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Cryptic crossword #72: Clean antimony-coated tungsten article (4)

9 December 2021

Challenge your brain by solving New Scientist's weekly crosswords on your mobile, tablet or desktop


Tom Gauld visits elf researchers at Santa’s North Pole Institute

Tom Gauld visits elf researchers at Santa’s North Pole Institute

8 December 2021

Tom Gauld's weekly cartoon


Twisteddoodles: The fourth state of (what really) matter(s)

Twisteddoodles: The fourth state of (what really) matter(s)

8 December 2021

This week's cartoon from Twisteddoodles


Bioluminescent fungi (possibly Omphalotus nidiformis / Pleurotus nidiformis) glowing on tree trunk in rainforest at night, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia. Highly commended in the Plants and Fungi category of Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition 2021

The eerie bioluminescence of the ghost fungus in all its glory

8 December 2021

This highly commended photograph in the Natural History Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition might just haunt your dreams


Finally, a perfume to give you that distinct whiff of Neanderthal

Finally, a perfume to give you that distinct whiff of Neanderthal

8 December 2021

Your chance to own an olfactory journey deep into humanity’s fragrant past, plus a black hole in the post and the people named after chemical elements, in Feedback’s weekly round-up


This week’s new questions

This week’s new questions

8 December 2021

Why is stretching after waking up so pleasant? And do any animals, other than humans, have a sense of their own mortality?


Aside from our perception, how can we know that time exists?

Aside from our perception, how can we know that time exists?

8 December 2021

More attempts to explain why time might be real rather than just a figment of our imaginations


2C5ENNJ Starry night sky with Ursa Major constellation or the Great Bear and the Big Dipper constellation

Is it just a coincidence that there are two dippers in the night sky?

8 December 2021

The fact that we see two dipper patterns of stars in the heavens is all down to our minds, say our readers


Dangerous Zika Infected Mosquito Skin Bite. Leishmaniasis, Encephalitis, Yellow Fever, Dengue, Malaria Disease, Mayaro or Zika Virus Infectious Culex Mosquito Parasite Insect Macro.

If mosquitoes were eradicated, what would be the consequences?

8 December 2021

From a human perspective, mosquitoes don't have many positives. What would be the ecological consequences if they were eradicated?


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Puzzle #143: Help figure out Spot's final resting place

8 December 2021

Can you solve this week's puzzle "X marks the Spot"? Plus the answer to Puzzle #142


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