Children benefit from the right sort of screen time
Screens don't have to be bad. Handing your child an iPad for a moment's peace could do more good than harm – if you choose the digital distraction wisely
Dolphin whistle instantly translated by computer
Software has performed the first real-time translation of a dolphin whistle – and better data tools are giving fresh insights into primate communication too
Billiard table chaos wins $1 million maths prize
Cutting a hole in the pool table won't win favour at your local bar, but it can teach us more about chaotic systems such as the climate or planetary motion
Gunshot victims to be suspended between life and death
Doctors will try to save the lives of 10 patients with knife or gunshot wounds by placing them in suspended animation, buying time to fix their injuries
Threatwatch: Will deadly Ebola become more contagious?
The current outbreak is in equatorial Africa as were all those before it, but the killer virus may evolve the ability to spread further afield
Why our brains work better with age
Cognitive decline is a myth, say Michael Ramscar and Harald Baayen. The research behind the idea uses flawed models of how we learn in the real world
Surreal X-ray movie reveals how a fly beats its wings
Peering inside a living blowfly during flight reveals the intricate muscle movement involved
The best parents don't try to score top marks
Two books on bringing up children, Parentology by Dalton Conley and It's Complicated by Danah Boyd, warn us not to follow science's rules too slavishly
Space-time ripples hint at physics beyond the big bang
Gravitational waves could help us sift through many visions for the rapid expansion of the early universe – or offer even wilder views of cosmic birth
Big bang breakthrough: Who is the father of inflation?
Like the Higgs boson, the theory of an inflating early universe has many daddies – partly because it draws on disparate ideas in physics and cosmology
Mudslides could be predicted with acoustic sensors
In future, sensors may be able to save lives by forewarning of landslides like the one that happened in Oso, Washington
Invisible: A visitors' guide to the dark web
Whether for privacy or profit, much of the internet is hidden away – we reveal the places that Google won't take you
Stem cells offer clue to bipolar disorder treatment
Brain cells grown from the skin cells of people with bipolar disorder are revealing details about how it arises
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.
