12 June 2023
Language isolates, like Chimané from Bolivia, are unrelated to any other known tongue. Studying them is revealing how languages evolve and influence our perception of the world around us
6 June 2023
Synaesthesia is sometimes called an ‘extra ability’ that means some people mix colours and words or other sensory inputs. Now, it is becoming clear that it emerges in childhood to help us learn
12 October 2022
New Scientist's flagship event returns after a pandemic-induced hiatus. Here is our pick of the show, from a robot dog to Astronomer Royal Martin Rees telling us how science will save the world
11 July 2022
An algorithm created by AI firm DeepMind can distinguish between videos in which objects obey the laws of physics and ones where they don't
9 March 2022
"Deliberate erring" offers a surprising but effective way to enhance your memory and improve how you perform in many unexpected areas of life, says David Robson
26 February 2020
“Sleep-learning,” we observed half a century ago “is big business in the Soviet Union.” A slew of studies, experiments and trials from behind the Iron Curtain showed an enthusiasm for pumping information, such as lists of foreign words, into people whilst...
12 February 2020
An 18-year-old who was born without the left half of her brain scores well on IQ tests and plans to attend university, revealing our brain's incredible adaptability
26 November 2019
Thrush nightingales migrate to Africa during winter. While there, they experiment with new songs to impress mates during the spring breeding season in Europe
1 August 2019
Macaques are good puzzle solvers, but it was unclear if they use logic or just made choices to maximise their reward. Now a test shows logic really is involved
27 June 2019
When we rest, neurons fire to replay recent experiences – and doing so seems to improve our ability to use those experiences to make future decisions
