LATEST HEADLINES
Brain scanner for astronauts passes 'vomit comet' test
19:30 02 July 2009
A device designed to study astronauts' brain activity has been tested in zero gravity for the first time – one day it could be used to monitor mission-compromising depression
Incredible shrinking sheep blamed on climate change
19:00 02 July 2009 | 24 comments
The mysterious size reduction of Scottish sheep over the last 20 years can be explained by shorter winters, researchers say
Computer reveals stone tablet 'handwriting' in a flash
18:00 02 July 2009 | 5 comments
Identifying individual carving styles on ancient tablets takes years of training – and even then can be up for debate – but now a computer can do it in seconds
Money flows into green transport despite recession
17:49 02 July 2009 | 1 comment
Investment in green transport rose in the second quarter of 2009 – bucking a six-month-long downward trend
Most inspirational woman scientist revealed
VIEWFINDER: 15:57 02 July 2009 | 16 comments
Find out who New Scientist readers voted the most inspirational woman scientist of all time
Plant life saved Earth from an icy fate
13:20 02 July 2009 | 27 comments
We owe our very existence to plants, which – thanks to their relationship with CO2 – have prevented the Earth from freezing over
Robot rescue "rat" feels its way through rubble
12:36 02 July 2009 | 5 comments
A new robot with artificial whiskers could one day be used to locate survivors of natural disasters, or people trapped in burning buildings
X-rays are smoking gun for middleweight black holes
IN BRIEF: 18:00 01 July 2009 | 8 comments
Astronomers have found the best evidence yet of an elusive intermediate-mass black hole
Treat killing like a disease to slash shootings
19:00 01 July 2009 | 89 comments
Shootings in deprived areas of Chicago and Baltimore have plummeted thanks to a programme that treats violence as if it is an infectious disease
Laser light switch could leave transistors in the shade
19:10 01 July 2009 | 11 comments
An optical transistor that uses one laser beam to control another could form the heart of a future generation of ultrafast light-based computers
THE LAST WORD
Ear wiggling
A reader can wiggle his ears – but he can only wiggle both at once, not one at a time. Why?
FEEDBACK
It's that time again
How a broken clock can be right more than twice a day, how to rebrand for reduced clarity, and a relativistic schoolchild
SHORT SHARP SCIENCE BLOG
How to avoid backyard bacteria
18:00 02 July 2009 - updated 18:12 02 July 2009
What's the safest way to cook a burger this July 4th?
Piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of schizophrenia
10:30 02 July 2009 - updated 12:07 02 July 2009
A host of DNA variations associated with schizophrenia have been identified that could account for a third of cases, says Ewen Callaway
LIFE
Why microbes are smarter than you thought
Single celled organisms may not be able to think, but they can act in remarkable ways – New Scientist looks at six microbial behaviours that you could almost call intelligent
PHYSICS
Solar ghosts may haunt Earth's radioactive atoms
Mysterious seasonal wobbles in the rate of radioactive decay may be caused by elusive particles from the sun
