Orcas are bringing humans gifts – what does it mean? 30. June 2025 (22:00) Researchers have documented orcas seemingly gifting rays, seals and fish to scientists and divers, which could suggest they have theory of mind and engage in altruism – even across species(New Scientist)
Single antiviral shot could offer better protection than flu vaccines 30. June 2025 (19:00) A long-lasting formulation of an antiviral drug greatly reduced people’s risk of a symptomatic flu infection in a trial, and should even be effective against new strains(New Scientist)
The remarkable tale of how humans nearly didn’t conquer the world 30. June 2025 (18:00) Over tens of thousands of years, waves of Homo sapiens set out across Europe and Asia, only for their societies and cultures to mysteriously vanish. At last, ancient DNA is revealing why(New Scientist)
X-ray boosting fabric could make mammograms less painful 27. June 2025 (21:00) A flexible fabric called X-Wear could replace some parts of medical scanners, which would make taking X-rays and CT scans far more comfortable and convenient(New Scientist)
Mathematicians create a tetrahedron that always lands on the same side 27. June 2025 (18:47) With the help of powerful computers, researchers discovered a four-sided shape that naturally rests on one side, and built a real-life version from carbon fibre and tungsten(New Scientist)
The bold plan to save a vital ocean current with giant parachutes 27. June 2025 (18:30) Large sea anchors could be used to drag water under a bold plan to keep the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation moving – but some experts are sceptical(New Scientist)
Read an extract from Adam Roberts’s far future-set Lake of Darkness 27. June 2025 (11:45) In this passage from near the opening of Lake of Darkness, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, we are given an insight into how deep-space travel works in Adam Roberts’s universe(New Scientist)
Why Adam Roberts set out to write a sci-fi utopia, not a dystopia 27. June 2025 (11:45) The author of Lake of Darkness, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, on why, in a world awash with fictional dystopias, he set out to write the opposite(New Scientist)