New Scientist

New Scientist covers the latest developments in science and technology that will impact your world. New Scientist employs and commissions the best writers in their fields from all over the world. Our editorial team provide cutting-edge news, award-winning features and reports, written in concise and clear language that puts discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life today and in the future.

Elsewhere on New Scientist

When to believe the hype • There’s a right way and a wrong way to develop new technologies

New Scientist

Fluorescent feathers

The grand quantum race • Firms around the world are trying to commercialise quantum computers, but the jury is still out on who is going to pull ahead, finds Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Quantum everywhere

Fieldnotes PsiQuantum in Brisbane, Australia • Inside the plan to build the world’s largest quantum computer While rivals have been working on smaller machines, PsiQuantum has its eyes on the biggest prize, says James Woodford

Analysis Geopolitics • No solace for quantum Fears that quantum computers could give nations an advantage are leading to crackdowns that make it harder for researchers, says Matthew Sparkes

The megaquop machine • One of the most respected voices in quantum computing has a new challenge for the field, finds Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Rice variant slashes planet-warming methane emissions

Bonobos may also have theory of mind

Closest ever Einstein ring spotted • Stunning image shows rare phenomenon just 600 million light years from Earth

Brain cells found that may tell us to stop eating

Mysterious ancestors of Europeans came from Ukraine

AI helps read volcano-scorched ancient scroll

A new way to slow ageing • Taking omega-3 pills alongside vitamin D supplements and exercise reduced biological age

Ancient relative of geese is the earliest known modern bird

Biggest object in the universe found • Spanning 1.4 billion light years, the structure may violate a fundamental cosmic assumption

Prosthetic hand is able to open jars with ease

Songs of humpback whales follow language patterns

The perfect boiled egg takes more than half an hour to cook

Love in the time of AI • Dating apps have warped how we view romantic connections. Adding artificial intelligence could make things worse, argues Luke Brunning

Future Chronicles • Payback time By the 2030s, a wave of litigation led by artificial intelligence was forcing Big Oil firms to pay billions in damages for their emissions, says our guide to the future, Rowan Hooper

Looking up

Spinning gold from fragments • Ancient Mesopotamia comes alive in a must-read history, cleverly wrought from tablets written in the world’s oldest script, says Emily H. Wilson

Post-human partners • Scott opts to be a cyborg; Susanna copes by filming the effects on their marriage. Is this modern love, asks Bethan Ackerley

New Scientist recommends

The burden of proof • Turning rape into a crime that could be proved forensically is only possible because of one unsung woman, finds Vijaysree Venkatraman

Your letters

The universe on pause • A bold new idea suggests cosmic history contains hidden periods of stillness. If correct, it could explain the origins of dark matter and much more, says Miriam Frankel

History rewritten

Small wonders • Biologists are discovering microscopic entities even tinier than a virus. Michael Marshall delves into the boundary between life and non-life

Denizens of the invisible realm

Hello world • Advances in infant brain imaging are opening a door to the inner worlds of newborns, revealing that consciousness may arise earlier than...