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Quick crossword #113: Bright star in the constellation Cygnus (5)

28 July 2022

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


The pornography-detection cap that reads your mind

The pornography-detection cap that reads your mind

27 July 2022

Feedback raises an eyebrow at the cap which reads brainwaves to help China detect pornography, while also investigating secret cannabis facilities in Australia - and grave-robbing badgers


Portrait closeup shot of Asian little curious elementary girl with bunches pigtail hairstyle wears safety goggles looking at water bottle blowing green rubber balloon experiment teach by teacher.; Shutterstock ID 1985510477; purchase_order: 30 July 2022 issue; job: Photo; client: NS; other:

Reimagined bicarb volcano could spark your children's love for science

27 July 2022

Homemade science "experiments" are full of spectacle, but often miss the joy of true discovery. Alom Shaha offers a simple solution with his twist on the classic bubble volcano


UMD Dental 08/20/10 10:39 6500 7.0 80.0 Imaging #10-041-21 #0882 Necropsy PBMC's Colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. C -757.99464 -316.911008 0.07 XpixCal=685.711 YpixCal=685.711 Unit=micron ##fv3

Monkeypox failings show world hasn't learned lessons of the pandemic

27 July 2022

That another virus has sparked a global health emergency so soon after covid-19 is an indictment of the Western world's long-running complacency over emerging diseases


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This week’s new questions

27 July 2022

If you wrote a word on a ball of string, then unravelled it, how challenging would it be to decipher the word? Howard Owens, Exeter, Devon, UK


Why do little children run everywhere instead of walking? (continued)

Why do little children run everywhere instead of walking? (continued)

27 July 2022

Children tend to run rather than walk due to prehistoric habits suggests one reader, but it could also be to do with their strength and balance


Close up of hand holding compass business navigate, passing through the crisis and growth in the economic.; Shutterstock ID 2115345185; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

At what height do navigation compasses stop working?

27 July 2022

Compasses will continue to work a long way from Earth’s surface - but it’s at the poles that you’ve got to worry


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Does anything actually cure hiccups?

27 July 2022

New Scientist readers share their tried and tested methods for stopping hiccups


Puzzle #178: Can you work out the number on the monster’s third head?

Puzzle #178: Can you work out the number on the monster’s third head?

27 July 2022

Can you solve this week’s arithmetical puzzle, Hydra? Plus the answer to puzzle #177


Two Astronauts wearing Space Suits Standing on Alien Planet and Looking at Something. Futuristic Space Exploration, Discovery and Colonization.

The Moonday Letters review: Genre-busting sci-fi extols hope as a duty

27 July 2022

In Emmi Itäranta's The Moonday Letters, humans have adapted to live off-world. But central to this genre-crashing thrill ride is a reminder that hope is essential


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