Infections in England continue to rise but the rate of increase may be slowing down, according to preliminary results from the REACT-1 study. The study tracks coronavirus within communities through random swab testing theguardian.com/world/2020/oct…
India has announced further easing of its coronavirus restrictions. The government said it will allow states to reopen cinemas, multiplexes and exhibition centres with 50% capacity from 15 October reuters.com/article/pvr-st…
Australian PM says New Zealanders will soon be allowed to travel to Australia without quarantining stuff.co.nz/travel/news/12…
Regional authorities in Spain have questioned the legality of new lockdown measures imposed on Madrid earlier this week bbc.com/news/world-eur…
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
Albania's Vjosa river was due to be the site of a massive hydroelectric dam, but in March the Albanian government declared the entirety of the Vjosa a wild river national park, the first (and probably last) of its kind in Europe. newscientist.com/article/mg2583…
Dams are disastrous for biodiversity and other crucial ecological gifts rivers bestow upon us. So the saving of the Vjosa is a big win for nature – including the critically endangered Balkan lynx and an inspiration for other river conservation projects newscientist.com/article/213447…
In 2007, construction for a 108-megawatt power plant across the lower reaches of the Vjosa began , however endless delays and decades later the government pulled the plug