Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit items you believe may amuse readers to Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com Feeling prickly Feedback doesn’t want to overstate this, but we think we have found a problem that will rewrite a huge swathe of music and literature and…
For thousands of years traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners have checked patients’ tongues as part of a full examination, carefully scrutinizing their color, shape and coating in an attempt to detect illness. TCM considers a tongue’s color especially telling—and now some researchers, encouraged by recent studies pointing toward a measurable association with health factors, are…
“Everybody knows flying is bad for the climate…” oversnap/Getty Images Many years ago, I went to report on a climate science meeting at University College London. I have no memory of what the meeting was about, but I do remember a lot else about that day. When I arrived, there were protesters outside – not…
Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Being a doctor is challenging enough, but imagine having a patient whose health has direct implications for national security and global politics. Presidential physicians face unique medical challenges, from preparing for gunshot wounds to managing the health care of someone with a grueling schedule. And…
Geothermal power could be a key part of the UK’s energy mix in the future Jim West/Alamy Clearing the AirHannah Ritchie, Chatto & Windus (UK); MIT Press (US, out 3 March 2026) A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with some friends and the conversation meandered – as it will when there is a climate journalist, a campaigner…
As an astronomer studying the universe beyond Earth, I’m fond of “outside the box” views almost by default. But one of my favorites is whenever a spacecraft takes a snapshot of our home world and the moon from a great distance. Stuck here on the planet’s surface, our mundane perspective is rarely challenged, so seeing…
A tropical flat-faced longhorn beetle in Malaysia Kim Hui Yu “It had a strange look, like an alien, but it wasn’t angry. It sat still on the branch all the time,” said Kim Hui Yu, who photographed the flat-faced longhorn beetle in the image above on a family trip to Gunung Jerai on Malaysia’s west coast. A lightbulb in a…
October 10, 2025 4 min read New Clues Suggest San Andreas and Cascadia Faults May Produce Synchronized Earthquakes Samples from the seafloor reveal evidence of several earthquakes along the West Coast’s two major fault zones happening in quick succession over the past 3,000 years By Jack Tamisiea edited by Andrea Thompson An aerial view of…
A network of nerves (white) throughout the ovary of a mouse (left) and in a fragment of human ovary (right), alongside eggs (green). A growing follicle containing an egg is shown in magenta Eliza Gaylord and Diana Laird, Laird lab, UCSF A new imaging technique has revealed a previously unexplored ecosystem within the ovary that…
The advance hints at the possibility of portable muon-making devices that could help peer through solid materials for hidden contraband.
