The wave function of a quantum object may not just be a mathematical construct Pobytov/Getty Images Does quantum mechanics really reflect nature in its truest form, or is it just our imprecise way of describing the weird properties of the very small? A famous test that can help answer this question has now been tried…
An AI tool trained on chemical signatures from corpse-eating insects may help determine time and place of death for victims of violent crimes.
When Comet 3I/ATLAS roared into the solar system this summer, it launched a scientific scramble to study what astronomers were quickly able to determine was only the third known interstellar object to zip through our celestial neighborhood. And that science quickly went interplanetary. In early October, just three months after astronomers first spotted Comet 3I/ATLAS,…
Contrails from jet engines can add to the warming effect of flying Image Professionals GmbH/Alamy If you’ve been using carbon footprint calculators to work out the impact of the flights you take, brace yourself. The true impact of your flying could be several times higher than commonly used CO₂ calculators suggest. “The numbers are shocking,”…
Galaxies are spooky places. Space itself is scary enough—dark, vast, cold and empty—but galaxies have all manner of terrifying beasts lurking inside. Most of these astrophysical monsters are stars with various behavioral issues, such as explosive supernovae or ridiculously powerful (and tempestuous) magnetars. Getting too close to one of these stellar tantrums guarantees a very…
The New Scientist Book Club stepped away from science fiction for our October read, turning to the winner of the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize instead, serendipitously announced just in time for us to start on our next literary adventure. Six books had been up for the award, from Daniel Levitin’s Music as Medicine…
October 30, 2025 3 min read ‘Dueling Dinosaurs’ Fossil Solves the Mystery of a ‘Mini T. rex’ An analysis suggests Nanotyrannus is a separate, smaller dinosaur that lived alongside T. rex, settling a 30-year debate By Anirban Mukhopadhyay edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Nanotyrannus appears to be a separate, smaller relative of Tyrannosaurus rex that…
The mummified remains of a boy buried in a copper box between 1617 and 1814 Annamaria Alabiso An adolescent boy buried around three centuries ago in a copper box in northern Italy has become the only near-complete green mummy ever known. Other ancient body parts have been partially mummified or turned green after burial with…
Ahead of a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Thursday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will resume nuclear testing, ending a 33-year moratorium. “Because of other countries [sic] testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump announced on his social media…
Artist’s impression of a pack of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex Anthony Hutchings A dinosaur fossil thought to be a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex is in fact a fully grown carnivore of a different species, according to researchers who believe they have finally settled a long-running and fierce debate in palaeontology. The dispute stems from…
