help us predict solar flares

Why hasn’t India had a second wave of the coronavirus?

Covid-19 cases and deaths are falling in India and there are no signs of a second wave yet, which could be due to exposure to other seasonal coronaviruses

NASA's Perseverance rover has sent back incredible images from Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover landed on Mars on 18 February, and it has already sent back its jaw-dropping first images from the surface of the Red Planet

The US Army is building the most powerful laser weapon in the world

The US Army is building a laser blaster over a million times more powerful than any used before. It is intended to take down fast-moving targets like missiles and drones

Uber drivers are workers, rules UK Supreme Court - what happens next?

The UK's highest court has ruled on an employment tribunal case brought by Uber drivers and found that they should be classed as workers, rather than self-employed. The ruling could have an impact on the wider UK gig economy

Deepest land-dwelling microbes found at bottom of 5km hole in China

Microbes at the bottom of the third deepest hole in the world may be surviving life at 137°C, which would extend life’s known thermal tolerances

People can answer questions about their dreams without waking up

People can answer questions and solve maths problems while dreaming, a finding that could be used to help treat anxiety and other conditions

Dogs prove they are aware of their own bodies when playing fetch

Dogs standing on a mat to which a toy is attached will step off the mat before attempting to fetch the toy for a human, showing they may have a sense of body awareness

Covid-19 news: Virus helped life expectancy fall by a year in the US

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Humans have severely affected fish biodiversity in half of all rivers

Rivers are an important habitat for nearly 18,000 species, but over half of the world’s rivers have been heavily impacted by human activity, reducing their fish biodiversity

Earth's magnetic field flipping linked to extinctions 42,000 years ago

Earth’s most recent magnetic pole reversal, called the Laschamp event, has been dated to 42,000 years ago and coincides with extreme weather and the extinction of large mammals

NASA's Perseverance rover has landed safely on the surface of Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has landed, and it will soon start taking dust samples to be returned to Earth and searching for evidence of ancient life on Mars

Juno spacecraft spots meteor fireball lighting up Jupiter’s skies

NASA’s Juno probe, currently circling Jupiter, has spotted what appears to be the fiery blast of a meteoroid plunging into the planet

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