Raw sewage floods UK rivers with faecal bacteria after heavy rainfall
Water samples from the river Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne during a rainstorm reveal high levels of faecal bacteria caused by raw sewage discharges ⌘ Read more

Extremely cold drop of helium can be levitated forever
A drop of very cold liquid helium can be made to float for an indefinitely long time using strong magnets and quantum effects ⌘ Read more

Ukraine Kakhovka dam explosion: Flooding is devastating wildlife
Thousands of people have been evacuated due to the breach of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine. In a briefing, a minister for the Ukraine government explained how it is also harming ecosystems and farms ⌘ Read more

See some of the images up for the Earth Photo 2023 competition
From a photograph of algae choking an Indian river to a shocking depiction of the wearing away of the UK coast, these are some of the pictures in the running for the contest ⌘ Read more

Octopuses edit their own genetic code to adapt to colder water
When the temperature drops, octopuses recode their RNA in thousands of places to alter the proteins made in their nerve cells ⌘ Read more

Turbulence on flights is getting worse because of climate change
Climate data from 1979 to 2020 shows that clear air turbulence is occurring more frequently – a predicted consequence of a warmer atmosphere ⌘ Read more

Why you shouldn’t believe claims that there are 7 types of ADHD
Popular psychiatrist Daniel Amen says there are 7 subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that display different patterns in the brain. As focus on ADHD rises, this idea is getting more attention – but it isn’t backed by the evidence ⌘ Read more

We finally know what causes morning sickness during pregnancy
A hormone called GDF15 has been identified as the cause of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, which should lead to ways to prevent and treat the most severe cases ⌘ Read more

Kīlauea volcano: Watch live footage of the eruption in Hawaii
The Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii has begun erupting, spewing volcanic gas and ash across the island ⌘ Read more

‘Doomsday’ glacier in Antarctica isn’t as vulnerable as feared
Thwaites glacier in Antarctica would cause massive sea level rise if it melts completely, but models suggest the break-up of the ice shelf in front of it won’t make it flow faster ⌘ Read more

Newt-sniffing dog called Freya is helping to locate elusive amphibians
Great crested newts live mostly underground, so they’re tricky to find – a researcher trained her dog, Freya, to detect the threatened amphibians deep in the soil with more than 87 per cent accuracy ⌘ Read more

How long does wildfire smoke last and is it dangerous?
Smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada has triggered air quality alerts across the northern US, including in New York City ⌘ Read more

DeepMind AI’s new way to sort objects could speed up global computing
Sorting algorithms are basic functions used constantly by computers around the world, so an improved one created by an artificial intelligence could make millions of programs run faster ⌘ Read more

Dried-up lake may explain why California is ‘overdue’ major earthquake
Pressure on the San Andreas fault from a now-dried lake could have been sufficient to trigger past major earthquakes in California. The lake’s disappearance could explain why there have been no such quakes for nearly 300 years ⌘ Read more

1.6-billion-year-old steroids may be traces of earliest complex life
Primitive steroids found in ancient Australian rocks may have been made by the earliest complex cells before they evolved into animals, plants, fungi and algae ⌘ Read more

The uncomfortable reality of life on Earth after we breach 1.5°C
Passing 1.5°C of global warming isn’t just a political disaster, it will have dire consequences for us all, as those living on the front line already know ⌘ Read more

Everything you need to know about the drugs Ozempic and Wegovy
From how well they work to side effects such as hair loss, here’s the skinny on new weight loss injections that work by blocking a hormone that normally reduces appetite ⌘ Read more

Male masturbation in primates evolved to cut chance of catching STIs
Masturbation in male primates seems to have evolved to boost reproductive success and cut the chance of getting a sexually transmitted infection, but the picture isn’t so clear for females ⌘ Read more

Asteroid City review: Is Wes Anderson film all style over substance?
A junior astronomy competition is spectacularly derailed by world-changing events in this star-studded film by Wes Anderson, but what is really going on? It’s complicated ⌘ Read more

Crocodiles can reproduce without males – and maybe dinosaurs could too
An egg laid by a female American crocodile with no access to males developed into a fully formed fetus in the first known case of “virgin birth” in a crocodilian ⌘ Read more

How your brain stays focused on conversations in a noisy room
The brain processes voices differently depending on the volume of the speaker and if the listener is focused on them ⌘ Read more

One-off injection may provide lifetime contraception for female cats
The long-pursued goal of a permanent, one-dose contraceptive may have been achieved in female cats and it should work in other species too ⌘ Read more

People with synaesthesia blend their senses - now we know why
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 ⌘ Read more

Kakhovka hydroelectric dam burst: What are the risks to human life?
The Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has been damaged in an explosion, possibly as a result of Russian attack. The resulting floods could have a major impact on people and wildlife ⌘ Read more

Massive Turing test shows we can only just tell AIs apart from humans
A test taken by more than 1.5 million people shows that the latest generation of artificial intelligences are almost indistinguishable from humans, at least in a brief conversation ⌘ Read more

Homo naledi may have made etchings on cave walls and buried its dead
New discoveries suggest that Homo naledi, an ancient and primitive hominin, may have displayed complex behaviour despite its small brain ⌘ Read more

Planes could soon run on pig fat – but it won’t reduce emissions
Airlines have plans to use biofuels made from animal fats to meet climate targets, but a report warns this could increase emissions via effects on other sectors ⌘ Read more

The nature of reality: Read our top quantum physics features for free
The quantum realm contains profound mysteries. Here, New Scientist editors have selected some of our most mind-bending feature-length articles about the deepest layer of reality we know ⌘ Read more

Superbugs will struggle to evolve resistance to unusual new antibiotic
A much-needed new kind of antibiotic can kill bacteria such as MRSA and works in a way that makes it extremely difficult for resistance to evolve ⌘ Read more

Ovarian cancer test could detect disease earlier than current methods
A test based on seven chemicals found in uterine fluid outperformed the leading tool for diagnosing early-stage ovarian cancer – a disease that is usually spotted late and is frequently deadly ⌘ Read more

City in Sierra Leone covers buildings in mirrors to fight extreme heat
People in Freetown, Sierra Leone, are increasingly exposed to extreme heat due to climate change and the urban heat island effect, but covering homes in a reflective film significantly cut indoor temperatures ⌘ Read more

Compound found in octopus ink kills cancer cells but not others
Ozopromide, which is found in octopus ink, could kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones intact. The finding could be used to develop new cancer treatments ⌘ Read more

Why is China drilling a hole more than 10,000 metres deep?
An oil company in China has started drilling a hole that would be the deepest in the country and among the deepest in the world ⌘ Read more

Pneumatic computer uses pressure instead of electricity
A computer chip made of glass and silicone holds liquids that move from one side of the chip to the other in reaction to pressure changes. This has been used to control and automate miniaturised biochemistry experiments ⌘ Read more