Main Chemical Feed

Coral reefs on a remote archipelago shrugged off a massive heatwave

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:00:58 +0000

Scientists were shocked to find that the Houtman Abrolhos Islands’ coral reefs survived a prolonged extreme heatwave in 2025 virtually unharmed, which may reveal how to protect corals elsewhere

Why the keto diet could be a revolutionary way to treat mental illness

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:00:03 +0000

You may think of the high-fat, low-carb eating plan as a faddish way to lose weight. But the keto diet is now being used to tackle conditions from severe depression to bipolar disorder and anorexia, with transformative results

Carbon-free ferrocene analogue synthesised

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000

Osmium complex is the first carbon-free version of the classic sandwich compound

Giant Arctic continent launched dinosaurs to world domination

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:00:57 +0000

Coincident with the rise of the dinosaurs, a large landmass filled most of the Arctic circle, potentially contributing to global cooling that advantaged the famous reptiles

10,000 new planets found hidden in NASA telescope data

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:00:48 +0000

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite has been searching for exoplanets since its launch in 2018, and it turns out it may have found plenty more of them than we had thought

Vanadium’s promise in medicine and the researchers who refuse to give up

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:06:00 +0000

It mimics phosphate, kills cancer cells in the lab and almost changed how we treat diabetes. So why has a vanadium compound never made it to the clinic?

When vanadium almost changed how we treat type 2 diabetes

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:06:00 +0000

Chris Orvig tells the story of BEOV

How your heart rate variability can offer an insight into your mind

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 09:00:42 +0000

Smartwatches commonly use heart rate variability to monitor stress. Columnist Helen Thomson explores what this metric actually tells us, and whether it could also predict and diagnose depression – and help improve your mental health more generally

100-year-old assumption about the universe may soon be overturned

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:00:31 +0000

Physicists have long assumed that the universe is uniform at very large scales, but evidence is emerging this is wrong and suggests a way to resolve some of the biggest cosmological mysteries

Bizarre Hawking radiation may smooth the jagged hearts of black holes

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 04:45:00 +0000

Hawking’s signature prediction may prevent vexing singularities from forming

How an HIV/AIDS tragedy spurred human evolution

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:00:00 +0000

Before antiretroviral drugs reached South Africa, high death toll shaped immune system genes

Trump fires all 24 members of the U.S. National Science Foundation’s governing body

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:00:52 +0000

Dismissal of the National Science Board is widely seen as latest move to erase NSF’s independence

Gravity's strength measured more reliably than ever before

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:00:34 +0000

Measuring the strength of gravity is extraordinarily difficult, and different experiments have always disagreed – but a new test is paving the way to finally understanding nature’s most enigmatic force

Symptoms of early dementia reversed by bespoke treatment plans

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:33:58 +0000

People with cognitive decline or early-stage dementia saw their symptoms improve when given bespoke treatment plans that targeted their personal nutritional deficiencies, ongoing infections and environmental exposures

QBox theory may offer glimpse of reality deeper than quantum realm

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:12 +0000

Physicists have long suspected that there is a layer of physical reality beneath quantum theory and a new mathematical model unveils just how strange it might be

Analysis of Roman shipwreck’s coatings tells story of its time on the seas

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:01:00 +0000

Ship was recoated several times as it sailed along Italy’s Adriatic coast

Is stem cell therapy about to transform medicine and reverse ageing?

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:00:12 +0000

A clinical trial to reverse age-related vision conditions using stem cell treatment could finally deliver on the promise of a major discovery in ageing and regeneration made 20 years ago, says columnist Graham Lawton

Academic freedom slides globally, as it takes a nosedive in the US

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:30:00 +0000

The last decade has seen institutional autonomy curbed in 50 countries

After pulling vaccine study, Bhattacharya criticizes long-running CDC publication

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 05:30:45 +0000

Agency’s temporary director says Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report needs external reviewers

Can Starship succeed where the space shuttle struggled?

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:30:00 +0000

As SpaceX readies its latest megarocket, engineer Stephen Whitmore explains why atmospheric reentry pushes materials to their limits

UK Biobank faces questions about data security after latest breach

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 03:25:00 +0000

Experts say the lapse highlights that even new measures to control access did not safeguard deidentified patient information

Abrupt change to European funder’s rules leaves researchers shut out

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:25:00 +0000

Flood of proposals to European Research Council—perhaps unleashed by AI—means unsuccessful applicants must wait longer to reapply

Largest-ever octopus was great white shark of invertebrate predators

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:00:12 +0000

During the Cretaceous, 19-metre-long predatory octopuses swam the seas, and evidence from their fossilised remains suggest they may have been highly intelligent hunters

Do you need to worry about Mythos, Anthropic's computer-hacking AI?

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:00:34 +0000

A powerful AI kept from public access because of its ability to hack computers with impunity is making headlines around the world. But what is Mythos, does it really represent a risk and might it even be used to improve cybersecurity?

Catching a cold can delay cancer from spreading to the lungs

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:00:20 +0000

Infecting mice with RSV, a common virus that causes cold-like symptoms, prevented breast cancer cells from reaching their lungs. This was due to the release of proteins that stop viruses from replicating in the lungs also making it harder for cancer cells to seed new tumours

Huge study reveals how Epstein-Barr virus may cause multiple sclerosis

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:00:39 +0000

The Epstein-Barr virus seems to affect gene expression and cell signalling in a way that causes the autoimmune condition multiple sclerosis

Contra-thermodynamic stereochemical editing explained

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:52:00 +0000

How chemists are using light, enzymes and mechanical force to access higher‑energy stereoisomers without rebuilding a molecule from scratch

Using light to push stereochemistry uphill

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:51:00 +0000

While chemistry usually follows the downhill pull of thermodynamics, Alison Wendlandt is creating higher‑energy stereoisomers in the final stages of synthesis

Collective interactions dominate gene regulation in eukaryotes

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 08:30:00 +0000

A new technique shows DNA binding domains are not central to transcription factor targeting in human cells, unlike in bacteria

U.S. moves to reclassify some types of marijuana as lower risk

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 05:30:00 +0000

Long-awaited policy shift could ease barriers for scientists who study the drug

Thousands of shady ads sell paper authorship for cash, large-scale investigation finds

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 05:00:28 +0000

Results are “only the tip of the iceberg” of shadowy paper-mill marketplace

Sperm carry unexpected genetic messages

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:45:00 +0000

Maturing mouse sperm get loaded with full-length messenger RNAs that are transferred to fertilized egg, suggesting a new route for paternal influence

Striking photo essay examines deadly spread of dengue fever in Nepal

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:48 +0000

Photographer Yuri Segalerba explores how dengue has spread to Nepal's Himalayan districts, and how locals are fighting back

98 per cent of meat and dairy sustainability pledges are greenwashing

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:42 +0000

The food industry has made big promises to reduce emissions and become more sustainable, but a review concludes that many of the pledges are not backed up by evidence

New Scientist recommends Jeff Beal’s New York Études, Vol. II

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:29 +0000

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

How many dachshunds would it take to get to the moon?

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Feedback, always on the hunt for absurd units of measurement, is delighted by recent attempts to convey the 406,771 kilometres that the Artemis II crew travelled from Earth

Can you slow ageing with your diet? A new book gives it a go

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Discovering he is getting old before his time, David Cox tries to lower his biological age by changing his diet in a helpful new book, The Age Code, says Graham Lawton

This mesmerising Cornish time-travel film is not to be missed

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

A seaside town is devastated when a small fishing boat, the Rose of Nevada, disappears at sea. Thirty years later, the boat reappears in the harbour and sets off a moving story, says Bethan Ackerley

Why your opinion of used electric vehicles is probably wrong

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:00 +0000

The idea that EV batteries age poorly is a misconception – and a new report has found they often outlive the cars themselves

We need more radioactive drugs. Can we make them from nuclear waste?

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:00:58 +0000

The rise of a new generation of radiotherapies means we will soon need much greater quantities of radioactive atoms. That's why companies are scrambling to refine them from all manner of radioactive waste

Table tennis-playing robot on track to becoming world champion

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:00:19 +0000

A robot built by Sony AI is rapidly learning how to beat the world's very best table tennis players

Exercise advice for long covid may be doing more harm than good

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:23:29 +0000

Exercise has been touted as a tool for managing and treating long covid, but much of the evidence has neglected one of its most debilitating symptoms: post-exertional malaise

China’s comprehensive new chemical safety law due to take effect

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000

The new rule, coming into force in May, bolsters risk management and tightens requirements for chemical production, storage, use and transport

Fermat's Last Theorem: still a must-read about a 350-year maths secret

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:36 +0000

Simon Singh's exploration of mathematical proof – in particular Pierre de Fermat's last theorem – remains an absolute treasure, almost three decades after it was first published

Industrial emissions of feedstock chemicals are hindering recovery of ozone layer

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:44:00 +0000

Emissions of certain ozone-depleting chemicals could delay the ozone layer’s recovery by six to 11 years

If a bird flu pandemic starts, we may have an mRNA vaccine ready

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:01:21 +0000

A final-stage trial has started of an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu strain infecting many animals – and occasionally people – worldwide

Titan’s strange plains may be explained by unusual weather

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 17:00:44 +0000

Most of Titan’s surface is oddly flat and smooth, and it may be because it is coated by as much as a metre of fluffy organic material that snowed down from the icy moon’s thick atmosphere

The monstrous number sequences that break the rules of mathematics

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 16:00:07 +0000

Some seemingly simple sequences of multiplication and addition grow so quickly that they question the very foundations of mathematics. In doing so, they demand a whole new level of logic

Game theory explains why the US's goals in Iran keep changing

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:57:39 +0000

The ongoing conflict around the Strait of Hormuz has become a situation in game theory known as a war of attrition. The maths behind it can help explain what's going on, says Petros Sekeris

More than 20 organic compounds found on Mars – many for the first time

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:42:00 +0000

International team detects benzothiophene, methyl benzoate, naphthalene, as well as single and dicyclic aromatic molecules