The allure of quantum computers is, at its heart, quite simple: by leveraging counterintuitive quantum effects, they could perform computational feats utterly impossible for any classical computer. But reality is more complex: to date, most claims of quantum “advantage”—an achievement by a quantum computer that a regular machine can’t match—have struggled to show they truly…
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 Blossom? Really? The past few years have seen the emergence of a great many AI companies. This is extremely exciting/alarming (delete according to whether you bought shares…
To Reduce Dementia Risk, Treat High Blood Pressure Lowering blood pressure through medication can reduce someone’s risk of developing dementia By Liz Szabo edited by Allison Parshall SDI Productions/Getty Images Treating high blood pressure for as little as four years can cut the risk of dementia by 15 percent, according to clinical a trial results…
Blue Origin’s crew Blue Origin/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock Over a decade ago, I sat in my living room with a bunch of nerds, tears pricking my eyes, as I saw the Curiosity rover’s first blurry selfie taken on Mars. The NASA livestream had just confirmed the wheeled robot was alive and well and ready to start…
Three Ways Pope Francis Influenced Global Climate Action The late Pope Francis supported global climate agreements, advocated for Indigenous people and inspired activism By Celia Deane-Drummond & The Conversation US Pope Francis receives a plant offered by an Amazon native as he celebrates the closing mass of the Synod on Amazonia on October 27, 2019…
Ecuador’s Rio Los Cedros is a source of insight for Robert Macfarlane Murray Cooper/Minden Pictures/Alamy Is a River Alive?Robert Macfarlane (Penguin Books (UK) W. W. Norton (US, 20 May)) Early on in this often beautiful, wild and wildly provocative book, Robert Macfarlane recounts telling his son the title of his project. The boy exclaims that…
CLIMATEWIRE | Researchers in Oklahoma are hard at work on a new lifesaving weather forecasting system. In Michigan, they’re keeping tabs on toxic algae blooms. In Florida, they’re studying tropical cyclones by flying into the hearts of hurricanes. These are just a handful of the hundreds of research projects ongoing at NOAA’s cooperative institutes, a…
Enter the Royal Society in London – the UK’s national academy of science – and you will see a three-word phrase: “nullius in verba“. This motto, held for over 350 years, translates to “take nobody’s word for it”, meaning science cannot simply be taken on trust; it must be backed by evidence. But what is…
The New Tornado Alley Has Been Hyperactive this Year More tornadoes than usual have already struck the U.S. in 2025—and many of them have been touching down farther east than they had in the past By Mark Fischetti edited by Dean Visser EF2 tornado lofting debris from a home in Lockett, Tex. Jason Weingart/Getty Images…
Is there an upside – or downside – to longer races? Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images Ever since I announced in my previous column that I am training for a half marathon, friends keep asking me whether a full marathon is up next. My answer is always the same – no way. While running 21…
