New Scientist

New Scientist covers the latest developments in science and technology that will impact your world. New Scientist employs and commissions the best writers in their fields from all over the world. Our editorial team provide cutting-edge news, award-winning features and reports, written in concise and clear language that puts discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life today and in the future.

Sleep easy • Why you should stop worrying about how many hours you get

New Scientist

Strange symbols may rewrite history • Mysterious engravings suggest that a form of proto-writing was used in Europe tens of thousands of years before the emergence of a full writing system, finds Alison George

A horse’s whinny is unlike any other sound in nature

A new hope for treating migraines • Fresh insights into the causes of migraines are prompting us to take a closer look at a drug target that was sidelined 25 years ago, discovers Caroline Williams

Atmospheric pollution caused by space junk could be a huge problem

Giant tortoises return home • Floreana Island has welcomed back a keystone species

Tiny genome pushes the boundaries of life

Why some people can’t move on from the death of a loved one

Spinosaurs may have hunted like herons

How baby gut microbes differ across the world

Ultramarathons could have a downside • Running long distances may cause your red blood cells to age faster and change shape

No hint of alien civilisation on distant water world

Giant viruses more alive than we think • Discovery raises questions about the boundary between living and non-living organisms

Laser on the moon may be able to guide future lunar landings

Data could be stored inside glass for thousands of years

Dream hacking helps people solve problems in their sleep

Is our galaxy’s black hole made of dark matter? • An exotic type of dark matter could explain some of the characteristics of our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, but many cosmologists are wary of the idea, finds Leah Crane

The mystery of nuclear ‘magic numbers’ has finally been resolved

More dog breeds found to be at risk of breathing condition

Ultra-processed foods could be making you age faster • The evidence is becoming clearer that we have been missing an important contributor to premature ageing, says Graham Lawton

Can we ever know the shape of the universe? • From a sheet to a saddle or something else entirely, Leah Crane explores what observations tell us about the size and shape of our universe

Moon rescue

Three other great books on the solar system

What the planets are telling us • From ice ages to asteroid strikes, an epic book shows how important looking outwards has been for humans. Alex Wilkins surveys the cosmic sweep

New Scientist recommends

The TV column • Hiding away The appetite for post-apocalyptic life – especially in bunkers – seems to know no bounds, as front-runners Fallout, Paradise and Silo return, finds Bethan Ackerley

A peek into the future • Juice, a thrilling tale of climate change retribution amid blistering heat, got our book club members talking, says Alison Flood

What we are reading in March

Your letters

Switch on! • It is your perception of sleep that is making you feel tired all day. Helen Thomson looks at how to trick yourself into feel more energised

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED?

Modern warfare • Since being invaded by Russia four years ago, Ukraine has built a drone industry from scratch to fight back. Matthew Sparkes gained exclusive access to its drone factories and military training schools to see how the nature of war has changed

Ukraine is building a cheap and...