LATEST NEWS
Fish 'an ally' against climate change
13:02 16 January 2009
Calcium carbonate excretions from fish seem to play a key role in buffering the ocean's acidity – a problem set to worsen as the climate warms
Invention: Intelligent fingertip 'eye'
12:14 16 January 2009 | 3 comments
A small camera mounted on a finger could provide blind and partially sighted people a new way to interact with the world, says a new patent application
Humans cause species to evolve dangerously fast
IN BRIEF: 00:00 14 January 2009 | 1 comment
A wide range of species are changing faster then they otherwise would to escape human hunters – such changes could damage ecosystems
Comment: Why we must save our astronomical heritage
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: 10:55 16 January 2009
All people, past and present, share a fascination with the sky. We must save this astronomical heritage before it is lost forever, says archaeoastronomer Clive Ruggles
Colourful pigs evolved through farming, not nature
01:00 16 January 2009 | 3 comments
Pigs evolved bright coat colours rapidly after domestication thanks to the human penchant for novelty, a new gene analysis suggests
Does methane point to life on the Red Planet?
20:42 15 January 2009 | 24 comments
Methane in the Martian atmosphere is concentrated in three areas, stoking the debate over whether the gas has a biological origin
A high-albedo diet will chill the planet
18:19 15 January 2009 | 22 comments
One way of temporarily reducing global temperatures would be to replace existing crops with variant strains that reflect more solar energy back out to space, a study suggests
Nut-cracking monkeys find the right tool for the job
17:49 15 January 2009 | 5 comments
Brazilian capuchin monkeys are adept at cracking tough palm nuts and even test their stone hammers before use
Gallery: How to make your own ice spikes
15:25 15 January 2009 | 2 comments
Many readers sent in photos of spikes of ice towering out of ice trays and bird baths – see the best ones, and find out how the spikes formed
Car exhaust fumes cause lightning strikes
IN BRIEF: 12:46 15 January 2009 | 16 comments
Commuters' car emissions don't just warm the globe – they can also increase lightning strikes for miles around.
HEALTH
Top 11 compounds in US drinking water
A comprehensive survey of the drinking water for more than 28 million Americans has detected the widespread presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors
GALLERY
Twin rovers celebrate five years on Mars
This month, NASA's plucky rovers are celebrating their fifth anniversary on the Red Planet - relive their highs and lows in this gallery
GET INVOLVED
Can personality really be read from a face?
Can you identify the personality associated with each of these photographs?
THE LAST WORD
Why don't the best athletes win all the time?
Surely whoever is the fastest or strongest will remain so, for a while at least?
SHORT SHARP SCIENCE BLOG
Hairy robot sports dancing eyes
17:55 15 January 2009 - updated 10:44 16 January 2009
Fans of dancing yellow robot Keepon - and there are many in the New Scientist offices - will also like the new flexible, bopping automaton seen in the video below and pictured left...
Some swallows don't like it hot
15:48 15 January 2009 - updated 15:50 15 January 2009
The fate of the swallow in Oscar Wilde's short story, The Happy Prince, is heartbreakingly sad: he dies in the cold winter because he chooses not to fly south. I was reminded of Wilde's poor swallow today when reading about one in Cornwall, south-west England, that has survived the coldest winter for 20 years...
Swarmbots team up to transport child
17:21 13 January 2009 - updated 17:56 13 January 2009
At the beginning of last year we brought you news of prototype swarming robots that cling together using electromagnetic forces to assume different shapes. Seth Goldstein, the lead researcher on the project, thinks that scaled down versions could swarm together...
