Subscribe now

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

(Images: Paul McDevitt)

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

The new cold war

THIS year marks the centenary of the lethal chlorine gas attacks at Ypres in Belgium, a spectre whose long shadow refuses to abate. Witness a barrage of stories that exploded across the UK daily newspapers recently, warning that the country faced chemical attack by home-grown jihadists.

These terrorists, we are told, have worked out how to fashion crude chemical weapons by lacing conventional bombs with chlorine gas. “The chlorine that is often used in bombs,” rumbled the front…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop