How the prisoner's dilemma changes diners' etiquette
Artichoke and parmesan salad or chicken's foot soup? Jacob Aron attends a bizarre banquet to find out what happens when betrayal and trust set the menu
Matchstick-sized sensor can record your private chats
A sensor previously used for military operations can now be tuned to secretly locate and record any single conversation on a busy street
3D-printed objects outgrow their printers
Using fractal-based algorithms that break an object down into a long, foldable chain, we can now 3D print and assemble items larger than the printer itself
'Black holes' of the ocean could curb climate change
Swirling ocean currents are mathematically like black holes – and could slow polar thawing by carrying warm water away
Why space has exactly three dimensions
The explanation of one of reality's greatest mysteries could lie in physics we already know
Gun control: We need a new conversation
The lack of evidence on firearms violence can, ironically, be turned to the advantage of gun control advocates if they get their story straight
Climate science: Why the world won't listen
When it comes to climate change, facts don't speak for themselves. Communicators need to find better ways to connect, says Adam Corner
DNA-grabbing bacteria hint at early phase of evolution
Microorganisms can scoop up bits of ancient DNA and build them into their own genomes. The first organisms may have done the same thing
HIV infection figures tumbling around the world
Increases in the availability of antiviral therapies have halved the number of new HIV infections in children since 2001
Man controls new prosthetic leg using thought alone
Rerouting important sensory nerves during a leg amputation has allowed a man to walk and climb stairs again using his robotic limb
Fish oils don't boost brain power
Oft championed as brain boosters, omega-3s from nuts and fish don't seem to improve memory or motor skills in older women
First interactive map of galaxy's habitable planets
Using data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope, New Scientist has made a map of the stars that might host roughly Earth-sized, potentially habitable planets
Fish fossil suggests our skeleton evolved face first
A 419-million-year-old fish with an exquisitely preserved set of jawbones is challenging the way we think about the evolution of modern skeletons – and sharks
Astrophile: Early Earth was a hot young smoker
Before plate tectonics kicked in, our planet was a lot like Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, spewing lava through heat pipes that built our strong, rigid crust
First nanotube computer could spark carbon revolution
Watch out, silicon: the first computer made from carbon nanotubes has finally crunched its first numbers
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