New Scientist - Home

1. Dinosaurs may have first evolved in the Sahara and Amazon rainforest
   Many think dinosaurs first emerged on land well south of the equator that now forms part of Argentina and Zimbabwe, but they may have actually arisen in tougher conditions near the equator
2. An orchid uses a finger-like appendage to pollinate itself
   More than 130 years after a fungus-eating orchid species was discovered, the purpose of its mysterious appendage has been revealed
3. Dark oxygen: New deep sea expedition to explore mysterious discovery
   The shock discovery that metallic nodules could be producing oxygen in the deep sea made headlines last year – now the team behind it is launching a new project to confirm and explain the findings
4. The human sense of smell is quite good, and matters more than you know
   Smell is often dismissed as a less important sense, but it makes our lives much more vivid, says Jonas Olofsson
5. Why giving Jurassic Park's velociraptors feathers is a good thing
   Feedback is delighted by a YouTuber's sterling efforts to make Michael Crichton's velociraptors more accurate – but points out that they're still far too big
6. What should we do about societal divisions that run deeper than ever?
   Kurt Gray's new book Outraged is a clear and insightful look at our society's deep divides, with valuable tips on building bridges
7. Wake up to the bigger picture on how to get a better night’s sleep
   We often obsess about nighttime routines for good sleep, but mounting evidence shows that what we do during our waking hours is also important – a more holistic view that could ease the modern pressure to create a perfect environment for when our heads hit the pillow
8. Extremely cold atoms can selectively defy entropy
   When their quantum properties are precisely controlled, some ultracold atoms can resist the laws of physics that suggest everything tends towards disorder
9. The new science of sleep: How to sleep better whatever your lifestyle
   We all know the tired old advice about how to get the best night's rest, but it can be hard to follow in the real world. A more personalised and holistic approach could help
10. Twisted crystals show hints of a new kind of superconductivity
    A double layer of tungsten diselenide behaves as a superconductor at very low temperatures, which could suggest a new route to developing materials that do so at room temperature