February 5, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Brain swelling is one of measles’ nastiest side effects, and it’s happening in South Carolina The South Carolina measles outbreak has triggered rare but serious brain swelling in some children By Meghan Bartels edited by Tanya Lewis A straightforward case of measles is nasty—but…
Ross Gudgeon’s winning image, Fractal Forest Ross Gudgeon/CUPOTY Sometimes beauty is found with a shift in perspective. These gorgeous images are among the winners of the latest Close-up Photographer of Year contest, an international photography competition dedicated to unveiling nature’s hidden wonders. Peer through the delicate pink branches of a cauliflower soft coral in the main…
Humans may not be the only primates with the power to imagine. During a make-believe tea party, a bonobo named Kanzi kept track of invisible juice and imaginary grapes, researchers report February 5 in Science. The findings add to a growing body of work suggesting that ape minds can imagine scenarios beyond the “here-and-now,” a…
Amalia Bastos first met Kanzi the bonobo in 2023. Bastos was “starstruck,” she recalls: Kanzi was famous for learning how to communicate with humans using a keyboard of symbols. Upon first seeing Bastos, Kanzi immediately pointed at her and another scientist. Then the ape pointed to his “lexigrams”—the symbols he used to communicate—selecting the icons…
A quantum battery has been built within a quantum computer, a first step in determining whether such batteries could play a role in powering future quantum technologies. Conventional batteries store energy because their components undergo electrochemical reactions, but quantum batteries rely on quantum bits, or qubits, which undergo changes in their quantum states. Some studies…
February 5, 2026 4 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm NASA’s next space suit for Artemis has out-of-this-world mobility Astronauts are flying to the moon for the first time since 1972, and scientists are preparing specialized space suits for the next milestone—landing there By K. R. Callaway edited by Lee Billings An AxEMU (Axiom…
A herd of caribou outside Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, in the spring migration KATIE ORLINSKEY FrostlinesNeil Shea, Picador (UK, 12 February) Ecco Publishing (US, available now) IN SO far as those of us further south consider the Arctic at all, we tend to think of it as a monolith: an expanse of white, with walruses and…
Programs that support caregivers of patients with dementia could bring substantial benefits at a fraction of the price of an Alzheimer’s drug. A computer simulation guided by patient data from prior studies found that supportive care reduced health care costs and scored higher than the drug intervention on a common measure of treatment value, researchers…
This time last year, the world was gripped by reports that an incoming, nearly 200-feet-wide asteroid had a tiny, tiny chance of hitting the Earth in 2032. The sigh of relief that we weren’t on course for a Don’t Look Up scenario was palpable when, upon closer inspection, astronomers determined that the space rock, named…
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 Caped crusaders It has been some time since Mrs Feedback was pregnant, but she still remembers the bother of trying to get a seat on public transport…
