A large number of damaging and deadly hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, floods and droughts this year were photographed from land, air and space
In the quest for better skin, we are faced with an overwhelming choice of creams and serums to enhance our appearance. Here's what works – and what doesn't
The songs of male humpback whales seem to become more complex in the months before they look for a mate, suggesting a rehearsal period may be important for good performance
The geometric Langlands conjecture poses deep questions for mathematicians, and a 1000-page proof published this year has left them both celebrating and puzzled
The latest AI model from OpenAI achieved an “impressive leap in performance” but it still hasn’t demonstrated what experts classify as human-level intelligence
There is more research than ever focused on reflecting sunlight away from the planet to cool the climate – but there are still far more questions than answers about the effects
A US ban on the video-sharing app TikTok is set to take effect in early 2025 – but the country's Supreme Court and President-elect Donald Trump could still change that
An experiment showing that quantum and classical communication can be carried out through the same fibre at the same time may open the door to building a quantum internet with existing infrastructure
The Ingenuity autonomous helicopter surpassed all expectations to fly dozens of missions over several years on the Red Planet, only stopping this year when an accident damaged one of its rotors
Hundreds of community websites run for fans of everything from cycling to Sunderland AFC may be forced to shut down by the UK's Online Safety Act, which is designed to protect children from harmful content
We asked New Scientist writers to pick their favourite sci-fi short story. From H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine to Octavia E. Butler’s Bloodchild, via stories from George R. R. Martin and Ursula K. Le Guin, here are the results
Using descriptions of flavours or chemical data, artificial intelligence can tell apart whiskies from different countries and identify their constituent aromas
Advances in artificial intelligence mean that machines can now perform certain diagnostic tasks with far better accuracy than human doctors - but the picture is more complicated than you might think
Analysing footage of what happens when people jump into water, and using a robot to mimic them, has revealed how do the perfect dive-bomb using a Maori technique called the Manu
This year has delivered some awe-inspiring imagery of space, from the James Webb Space Telescope’s stunning shots of faraway stars and galaxies to images of the skies taken from here on planet Earth
Scientists have generated human stem cell models which contain notochord -- a tissue in the developing embryo that acts like a navigation system, directing cells where to build the spine and nervous system (the trunk).
Small robots directed by magnetic fields can cooperatively lift heavy objects, form floating rafts and push through clogs. They may one day deliver drugs within the human body
Electronics made using diamond-based chips would have many advantages, but have been hard to make – a new technique involving sticky tape could change that
Microgravity is known to alter the muscles, bones, the immune system and cogni tion, but little is known about its specific impact on the brain. To discover how brain cells respond to microgravity, scientists sent tiny clumps of...
Biological nanopore technology revolutionised DNA sequencing – now it has been adapted for analysing alcoholic drinks, providing a quick test for quality and safety
An asteroid orbiting near our planet that temporarily became our second moon seems to have come from the actual moon, hinting that a hidden population of lunar rocks is drifting in space
Renewable energy continued to grow in 2024, and there were other hopeful developments in technologies aiming to reverse the rise in greenhouse gas emissions
One of the biggest uncertainties in the ongoing AI revolution is whether these systems can legally be trained on copyrighted data. Now, the UK says it plans to clarify the matter with a change to the law
The fossilised remains of an ancient carnivore provide intriguing hints about how early relatives of mammals began regulating their own body temperature
A long-envisioned futuristic world of humanoid robots doing all the work has yet to arrive, but these startling images reveal some of the surprising ways that advanced robotics is becoming more ubiquitous in people's lives
A review of chemical exposures across 38 countries finds common plastic products are linked to millions of cases of heart disease and thousands of strokes
A novel drug holds promise for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic disorder that causes severe muscle degeneration. Researchers have discovered that an experimental compound called K884 can boost the natural repair...
A cheap method for forming the tiny components of chips, such as transistors and diodes, harnesses simple fluid physics to make the electronics self-assembling
The age of the rings that encircle Saturn is under dispute thanks to calculations that show they could have been formed billions – rather than millions – of years ago
The past 12 months have been packed for the world’s wealthiest person as he has juggled Tesla, X, Neuralink, SpaceX and relations with Donald Trump – has it been a success?
At least 37 men, women and children were brutally murdered in the largest massacre known in Bronze Age Britain, possibly in a performance of ritualistic violence
The Greater Mekong region of Asia hosts a wealth of rare and unstudied species – 173 new species of plants, 26 reptiles, 17 amphibians, 15 fish and three mammals were described last year. Here are six of them
Geologists estimate Earth contains several trillion tonnes of natural hydrogen that could be used as a clean fuel, but a global search for large reserves hasn’t delivered so far
Intermittent fasting has proven benefits for metabolic health, but a new study shows that it could slow hair growth -- at least in mice. Researchers report that mice subjected to intermittent fasting regimes showed improved metabolic...
The ability to admit ignorance could be a sign of truly intelligent AI, and a new quiz of unsolved or perhaps even unsolvable questions aims to put this idea to the test