Google buys AI firm DeepMind to boost image search
Google's latest big-money purchase in its ongoing shopping spree is a British AI firm which has some clever ideas in gaming and image search
Antibiotic abyss: The extreme quest for new medicines
As antibiotic resistance increases, audacious expeditions are taking the quest for new medicines to the ocean depths. Not a moment too soon, says Jon White
What separates us from other animals?
We are unlike any other animal, but the differences are surprisingly difficult to pin down. The Gap by Thomas Suddendorf is the most comprehensive attempt yet
Scratch a mirror image of your itch to bring relief
A simple mirror illusion allows you to soothe an itch without scratching the affected area
Fastest routes revealed by mimicking electrical flow
A souped-up algorithm for solving the max flow problem could help find the best paths for moving goods across countries or routing information on the internet
H. flu fighter: Targeting a key bug in lung disease
The genetic secrets of a misnamed microbe could help ease a lung condition that affects hundreds of millions of people, says microbiologist Timothy Murphy
The u-bit may be omniscient, but it's no God particle
We have a new entity to help explain the universe: the omniscient, omnipresent and unseen u-bit. But let's resist the obvious analogy
Altered states: When brains trip out of this world
You can leave everyday reality in the blink of an eye. From epileptic transports to ecstasy, follow New Scientist into the mapless territories of the mind
Ancient European hunter-gatherer was a blue-eyed boy
A 7000-year-old hunter-gatherer found in a Spanish cave has a genome surprisingly similar to modern humans, with blue eyes and a host of immunity genes
Grand Canyon is a sprightly young 6-million-year-old
New measurements date Arizona's vast canyon to 6 million years ago, not 70 million years as has been suggested
Google's thermostat could spy on your home life
Smart-thermostat maker Nest is now owned by Google. It looks like a cosy domestic arrangement – but what might advertisers and police do with the data?
Artistic tales of Earth's two thawing poles
As climate change affects our planet's polar regions, art exploring the Arctic and Antarctica abounds. How does the latest exhibition, Out of Ice, compare?
Orion's life-support module prepares for launch
The Orion service module will keep astronauts alive on their way to the moon, an asteroid or even Mars – this prototype is getting ready for a test flight
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