Plastic rubbish takes egg's place in albatross nest
Plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is finding its way into albatross nests – and can prove lethal to their young
American chestnut set for genetically modified revival
New strains of American chestnuts are resistant to a devastating fungus and pass on resistance to their offspring, suggesting that the trees can be restored
Pirates incoming! Ship radar keeps watch and hits back
A system called WatchStander looks for small vessels aiming to intercept ships, automatically sounding an alarm or launching countermeasures
Ultimate solar system could contain 60 Earths
The laws of physics potentially allow one binary star system to contain a surprisingly large number of Earth-like planets, assuming there is enough matter to form the worlds
Scotland: Wind will power the Scots' green ambitions
Many fear independence will make it too pricey for Scotland to generate the equivalent of 100 per cent of its own power consumption with renewables. Not so
Feedback: Primary school puzzler
Mysteries of progress, Telepathic Transport for London, The Brussels Interpretation of political mechanics and more
SpaceX unveils sleek, reusable Dragon crew capsule
At a gala in California, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed what could become the first private vehicle to ferry people to and from the space station
Curved screens make our brains light up with pleasure
Why are ever more curved-screen gadgets being launched? It seems bendiness has deep aesthetic appeal and will spur new materials and manufacturing methods
Eye candy: Video game visuals that hijack your brain
Game makers are hiring psychologists to develop a formula for compulsive behaviour. What are the ingredients that can hook us onto the simplest of games?
Scotland: Four futures for an independent Scotland
If the people of Scotland vote for their country's independence, this brand new nation could have four very different futures
Teen growth spurt left Richard III with crooked spine
The skeleton found in a Leicester car park in 2012 shows signs of adolescent onset idiopathic scoliosis – a condition that causes the spine to curve relatively late in development
Hidden paintings of Angkor Wat appear in digital images
Mysterious 16th-century art from Cambodia's legendary temple lives again in enhanced digital images that reveal more than the human eye can see
Europe's eagles under threat from vulture-killing drug
A drug that has almost wiped out south Asia's once-numerous vultures also seems to kill eagles, and it is now available in Europe and Africa
Suicide watch prison sensor keeps an eye on inmates
A sensor that keeps tabs on inmates' breathing rate and heartbeat could save lives in the slammer
Obsession engineers: Mind control the Candy Crush way
How do you design a hit video game? Psychologists are diagnosing what gets us addicted – a recipe for obsession that could hurt or heal us
Scotland: Ape Israel to build a start-up nation
If an independent Scotland decides become a serious player on the world's tech start-up scene, it would do well to look to Israel's success for inspiration
We are killing species at 1000 times the natural rate
Bad news, we are extinguishing species at an astonishing rate without knowing how many we can lose before ecosystems collapse
Scotland: Oil and gas at heart of Scots' future wealth
There is up to 24 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas left under the North Sea that could kick-start Scotland's future as an independent nation
Forget the dentist's drill, use lasers to heal teeth
Shining light on stem cells beneath a damaged tooth could make the tissue at the core of our teeth regrow
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
