Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people

— Carl Sagan

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Updated: 28 min 54 sec ago

OpenAI's o3 model aced a test of AI reasoning – but it's still not AGI

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 6:10pm
The latest AI model from OpenAI achieved an “impressive leap in performance” but it still hasn’t demonstrated what experts classify as human-level intelligence
Categories: Astronomy

Is solar geoengineering research having its moment?

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 12:00pm
There is more research than ever focused on reflecting sunlight away from the planet to cool the climate – but there are still far more questions than answers about the effects
Categories: Astronomy

How the US Supreme Court and Trump could stop a TikTok ban

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 11:25am
A US ban on the video-sharing app TikTok is set to take effect in early 2025 – but the country's Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump could still change that
Categories: Astronomy

Quantum teleportation can survive through busy internet cables

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 11:00am
An experiment showing that quantum and classical communication can be carried out through the same fibre at the same time may open the door to building a quantum internet with existing infrastructure
Categories: Astronomy

Will an mRNA vaccine target the norovirus strain behind surging cases?

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 10:00am
A new type of norovirus is causing a very high number of cases in countries like England, just as a large trial of an mRNA vaccine is starting up
Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s Mars helicopter was grounded in 2024 after surprise success

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 9:00am
The Ingenuity autonomous helicopter surpassed all expectations to fly dozens of missions over several years on the Red Planet, only stopping this year when an accident damaged one of its rotors
Categories: Astronomy

Hundreds of small websites may shut down due to UK's Online Safety Act

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 8:00am
Hundreds of community websites run for fans of everything from cycling to Sunderland AFC may be forced to shut down by the UK's Online Safety Act, which is designed to protect children from harmful content
Categories: Astronomy

Hairy ‘orangutan pitcher plant’ discovered in Borneo

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 8:00am
A newly described species of giant pitcher plant is one of the biggest ever found, with leaves covered in fur the same colour as orangutans
Categories: Astronomy

Engaging new podcast asks what the big things are that make us human

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 6:00am
Blazing the Trail, a new podcast from the Australian Museum, delves into topics from how language evolved to the implications of harnessing fire
Categories: Astronomy

Our writers pick the 26 best science fiction short stories of all time

Fri, 12/20/2024 - 3:00am
We asked New Scientist writers to pick their favourite sci-fi short story. From H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine to Octavia E. Butler’s Bloodchild, via stories from George R. R. Martin and Ursula K. Le Guin, here are the results
Categories: Astronomy

Stonehenge may have been built to unify people of ancient Britain

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 7:01pm
Recent findings show that Stonehenge’s stones came from all over Britain – and this offers clues to the monument’s purpose, say archaeologists
Categories: Astronomy

AI beats human experts at distinguishing American whiskey from Scotch

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 11:00am
Using descriptions of flavours or chemical data, artificial intelligence can tell apart whiskies from different countries and identify their constituent aromas
Categories: Astronomy

The most inspiring conservation success stories in 2024

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 9:00am
Endangered skates and kingfishers were brought back from the brink this year and scientists found a way to protect frogs from deadly infections
Categories: Astronomy

Genetic tweak to three key crops massively boosts their growth

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 8:00am
A simple change to maize, sorghum and sugarcane that allows them to take advantage of rising CO2 levels can boost their growth by around a fifth
Categories: Astronomy

Is AI finally ready to replace your doctor?

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 7:05am
Advances in artificial intelligence mean that machines can now perform certain diagnostic tasks with far better accuracy than human doctors - but the picture is more complicated than you might think
Categories: Astronomy

How to make the biggest splash in a pool, according to science

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 6:00am
Analysing footage of what happens when people jump into water, and using a robot to mimic them, has revealed how do the perfect dive-bomb using a Maori technique called the Manu
Categories: Astronomy

The best space images from 2024

Thu, 12/19/2024 - 4:00am
This year has delivered some awe-inspiring imagery of space, from the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning shots of faraway stars and galaxies to images of the skies taken from here on planet Earth
Categories: Astronomy

Swarms of tiny robots coordinate to achieve ant-like feats of strength

Wed, 12/18/2024 - 11:00am
Small robots directed by magnetic fields can cooperatively lift heavy objects, form floating rafts and push through clogs. They may one day deliver drugs within the human body
Categories: Astronomy

Ultra-thin diamond wafers for electronics made using sticky tape

Wed, 12/18/2024 - 11:00am
Electronics made using diamond-based chips would have many advantages, but have been hard to make – a new technique involving sticky tape could change that
Categories: Astronomy

Ancient hominin Lucy was a lousy runner, simulations show

Wed, 12/18/2024 - 11:00am
Researchers have tried to work out how fast Australopithecus afarensis could run by creating a 3D digital robot of the ancient hominin
Categories: Astronomy