People-safe robot is first non-human to close NASDAQ
Robot arm UR5 was yesterday chosen to ring the bell that closes the New York stock exchange, marking the launch of a robot-specific stock market index
4D printing will mean the future makes itself
Manufacturing will soon mean putting the parts in one place – then shaking until they come together, says Skylar Tibbits, head of MIT's Self-Assembly Lab
World's oldest string found at French Neanderthal site
What could be the earliest direct evidence of string has been found at a site in south-east France occupied by Neanderthals 90,000 years ago
Fit for thinking: The best brain boosters
Sharpen your wits with New Scientist as your brain gym instructor and everything from aerobics to music on the menu
Zoologger: Sea slugs stab partners in head during sex
A species of sea slug squirts chemicals into its partner's head during mating, perhaps in a bid to take control of its brain
Himalayan fossils point to Asian origin of big cats
The discovery of the oldest big cat fossil in Tibet suggests the region was the centre of big cat evolution
Options running out for the US death penalty
With lethal injection drugs in short supply, state prison systems are turning to untested methods and questionable suppliers
Alien life may flourish on purple planets
If any rocky planets beyond the solar system host microbes similar to the ones on early Earth, we should be able to spot their telltale purple hue
Helium-filled airplane could help in disaster zones
A bulbous aircraft with a helicopter-like rotor and belly full of helium could haul cargo and land almost anywhere, its designers claim
Ban on discarding unwanted catch won't save fisheries
Stopping fishing boats throwing unwanted catch overboard won't protect fish stocks – that will need tough new science-based quotas on total catches
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