Subscribe now
New Scientist Default Image

Digital drug tells your doctor when you've taken your medicine

15 November 2017

FDA approves an antipsychotic pill containing an electronic sensor that activates when it hits stomach fluid and sends a message to a smartphone-linked patch


Light sail starship

Should we seed life through the cosmos using laser-driven ships?

13 November 2017

Our galaxy may have billions of habitable worlds. A proposal to spread life says we should use giant lasers and light sails to send microbes out to them


men sitting with laptops

Tinfoil hat for your router stops bad guys snooping your Wi-Fi

13 November 2017

Wireless signal shaper can put your Wi-Fi into the nooks and crannies of your home - and keep it from spilling out into the rest of the world


A puzzle

Brain implant boosts human memory by mimicking how we learn

13 November 2017

A device that zaps the brain with electricity has improved people’s scores on memory tests. It may have the power to help dementia, or boost other brain skills


woman aghast at her screen

Why people ruin others’ lives by exposing all their data online

13 November 2017

Doxers causes devastation by revealing targets' sensitive information to the worst elements of the internet. Now the first study to examine doxing shows who is most affected – and a potential fix


A woman using her phone on the train

Charge your phone using ambient light and printed solar cells

10 November 2017

Printed plastic solar cells should be able to harvest enough energy from indoor light to power your phone within the next few months


Fisherman opening sea urchins

Grow fake versions of rare delicacies like sea urchin at home

10 November 2017

Japanese meat culturing project goes beyond hamburger to copy problematic delicacies like sea urchin, foie gras - and someday maybe dinosaur


Facebook can make your profile pic wink and scowl

Facebook can make your profile pic wink and scowl

9 November 2017

Like portraits and pictures in Harry Potter, your Facebook image will soon react to visitors’ actions with happiness, sadness, or anger


Enigma machine

Cracking it: Enigma’s Alan Turing and Linear B’s Michael Ventris

26 October 2017

A wide-ranging exhibition in Cambridge, UK, celebrates two geniuses: one broke Nazi codes, the other cracked an ancient script


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
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop