4+ mon, 10+ hour ago   (129+ words) James Woodford is a reporter at New Scientist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of seven books focusing on popular science, nature and sustainability. His most recent books were about the marine environment, including joining teams of scientists…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago   (212+ words) The vibrant colours and delicate details of New Zealand's fungi and slime moulds are documented in these images, taken from Jay Lichter's new book The Secret Life of Fungi A ruby bonnet fungus The ruby bonnet fungus (Cruentomycena viscidocruenta), pictured…...

3+ mon, 3+ day ago   (682+ words) Palaeontologist Steve Brusatte's The Story of Birds offers an excellent and sometimes startling account of bird evolution, finds Michael Marshall The Story of Birds Steve Brusatte, Picador (UK); Mariner Books (US) Steve Brusatte is three for three. His debut book…...

3+ mon, 4+ week ago   (598+ words) In Ladakh, Himalayan wolves are increasingly breeding with feral dogs, giving rise to a new animal known as khipshang that could injure humans and outcompete other carnivores The hybrid known as khipshang is bigger than a wolf but smaller than…...

5+ mon, 1+ week ago   (147+ words) Some of the thousands of trucks that transport soya beans down a road in the AmazonLalo de Almeida/Folhapress/Panos​ Workers collecting soya beans from an overturned truck that has spilled its cargoLalo de Almeida/Folhapress/Panos​ Children play near…...

6+ mon, 1+ day ago   (818+ words) The story of a wildflower that adapted to a severe drought in California raises hopes that evolution will come to the rescue of species hit by climate change, but there are limits A cracked riverbed along the Sacramento River during…...

6+ mon, 1+ week ago   (762+ words) Feedback is pleased to discover another delightfully unconventional unit of measurement, which is used to convey amounts of snow on Ottawa's Rideau canal Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the latest science and technology news. You can submit…...

6+ mon, 1+ week ago   (330+ words) The end-Permian extinction 252 million years ago wiped out over 80 per cent of marine species, but many ecosystems still had complex food webs despite the losses Artwork of a Hybodus shark, a predator that evolved in the late Permian and survived…...

7+ mon, 3+ day ago   (470+ words) Biologists have long thought that speaking to nature’s economic value would persuade boardrooms it was worth saving. It hasn’t worked – so what, if anything, will? Ryan Wills for New Scientist How climate change has pushed our oceans to the brink…...

7+ mon, 3+ day ago   (617+ words) Scientists have captured remarkable footage of the young of a mouse-sized marsupial, called a fat-tailed dunnart, making their way to their mother’s pouch soon after being born Minuscule marsupial newborns that weigh less than a grain of rice have been…...