Great wall of trees keeps China's deserts at bay
Millions of trees planted in northern China are taming dust storms, but critics wonder whether the Great Green Wall is a long-term solution
This means spore: The brutal world of fighting fungi
Single combat, assassination, chemical warfare, even mind control: the Geneva conventions don't apply when fungi go to war
Russia to cut up 'floating Chernobyl' but risks remain
Relics from the Soviet Arctic fleet, including 16 nuclear reactors and more than 17,000 waste containers, litter the seabed and could leak at any moment
Optical illusions fool computers into seeing things
A collection of bizarre optical illusions has tricked AI into seeing objects in static – and show that machines don't see the same way we do
How to think about… Higher dimensions
Reality could have many more dimensions than the familiar four – physicists have tricks for projecting their minds beyond the ones we perceive
Soggy space rocks brought water to young moon
The scorching impact that formed the moon should have left it completely dry, but a rain of meteorites may have delivered water
Zoologger: The bird that mimics a toxic caterpillar
To avoid being eaten by snakes and monkeys, the chicks of a rather drab grey bird mimic the look and movements of a poisonous caterpillar
Ponds or pounding are both possible origins for life
How did life begin? The finding of unearthly water around comet 67P and a simulation of how meteorite impacts could forge amino acids hint at rival visions
Light trickery makes bird feathers blue but not red
Understanding the different ways in which birds get their vivid hues could help us make coloured displays for devices such as e-readers
Google's new bot-trap trains machines to see the world
From now on you'll be matching images to prove you're not a bot – and training Google's computers to recognise real-world objects at the same time
Why are US police so prone to violence?
Aggressive tactics and discriminatory policies have brought the US police system to a deadly impasse
Get your head around the 13 boldest ideas in science
The experts share their tips for imagining higher dimensions, going back before the big bang, understanding evolution and grasping quantum weirdness
What's at stake at this week's climate summit in Lima
Negotiators are hammering out what nations will promise a year from now in Paris – but scientists are wary about what good it will do. Fred Pearce reports
#RosettaWatch: Comet water is not like Earth's
The idea that comets brought water to the young Earth has taken a blow after the discovery that comet 67P's water is very different to that of our planet
That CIA torture methods were pointless is no shock
While the US intelligence agency brutalised detainees, evidence that torture was counterproductive was staring it in the face, says Michael Bond
Dragonflies anticipate their prey's flight path
Lock-on, orientate, pursue, pounce, dinner. For the first time, an insect has been shown to capture moving prey predictively
The wrong tools for the job?
A health scare linking a common surgical device with the spread of cancer has sparked furious debate over safety standards, says Alison Motluk
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.
