BREAKING: Data from two ground-based telescopes have discovered small quantities of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus. There are no known non-biological mechanisms of making the gas on Venus, so it *may* be being produced by alien microbes. (1/5) newscientist.com/article/225441…
The only way phosphine is made on Earth is in laboratories or by microbes. It also exists deep inside giant planets, but its formation requires conditions that don’t exist on Venus. (2/5)
Researchers tested a variety of ways to produce phosphine on Venus, from atmospheric chemistry to volcanism to delivery by meteorite, but they couldn’t account for the amount of phosphine observed in the data. (3/5)
Only two scenarios remain: either there is something going on in Venus’ clouds that we don’t understand, or whatever is producing all that phosphine is alive. To be sure where it is coming from. we will probably have to send a spacecraft to Venus to take a closer look. (4/5)
Our space reporter @downhereonearth will be answering your questions here for the next hour. Fire away!
Crammed full of festive stories, from how to catch a fart to the surprising maths behind coincidences, there is so much to explore in our jam-packed double issue.
Dog owners often wonder what's really going on between their pets' fluffy ears. Now, savvy experiments and new technology are finally giving us a clearer glimpse. newscientist.com/article/mg2643…
What do Charles Darwin, Nikola Tesla, and Mike Tyson have in common? If you said a love for the world’s most frequently derided bird, you’d be right! newscientist.com/article/mg2643…
The discovery that faulty metabolism is at the root of many brain diseases suggests a surprising way to protect our brains from the ravages of ageing newscientist.com/article/mg2573…
If you own a car, you will have noticed the engine getting less efficient with time
The further you drive it, the more fuel it takes to make the same journey – until, eventually, it becomes so underpowered that it needs a physical push to climb even a gentle hill
Now, it is emerging that much the same is true of the human brain
Microscopic structures called mitochondria, found in every brain cell, are quite literally the engines of our thoughts and feelings
Researchers are building models of everything from black holes to the big bang in tanks of liquid. Now some claim these surprisingly simple models are showing us where our theories of space-time are wrong. newscientist.com/article/mg2583…
This is a black hole. Well, not a black hole in the common sense. Germain Rousseaux’s experiment at @InstitutPprime is a physical model of how the immense gravity of black holes can suck in waves – conventionally light waves, but in this case water waves – so they can’t escape.
It is what is known in the trade as a “gravity analogue”, and it is far from the only one. Over the years, researchers have created dozens of these tabletop models of everything from black holes to the entire infant cosmos! newscientist.com/definition/bla…
Researchers are building models of everything from black holes to the big bang in tanks of liquid. Now some claim these surprisingly simple models are showing us where our theories of space-time are wrong newscientist.com/article/mg2583…
From meeting an older version of yourself in virtual reality to writing letters from the future, these evidence-based tricks can help you improve your health and happiness. newscientist.com/article/mg2583…
Exciting news! New Scientist’s book club launches today, and we’re kicking things off with the excellent science fiction novel The Ferryman by Justin Cronin (@jccronin)
Justin Cronin's new science fiction novel transmutes the familiar trope of a utopia with a dark secret into a deep story with humanity at its centre. Read along with us at #NewScientistBookClubnewscientist.com/article/mg2583…
Are plants conscious?
Radical new experiments hint at sentience and cognition throughout the botanical kingdom, which may provoke a rethink of our understanding of the human mind newscientist.com/article/mg2553…twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
You’ve probably seen the way a Mimosa pudica plant, also called the touch-me-not, folds its leaves when they are touched
But you may not have heard that if you put one into a sealed chamber with a dose of anaesthetic, it will eventually stop reacting to touch, as though it has been knocked out or put to sleep