Today on New Scientist


Telescopic contact lenses let you zoom in on demand

By putting on a pair of zoomable contact lenses, people with visual impairment could magnify the world around them with just a wink


10 Mysteries of you: Superstition

Many of us have superstitions – odd, reassuring habits that make no rational sense – but there may be an underlying reason for such behaviour


The workout pill: Why exercise is the best medicine

From dementia and diabetes to high blood pressure – no pill protects us against ill health like exercise does, as Andy Coghlan discovers


Feedback: What is an irreducibly simple model?

Onanistic statistics, what an elephant weighs where, product features every crayon in the box and more



Interstellar's true black hole too confusing

The blockbuster film was the first to use real physics to portray a black hole, but they toned down the science for artistic effect


Don't read this aloud in your head. Drat, failed

External triggers can interrupt your stream of consciousness and make you think a sequence unwanted thoughts, even when you try hard to block them out


Sticky tape perfect for DIY nanotech to kill bacteria

Just peel and soak in the right solution to turn transparent adhesive tape into a nanoparticle film that kills bugs or even conducts electricity


Half a dozen molecules cause vital acid break-up

Pinning down how and why acid molecules split in the presence of water could give insights into biochemistry and pollutants forming in the atmosphere


Mega-droughts predicted in the US will last decades

Global warming will trigger historically unprecedented droughts lasting decades in central and southern US, perhaps leading to conflict over scarce water resources


Jurassic fossils reveal varied life of early mammals

Huddling in the shadows of the Jurassic world wasn't enough for the first mammals – fossils from China show they dug, swam and climbed trees too


Oceans swallowed 13 million tonnes of plastic in 2010

For the first time, we have a figure for how much plastic ends up in the ocean - and what's on the surface is nothing compared with what's underwater


Cuttlefish sex looks like twisted underwater embraceMovie Camera

What looks like an underwater French kiss is in fact cuttlefish having sex. A video of their romance is revealing how males and females pick a mate


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.