Environment Microbial communities feeding on geothermal methane seeps beneath the Antarctic ice sheet could resemble life-supporting environments on frozen worlds in our solar system and beyond By James Dinneen 18 April 2025 Researchers collecting rock samples in Antarctica in the 1960s Polar Rock Repository Microbes living beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet may survive on methane generated…
Canadarm2, the robotic arm on the ISS built by the Canadian Space Agency ESA/NASA The most accurate clock in space launches within days and will begin building a highly synchronised network out of the best clocks on Earth. But the project, decades in preparation, will only operate for a few years before it burns up…
Douglas fir wood can be turned into a water filter Janet Horton / Alamy Stock Photo Slices of wood can act as water filters that remove bacteria and microplastics with more than 99 per cent efficiency, potentially offering a cheap way to protect people from water-borne illnesses. Previous research has investigated more complex methods to…
Artist’s impression of the exoplanet K2-18b A. Smith/N. Mandhusudhan One of the strongest signs of life outside Earth was announced this week, but some astronomers cautioned that it is extremely difficult to verify. That raises the question: will there ever come a point where we have definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life, and when might that…
Shipping accounts for 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions Suphanat Khumsap/Getty Images Excess emissions from international shipping will be subject to a hefty carbon charge under a new plan to decarbonise the sector agreed earlier this month. The agreement is a “momentous outcome” that sets the framework for the shipping industry to deliver…
Two independent research teams have developed methods for hacking noisy quantum computers based on a row-hammer attack, a type of interference used to infiltrate traditional computers 17 April 2025 , updated 17 April 2025
Colossal Biosciences says it has revived the dire wolf Colossal Biosciences “I trust people who are wealthy,” said a participant in a focus group that a colleague and I recently ran to understand how people place trust. This was, to me, a surprising response – but on reflection, and following reactions to recent headlines, I…
Bristlecone Pine Forest, California Mitch Epstein Gnarled, wild and majestic: these two very different trees in California form part of Mitch Epstein’s quest to photograph ancient forests across the US. The photographer’s Old Growth project took shape in the summer of 2020, when he learned that there were rare pockets of old-growth forests in Western…
Whether you are at the hairdresser’s or at work, the ability to say no is always crucial Martin Parr/Magnum Photos DefySunita Sah (Blink Publishing (UK) One World (US)) We’ve all done it. Some of us do it all the time, in situations both trivial and serious. We say “yes” when we shouldn’t, or fail to say…
Josie Ford 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 More viral than viral If there’s one thing Feedback reliably enjoys, it’s a neologism: that is, a newly coined word or phrase. The past five…