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Maths quiz helps paralysed people talk with their eyes

The automatic dilation of pupils that happens when you attempt a hard sum can help doctors to communicate with people who cannot move


Quantum weirdness: The battle for the basis of realityMovie Camera

Reality, relativity, causality or free will? Take quantum theory at face value and at least one of them is an illusion – but which, asks Michael Brooks


Pterosaurs deserve a place in the sun

The first animals to evolve powered flight have long been eclipsed by our insatiable appetite for dinosaurs. Let's hear it for Mark P. Witton's Pterosaurs


Solar furnace to keep race for hydrogen running hot

Is this a peek at the future of energy? A giant solar water-splitting array could help fuel a hydrogen revolution more efficiently than rival systems


Zoologger: Quail whip up a lovely sperm meringueMovie Camera

Male quail produce a strange foam that appears to help their sperm outcompete that of their rivals


Making medicine as ubiquitous as Coke in rural Africa

To get vital medicines to children in need throughout Zambia, one entrepreneur started taking cues from Coca-Cola


Apocalypse soon, if we keep on cutting science

Radical budget cuts are threatening not just US science, but its way of life


Cells that help you find your way identified in humans

The first direct evidence of human grid cells used to form a mental map could lead to treatments for the navigation issues associated with Alzheimer's


More girls born in Japan after quake skews sex ratio

Fewer boys than girls were born in the wake of the huge earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011


Was thalidomide cause of Brazil baby birth defects?

Birth defects in 100 Brazilian babies have been blamed on the use of thalidomide to treat leprosy in pregnant women, but the finding is controversial


Become the star of your own personalised manga comicMovie Camera

A Kinect system turns a user's poses into action-packed Japanese manga comics – with you as the star


Arabian flights: Early humans diverged in 150 years

Most detailed analysis yet of Y chromosomes reveals how rapidly humans split into three groups in Arabia after emerging from Africa


Uruguay vote moves the country towards legal cannabis

Uruguay looks set to become the first country to set up a legal market for cannabis, with laws described as a "cutting-edge experiment"


Radar gun spots vehicles with illegal GPS jammers

The next time you see a police officer wielding a speed gun, take a closer look. They might be seeking out satnav jammers


Steer me sideways: icebreaker attacks pack ice side-on

A new breed of icebreaker will accelerate the development of global shipping lanes in the Arctic


Medicine hunter of the Brazilian Amazon

Adrian Pohlit is investigating the medicinal properties of Amazonia's plants, and says the next big antimalarial drug may be growing right under our noses


Dances with molecules

Quantum chemistry shows you the dancing atoms you share the world with


Feedback: How to unwind your DNA

Paying for open-access, impersonating websites, gravity-defying beds, and more


Bradley Manning and "hacker madness" scare tactic

Technophobia may have played a role in the conviction of Bradley Manning for handing information to WikiLeaks, says an internet law specialist


Online gamers harnessed to help disaster response

Adding quests to tag damage in a virtual recreation of a stricken city means online gamers could help in the aftermath of a disaster – without leaving a game


Science in a photo: New Scientist Eureka prize winners

A charred elephant carcass and an egg-carrying sea dragon are among the top entries in this year's photography competition sponsored by New Scientist


Climate change may make civil wars much more common

The world could soon be a more violent place, according to research that pools existing studies on climate and conflict, but its conclusion is contentious


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