Space What a new jumbo particle reveals about extreme matter We're used to scientists making ever bigger atoms. Now it seems subatomic particles can be pushed to similar extremes to create new forms of matter. Researchers at two particle detectors reported on Monday the strongest evidence yet for a particle made of more than three quarks, the subatomic building blocks of matter. What does that mean for understanding of matter – and why does that matter? New Scientist investigates News
Technology Why I've built a search engine that doesn't follow you "It's a myth that Google needs to track users to make money" Revelations about governments' online snooping have been good news for Gabriel Weinberg , builder of DuckDuckGo – a search engine that doesn't track its users What made you set up DuckDuckGo ? I started it a little over five years ago, just intending … Opinion
Life Brazil uprising points to rise of leaderless networks A call to arms BRAZILIANS are calling the protests sweeping through their country the Salad Uprising after police began arresting people carrying vinegar as a remedy for tear gas. The name could be more apt than protesters realise: uprisings of this sort could also have food links. But they spread like a disease. Brazil's uprising … News
Life Peaceful passenger pigeon waits for resurrection (Image: Marc Schlossman/Panos) PASSENGER pigeons once formed flocks so vast that they would darken the sky for days as they flew past. In the 19th century there were some 5 billion individual birds in North America, more than any other wild bird species in the world. From a position of such super-abundance, it was unthinkable … Regulars
Earth Gaia's comeback: How life shapes the weather The world would be warming even faster if forests weren't calling in the clouds. Could it be that Gaia is not so helpless after all? Features
Enigma Number 1755 Sudoprime II The grid shows a cross-figure with two digits given as a start. All 11 two- and three-digit answers are prime and none has a leading zero; no digit appears more than once in any row, column or either of the two long diagonals; no even digit appears more than once anywhere. What are … Regulars
Feedback: Holy breadsticks Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more Holy breadsticks IDLY studying a packet of Sainsbury's grissini breadsticks, Chris McManus noted with approval that they were "Torinesi grissini", so presumably from Turin. But the small print on the back says "Produced in Italy (incl. Vatican City)". "Doesn't that … Regulars