1+ mon, 4+ week 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…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago  (594+ words) Female orangutans are generally solitary, but they travel more and eat less in an apparent effort to ensure their offspring have someone to play with Female orangutans usually raise a single infant at a timeANDREY GUDKOV/Alamy Orangutan mothers seem…...

1+ week, 4+ day 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+ week, 4+ day ago  (431+ words) Feedback is delighted to explore research digging into the relationship between a reptile's body mass and the length of its Wikipedia entry – but would like to throw Godzilla into the mix Feedback is New Scientist’s popular sideways look at the…...

1+ mon, 1+ 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…...

1+ mon, 1+ day ago  (196+ words) Poaching and a changing climate forced the northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) out of the northern foothills of the Alps around 400 years ago. But now they are on their way back. The birds are hand-raised by human carers and form…...

1+ 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…...

1+ mon, 4+ week ago  (195+ words) The illegal trade in live and dead animals funds crime and political corruption and threatens biodiversity. Sadly, prosecutions are rare. Alexandra Thomas and Louise Gibson at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) Wildlife Forensic Lab are working on techniques to…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (353+ words) The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week A shot from Karmela’s trip to The Bone Museum, New York Have you ever found yourself spending a Saturday morning staring at a wall covered in…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (1274+ words) A wave of dinosaur discoveries over the past decade has completely reshaped our understanding of these long-extinct animals. Palaeontologist Dave Hone spills the secrets of how dinosaurs lived, from how social they were to how much they really fought Hone,…...