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.

The need for speed • We must find a balance between haste and getting mired in medical inertia

New Scientist

A distant visitor puts on a show

The best way to train your brain • A type of cognitive training that tests people’s quick recall has an “astonishing” effect on dementia risk, possibly by boosting brain connectivity, finds Helen Thomson

First settlers in the high Arctic made epic voyage to remote islands

Synchronised eruptions on Io hint at a spongy interior

Lower emissions during lockdown linked to rapid rise in methane

Forever chemical triples due to ozone-preserving refrigerants

‘Altruistic’ bacteria may boost health • High numbers of a mysterious group of gut bacteria appear in healthy people, hinting that targeting these microbes through diet or probiotics could prove helpful, finds Chris Simms

Why exercise doesn’t help weight loss • When we exercise more, our bodies may compensate by using less energy for other things – especially if we eat less too, discovers Michael Le Page

Fast-charging quantum battery shows promise

Antarctic glacier’s worrying speed burst

The toxic burden of pesticides is growing around the world

Psychedelic causes a similar state of mind to meditation

How to master ‘hidden’ friction • Controlling friction caused by electron interactions could make machines more efficient

Nasal spray could prevent infections from any flu strain

Statins don’t cause most of the side effects listed on their labels

You could soon enjoy grapefruit without the bitterness

The secret to living a meaningful life

Quantum simulator may unlock new materials

Why did SpaceX just apply to launch 1 million satellites? • Elon Musk’s proposal to deploy a huge number of data centres in orbit may not be entirely serious, finds Jonathan O’Callaghan

Tea party test shows the imaginative capabilities of bonobos

Dutch air force reads pilots’ brainwaves to toughen training

On the bright side • It is possible to be an environmental optimist despite it all, says Fred Pearce, who refuses to despair about the state of the world

The genetics column • Rolling the genetic dice Would you genetically enhance your future child if you could? Michael Le Page explores what might be possible – and whether it would be a good idea

Zooming in

Three other great books on relationships

The true path to love? • We are told we need cynical strategies to “play” the dating game, but the science says this is totally wrong. David Robson enjoys an evidence-based takedown

New Scientist recommends

The sci-fi column • Short but perfectly formed In George Saunders’s Vigil, a ghost visits a dying oil tycoon, while terraforming efforts on Mars are about to bear fruit in The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel. Emily Wilson explores two very different short novels

Your letters

Escape the scales • BMI has long been used to determine someone’s health, but it is deeply flawed. Better measures of body fat exist – and they are finally catching on, finds Starre Vartan

Better ways to assess body fat

What makes a mind? • We are starting to teach molecules to “think” – and it is bringing us closer to working out what a mind really is, discovers Conor Feehly

“What does it mean to put a dollar value on...