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A carnivorous caterpillar species camouflages itself with dead insects so it can live safely alongside spiders, stalking their webs and stealing their prey

Last week astronomers reported hints of biological activity on a distant planet, but a re-analysis of their data suggests the claimed molecules may not be there at all

A fossilised 113-million-year-old hell ant from Brazil adds to the evidence that the first ants evolved in the southern hemisphere before moving north – and beyond

People in the US are reading for pleasure less and less, despite it being linked to better sleep, improved mental health and even a longer life

Corporations and governments are playing fast and loose with environmental protections. Are there still ways we can make a difference as individuals, and live a climate-friendly life, asks Graham Lawton

Most supplements that claim to help your brain have never been thoroughly tested, but one has convinced even the most discerning scientists of its worth, finds columnist Helen Thomson

Feedback notes the flurry of new papers mentioning the mysterious "vegetative electron microscope", and ponders the emergence of this tortured phrase

Scientists have found scour marks on the seabed made by giant icebergs about 18,000 years ago, and they could offer clues to the fate of Antarctica’s ice

UK show Adolescence is sparking debate about the harm of social media. We need a series to do the same for the most pressing crisis of our times, says Bethan Ackerley

A man who lived in Roman-occupied Britain was bitten by a big cat, probably in a gladiator arena, an analysis of his remains has revealed

Hunting the origin of 40 per cent of the languages spoken today is a huge feat, but Laura Spinney's new book makes an excellent job of it

Exposing children with peanut allergy to proteins from the legume is an approved treatment to reduce the risk of allergic reactions, and now we have evidence it also works in adults

Climate researchers argue their science has advanced enough to directly link emissions from particular companies to damages from specific extreme weather events

Mice overcame a Lyme disease infection after being given an antibiotic that is often used for pneumonia, and its effect on their gut microbiomes was negligible

With ice and permafrost thawing fast, nations are racing to exploit the Arctic's newly accessible treasures. Yet there are plenty of reasons why this may not be a great idea – and why we should treat the region as a scientific wonder instead

The attempted creation of dire wolves could undermine conservation efforts by making people think extinct species can be revived, says the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Two commercial telecommunications facilities have been connected by a secure quantum network that used existing fibre optic cables at room temperature – a key step towards a feasible quantum internet

As humanity prepares to return to the moon, scientists also have ideas for huge lunar experiments that could revolutionise astrophysics

Greater mouse-tailed bats crawl backwards over cave walls, and it seems they use their long tails to help feel their way

Unusual signals called quasi periodic eruptions appear to come from black holes, but we don't know what creates them. Now astronomers have seen the most powerful one of these signals ever, and have a new idea about their cause

Machine learning helped show how harnessing the weird effects of Einstein’s special relativity could enable a new kind of quantum computer – and it could also lead to new insights into the quantum realm

The game, called StarStarter, rewards players for directing their attention away from negative stimuli and towards positive ones

A huge colony of Pavona coral near the coast of Saudi Arabia is thought to be the largest living example found in the Red Sea

An aerodynamic material that mimics shark skin helps planes fly with less drag – and it can be added to existing aircraft like a decal

Powering quantum computers with quantum batteries would reduce the energy needed for cooling and enable machines to pack in more qubits

Laboratory experiments have coaxed simple molecules into states that naturally become more complex, hinting at the origins of evolution itself

Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider found evidence of an unprecedentedly heavy and exotic form of antimatter in the aftermath of a collision between extremely fast lead ions

The US and other nations are eager to exploit the Arctic’s mineral wealth, but despite the thawing of ice and permafrost, accessing buried treasure in the region remains extremely challenging

A daily pill developed by the US pharmaceutical company Lilly may become a convenient alternative to injectable drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. In phase III trials it significantly lowered blood sugar and body weight in people with type 2 diabetes

Common medications for keeping blood pressure down, including ACE inhibitors, diuretics and calcium channel blockers, also lower the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment

Mounting evidence suggests there might be two separate types of the world’s fastest-growing neurological condition. Can this fresh understanding lead to much-needed new treatments?

The Tara Polar Station, a $23 million research vessel with a crew of 12, will drift across the Arctic ice to enable better monitoring of a rapidly changing environment

A nearly complete skeleton found in a cave in France belonged to a group known as the Palaeolithic dogs and its skeleton suggests it had a confusing relationship with humans

Extremely low sea ice levels in the Arctic and Antarctica signal a "new normal" that may accelerate global warming and disrupt ocean currents, on top of the consequences for people and wildlife that rely on the ice

There were hints that the world may be quantum long before the development of quantum mechanics in 1925 – could we have come up with this revolutionary theory hundreds or even thousands of years earlier?

From timetable scheduling to colouring in, and even casting a play, this nifty piece of mathematics is the answer, says Katie Steckles

Conventional accounts of the birth of quantum theory often overlook the pivotal role of one of its luminaries – and this has led to a persistent misunderstanding of what it really means, argues physicist Carlo Rovelli

As quantum computers mature, they will be transformational. But there are good reasons why we don’t yet know exactly which problems they will excel at – and that makes them all the more exciting

For 100 years, quantum theory has painted the subatomic world as strange beyond words. But bold new interpretations and experiments may help us to finally grasp its true meaning

A device has enabled people to see a new a shade of blue-green, which they say is more intense than any experienced before

Black Mirror's new season is a mixed bag, ranging from a sublimely plotted romp to one of the worst episodes to date. And it's still playing fast and loose with its sci-fi concepts, finds Bethan Ackerley

Explore the key moments in the history of quantum theory, from the early ideas of Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg to the discovery of phenomena like superposition and entanglement – and today’s quantum computers

Quantum effects like superposition and entanglement have long been seen in single particles, but physicists are on a quest to find out just how big an object can be before it loses its quantumness

We’ve now figured out how to culture chocolate in the lab. The breakthrough could help with spiralling cocoa costs, and may even lead to tastier treats with more nutritional value

Whenever there’s even a slight chance that an exoplanet shows signs of biological activity, people understandably get excited – but it’s never been aliens, and we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, not this time or the next, says Chris Lintott

A quantum sensor using Earth's magnetic fields outperformed standard GPS backups in test flights. This technology could help commercial aircraft stay on course amid a rise in GPS jamming and spoofing attacks

The "skyglow" produced when light from cities bounces off clouds can help cyanobacteria and other aquatic microbes grow at night

Microbial communities feeding on geothermal methane seeps beneath the Antarctic ice sheet could resemble life-supporting environments on frozen worlds in our solar system and beyond

When Roman Egypt came under attack from the Kushites in what is now Sudan, the Roman forces responded by destroying a Kushite city – or so we thought

A network of Earth's best clocks will be synchronised with the most accurate one ever sent into space. But the device has a short shelf life: it will burn up in the atmosphere at the end of the decade as the ISS deorbits

Water filters made from untreated wood can remove more than 99 per cent of particles, taking out many harmful bacteria and microplastics

Photographer Mitch Epstein's years-long project highlights the majesty and vulnerability of old growth forests across the US

Why is saying no to other people so difficult – even when we really know we should? Sunita Sah's new book Defy has some novel ideas about the interpersonal forces holding us back

The report of possible biosignatures on the exoplanet K2-18b is exciting, but we are a long way from establishing beyond doubt that there is life on such a distant world

New global rules will see a carbon levy applied to emissions from shipping for the first time, but analysts say the package falls short of what is needed

General relativity is an astonishingly beautiful theory, and grappling with why it disagrees with quantum mechanics is a joy, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Two independent research teams have developed methods for hacking noisy quantum computers based on a row-hammer attack, a type of interference used to infiltrate traditional computers

Colossal Biosciences’s "de-extinction" news is just the latest in a slew of eyebrow-raising claims by privately funded researchers. Is the bar for belief lower when those making the claims have a lot of money, wonders Jonathan R. Goodman

Feedback was pleased to come across journalist Taylor Lorenz's coining of the word "viralflation", as videos with hundreds of millions of hits proliferate across the internet

The idea that the rise of tech means today's young people are less intelligent than previous generations is rife – but wrong, says neuroscientist Dean Burnett

On a faraway planet, the James Webb Space Telescope has picked up signs of molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living organisms – but researchers say we must interpret the results cautiously

The 2000-year-old Antikythera mechanism may have been a kind of astronomical calculator, but researchers are unsure whether it would have worked without jamming

The idea of varying your lifestyle throughout your menstrual cycle to help relieve PMS or period pain seems intuitive, but the evidence reveals a nuanced picture, finds columnist Alexandra Thompson

Exposing the origins of the improbable – and at times scary – plans of tech billionaires makes Adam Becker's More Everything Forever a disturbing but important book

It is harder for our bodies to absorb key nutrients from plant-based foods, so some vegans may be short on essential amino acids for healthy muscles and bones despite eating plenty of protein

Beginning around 3000 years ago, Tel Shiqmona in modern-day Israel was a major centre for the production of Tyrian purple, a valuable commodity produced from marine snails

A weakening of Earth’s magnetic field known as the Laschamps event would have increased the threat of solar radiation, perhaps requiring ancient humans to invent protective measures

It is rare to find brown dwarf stars orbiting in pairs, and this pair has an even more unusual exoplanet companion

Space agencies from the US, Europe and Japan are all making plans to visit the asteroid Apophis when it makes an extremely close flyby in 2029 to learn how to deflect others like it

Quantum theory started with a bout of hay fever, and went on to transform our view of the universe – but its legacy isn't complete

Researchers have used a fungus and bacteria to create rigid, living structures similar to bone and coral, which could one day be used as a self-repairing building material

Scientists have used an artificial circulatory system to create lab-grown chicken, which may improve its texture

Water falls on Earth every day as rain, and now scientists seem to have found a way of using it to create renewable electricity

The colossal squid is the largest invertebrate on the planet, but it is also surprisingly elusive. An image of a 30-centimetre-long juvenile is our first glimpse of the animal in its natural habitat

A decades-long stretch of extremely low precipitation in the 1500s may have spurred cultural changes among the Rapa Nui people that reduced time spent building statues, but not all archaeologists agree

In an early-stage trial, a single dose of a CRISPR treatment lowered cholesterol levels, possibly permanently

The Lyrids and Eta Aquarids meteor showers can both be seen starting in late April, with viewing opportunities in both the northern and southern hemispheres

Tests show that when people hear recordings of real voices and AI-created ones, they mostly fail to spot the fakes – raising concerns about scams involving counterfeit voices

A massive research project will investigate the role of icebergs in driving melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a process that could trigger a catastrophic collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

Ice cores that record 1.2 million years of Earth’s atmosphere are on their way to Europe to be analysed, and an Australian drilling team is hoping to go even further back in time

Puppies’ performance in cognitive tests at 3 to 7 months old can give a strong indication of their personalities and trainability as adults

An antibiotic that is commonly used for urinary tract infections effectively treated gonorrhoea, and may even work against drug-resistant cases

Using smartphones, computers and the internet seems to slow cognitive decline in people aged over 50

Scientists have used gene editing to produce artificial electrical synapses in mice, where they can be targeted to make the animals more sociable or reduce their risk of OCD-like symptoms

A framework inspired by evolution may demonstrate why two observers see the same non-quantum world emerge from the many fuzzy probabilities of the quantum realm

A new understanding of why some animals evolved to be loners, and the benefits that brings, shows that a social lifestyle isn’t necessarily superior

Pluto isn’t the only dwarf planet in our solar system's outer reaches. Now is an ideal time to look for the egg-shaped Haumea, says Abigail Beall

Schrödinger called his metaphorical cat “quite ridiculous” but the quantum weirdness it represents has become a useful benchmark for the quantum computing industry, finds our quantum columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

From dampening inflammation to boosting mental health, the many types of dietary fibre have a surprisingly large impact throughout the body. Here's how to get your fill

Larry Niven's Ringworld won him the Hugo and Nebula awards when it was published 55 years ago. As the New Scientist Book Club embarks on a reread, Emily H. Wilson looks at how it holds up

Magicians have long exploited quirks in our perception of the world to make us experience the impossible. Now, cognitive psychology is exploring how they do it and revealing fresh insights into how our minds work

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to know which of the quantum computers now in development have the best chance of being game-changing technologies

Proposed cuts would wipe out NOAA’s Ocean and Atmospheric Research office among a raft of other reductions to one of the main scientific agencies of the US

Roman ships equipped with bronze rams sank dozens of Carthaginian ships during a major naval battle in 241 BCE – now we know how the rams were made

Bioreactors housing methane-eating bacteria could offer a portable, off-grid solution for soaking up methane leaks from sites like landfills and coal mines

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are commonly found in the bodies of short-beaked common dolphins that get stranded on UK beaches, and are linked to the animals’ risk of infectious diseases

Globally, only 14 per cent of the plastic we use is recycled – but some countries achieve higher rates and new technologies could change the picture drastically

Culture editor Alison Flood rounds up the book club’s thoughts on our latest read, the weird and wild Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva. Warning: spoilers ahead  

The author of the award-winning classic science fiction novel, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, on the science behind his creation

In this extract from the classic science fiction novel, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, we meet Ringworld’s protagonist Louis Wu, as he travels a future Earth