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Cryptic crossword #94: Metalloid plant outside entrance to mine (9)

13 October 2022

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

This week’s new questions

12 October 2022

If the odds are always tipped in favour of the casino, how do professional gamblers make a living? And, since the time of Christopher Columbus, Europe has benefited from crops from the Americas, such as potatoes. But what crops grew in Europe that Native...

DRE532 Elephant (Loxodonta africana) waving its trunk sitting in the waterhole of Gwarrie Pan, Addo Elephant Park, South Africa

Why do humans have pubic hair? (Part 2)

12 October 2022

The previous answers to this question discussed the protective effects of pubic hair, but could the reason we have it be down to smell?

An image of a human retina taken during an eye exam

What happens to a photon after it hits the retina of my eye?

12 October 2022

A photon of light enters an entirely new phase of existence once it hits the back of our eye

Part of the Guadiana river has dried up and gives way to dry land under the Puente de la Mesta medieval bridge in Villarta de los Montes, in the central-western Spanish region of Extremadura, on August 16, 2022. - Temperatures in Spain have been very high this summer with several unusual heat waves. Scientists say human-induced climate change is making extreme weather events including heatwaves and droughts more frequent and more intense. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

Where is the water that Europe and China are missing this year?

12 October 2022

Certain parts of the world have experienced severe drought this year, and our readers pinpoint where this “missing water” has gone

Human hibernation sounds fanciful, but it may now be saving lives

12 October 2022

Trials involving swapping blood for cold saline show that exploring extraordinary ideas can lead to incredible benefits for human health

Puzzle #189: Can you work out what the time was?

12 October 2022

Can you solve this week’s arithmetical puzzle, Going back in time? Plus the answer to puzzle #188

Brain training apps claim to make us smarter, but there is no evidence

12 October 2022

There are plenty of apps that offer mental exercises claiming to make users smarter the more they play. Not only are they not much fun, but studies show they have no effect on performance, says Adrian Hon

fresh purple heirloom tomatoes on the vine in a garden; Shutterstock ID 789045547; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Why I am keen to get my hands on genetically modified purple tomatoes

12 October 2022

The first home-grown genetically modified food may be on the horizon, in the form of purple tomatoes, finds Clare Wilson

Hardspace: Shipbreaker review: strip spacecraft for parts in orbit

12 October 2022

This video game lets you work as a salvager in low Earth orbit. Essentially, it is like building a Lego set in reverse, and, like Lego, it is a very satisfying experience, finds Jacob Aron