New Scientist - Home

1. US government fired researchers running a crucial drug use survey
   A termination letter obtained by New Scientist reveals that the Trump administration has gutted the office that runs the country’s only nationwide survey on drug use and mental health
2. How nothing could destroy the universe
   The concept of nothing once sparked a 1000-year-long war, today it might explain dark energy and nothingness even has the potential to destroy the universe, explains physicist Antonio Padilla
3. NASA cut $420 million for climate science, moon modelling and more
   Under pressure from Elon Musk’s DOGE task force, NASA is cancelling grants and contracts for everything from lunar dust research to educational programmes
4. The animals revealing why human culture isn't as special as we thought
   Even animals with very small brains turn out to have cultural traditions, which poses a puzzler for biologists wondering what makes human culture unique
5. Do Ozempic and Wegovy really cause hair loss?
   As semaglutide-based weight loss treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy become more popular, new side effects are emerging – and one is hair loss
6. Aged human urine is a pungent pesticide as well as a fertiliser
   Urine that has sat in the sun for a while seems to fertilise crops while warding off pests, without affecting the produce's taste
7. Monkeys use crafty techniques to get junk food from tourists
   At the Dakshineswar temple complex in India, Hanuman langurs beg for food by grabbing visitors’ legs or tugging on their clothes – and they don’t stop until they get their favourite snacks
8. US bridges are at risk of catastrophic ship collisions every few years
   After a container ship struck and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, researchers began calculating the risks of similar catastrophic incidents for other US bridges – and they’re surprisingly high
9. Cave spiders use their webs in a way that hasn't been seen before
   Cave-dwelling orb spiders have adapted their webs so they act as tripwires for prey that crawl on the walls of the caves
10. A revolutionary new understanding of autism in girls
    By studying the brains of autistic girls, we now know the condition presents differently in them than in boys, suggesting that huge numbers of women have gone undiagnosed