mdesigner125/iStockphoto/Getty Images We know the only safe and long-term solution to climate change is cutting our greenhouse gas emissions. But in the face of still-rising emissions and escalating climate impacts, some are considering an option that – until recently – would never have escaped a researcher’s lips without a good deal of trepidation. This story…
Can you imagine the imprint a four-dimensional hexagon might leave as it passes through your three-dimensional kitchen table? Probably not, but some people can. One such person was mathematician Alicia Boole Stott, daughter of logician George Boole. Early in the 20th century, she made models of the shapes four-dimensional objects would create when passing through…
Brown forest wallabies spread to several islands thousands of years ago Mehd Halaouate, Birdingindonesia.com As early as 12,800 years ago, people captured wild wallabies and transported them in canoes to islands dozens or even hundreds of kilometres away. Native to Sahul – the prehistoric landmass that later split into Australia and New Guinea – the…
Teenagers’ language might make online bullying hard to detect Vitapix/Getty Images Generation Alpha’s internet lingo is mutating faster than teachers, parents and AI models can keep up – potentially exposing youngsters to bullying and grooming that trusted adults and AI-based safety systems simply can’t see. Manisha Mehta, a 14-year-old student at Warren E. Hyde Middle…
For a long time, many climate scientists and advocates held onto an optimistic belief: when the impacts of global warming became undeniable, people and governments would finally act decisively. Perhaps a devastating hurricane, heatwave or flood – or even a cascade of disasters – would make the severity of the problem impossible to ignore, spurring…
What’s missing? Pondering the displays at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Nature’s MemoryJack Ashby (Allen Lane) Museums are strange things, Jack Ashby, assistant director of the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge, UK, points out in his new book, Nature’s Memory: Behind the…
Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York There is no geophysical logic to the sharp partition in the middle of this picture. A US federal act, the Land Ordinance of 1785, divided North America’s vast western territories into rectilinear townships and sections. So when pumps pull water out of the aquifer beneath Salt River…
Could an idea cause physical harm through exposure, asks this novel Sumaid Pal Singh Bakshi/Unsplash BasiliskMatt Wixey (Titan Books (out 1 July)) I AM hacking your brain. Simply by reading this, you have allowed me to hijack your thoughts, each word leaping from my mind to yours. I can even conjure mental images against your…
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 Problematic coupling In a long-ago time (May), Feedback asked for examples of “no shit, Sherlock” – scientific studies spending an inordinate amount of time and effort to…
“When I think about the future of robots and society, I don’t see machine overlords” Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images Are you worried that AI-powered robots are going to steal our jobs and maybe kill us all? You aren’t alone. But it is time to play devil’s advocate with yourself and consider whether the opposite…
