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.

Health by numbers • New Year’s resolutions work only if you know what to measure

New Scientist

Tiny toadlet catches the eye

Black hole stars really do exist • Mysterious ‘little red dots’ seen by the James Webb Space Telescope can be explained by a new kind of black hole enshrouded in an enormous ball of glowing gas, finds Alex Wilkins

Qubits break quantum limit to encode information for longer

Some Arctic warming may be ‘irreversible’

Ejaculation timing is key for IVF • Men should abstain from ejaculation for less than two days before providing a sperm sample

Dolphins seen scouting salmon for their orca ‘friends’

Trick to block the spread of malaria passes key test

Mars may once have had a larger moon

Roman rule may have brought new diseases to Britain

There could be more Earth-like planets than we think

What a healthy gut looks like • A map of the gut microbiome has identified the species of bacteria most associated with good health outcomes, as well as the ones that aren’t, reports Chris Simms

How best to use hydrogen power • With supplies of low-carbon hydrogen limited, researchers say we should prioritise the areas where it could have the biggest impact, finds Alec Luhn

Timing cancer drug delivery around our body clock could boost survival

Diplodocus may have been as colourful as birds

A little alone time • The festive season is a period of social connection for many of us, but making space for solitude is also important, says Thuy-vy Nguyen

This changes everything • How not to misread science fiction Focusing on the futuristic tech that appears in sci-fi without paying attention to the actual point of the story is a big mistake, says Annalee Newitz

Ancient artists

‘I was terrible at science at school’ • With the human family tree now more like a hedge, Bill Bryson told the New Scientist podcast about updating his 2003 bestselling book on science – and why he wrote it in the first place

In our own image • Humans project our thoughts and feelings onto everything from dogs to hurricanes. Elle Hunt finds out why in a fascinating book

How we think • Could an expanded idea about physical metaphors crack one of neuroscience’s toughest questions? It’s compelling, says Michael Marshall, but the writing setting it out is far less so

Your letters

Improve your immunity • You can upgrade your immune system to help fight off infection, but not in the way you think, discovers Helen Thomson

Immunity score • For a high immune grade, you need good levels of CD4+ cells, and you also need your CD8 cells to be kept in check, or “restrained”

How to spot an alien • Tentative evidence for alien life sometimes hits the headlines, but how can we ever know for sure? Miriam Frankel has your essential guide

Seven steps to confirming alien life exists

A daily dose of creativity • Exercise, diet… and art? Epidemiologist Daisy Fancourt reveals the powerful but overlooked health benefits of creative expression

Lichens unleashed • Creating fast-growing lichens in the lab could herald the future of buildings on Earth – and maybe even on Mars, finds Rowan Hooper

Beware the snow-fake! • Mathematician Katie Steckles admits to a fit of festive pedantry over one particular seasonal...