New Scientist

Viruses are supposed to be utterly reliant on the cells they infect but it appears a few giant viruses might be capable of producing their own energy, which may fuel the debate over whether they are

An unexpected molecule spotted in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan has never been seen on any planet or moon before – it may help form the building blocks of life

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

A computer model can work out the words the person is typing during a video call just by tracking the movement of their shoulders and arms in the video stream

Mary Anning's later life is explored in Ammonite, starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. The film does a good job of showing the hard work involved in paleontology, but the portrayal of Anning isn't entirely based on fact

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Researchers have successfully tested a new £55 million nuclear fusion machine in the UK which could help tackle problems caused by the super high temperatures involved in fusion reactions

Octopuses use their arms to ‘lick’ prey – which researchers say adds to evidence that the cephalopods’ eight appendages are analogous to tongues with ‘hands’ and ‘brains’

The ogre-faced spider catches flying insects in a web-like net without being able to see them – we now know it is because the spider can hear them with its legs

Diseases like covid-19 come from wild animals, so reducing unsustainable practices like deforestation could stop future outbreaks from happening, according to a global biodiversity report

Earth may have experienced three geological big bangs in which its tectonic plates started to move 30 to 50 per cent faster than normal – this may have influenced the evolution of life

China pledged last month to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, but to do so may require extracting 2.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide from the air each year

Cameras attached to whales to study their behaviour have also revealed that the remora fish that ride along with them prefer to stay behind the whale’s blowhole to limit drag

A robot with wings that move like a hawk’s can fly more stably and nimbly than other flying robots – and it uses less power, extending flight time

The new Star Wars game puts you inside the cockpits of the iconic X-wing and TIE fighter spacecraft. It's fun, but Star Wars: Squadrons is a good game rather than a great one, says Jacob Aron

Rockets eventually run out of fuel, which limits how far they can go. But now we are mastering the art of solar sailing, we can expect to keep exploring into distant, uncharted space

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These intricate plant images are a nod to Victorian botanical techniques, which used silver to expose the inner beauty of plants – here collected by photographer William Arnold on country walks

Why did a dying 19th-century robber want his skin to become a book cover? This Halloween, Anatomica and Dark Archives reveal our changing relationship with the body

Claims that solanine, a toxic compound found in many plants, exacerbates arthritis are a staple of health columns – but there’s no sound science to back this up, finds James Wong