New Scientist
@newscientist.com
The best place to find out what’s new in science – and why it matters.
Pinned
In this week’s issue: The Christmas & New Year special.
Grab a copy in shops now or download our app for digital editions. newscientist.com/issue/3573/
Grab a copy in shops now or download our app for digital editions. newscientist.com/issue/3573/
Type-1 diabetes, IBD, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease and lupus are all caused by the body attacking itself. But new therapies that reset the immune system could offer lasting help
Inside the new therapies promising to finally beat autoimmune disease
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Type-1 diabetes, IBD, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease and lupus are all caused by the body attacking itself. But new therapies that reset the immune system could offer lasting help
With the human family tree now more like a hedge and twice as many known moons, Bill Bryson talks to the New Scientist podcast about refreshing his 2003 bestselling book on science
Bill Bryson on why he has updated A Short History of Nearly Everything
With the human family tree now more like a hedge and twice as many known moons, Bill Bryson talks to the New Scientist podcast about refreshing his 2003 bestselling book on science
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
With the human family tree now more like a hedge and twice as many known moons, Bill Bryson talks to the New Scientist podcast about refreshing his 2003 bestselling book on science
Under current climate policies, 79 per cent of the world’s glaciers will disappear by 2100, endangering the water supply for 2 billion people and raising sea levels dramatically
The world will soon be losing 3000 glaciers every year
Under current climate policies, 79 per cent of the world’s glaciers will disappear by 2100, endangering the water supply for 2 billion people and raising sea levels dramatically
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Under current climate policies, 79 per cent of the world’s glaciers will disappear by 2100, endangering the water supply for 2 billion people and raising sea levels dramatically
Our understanding of the true nature of the cosmos relies on measurements of its expansion, but cosmologists have been arguing back and forth about it for more than 100 years
Cosmology’s Great Debate began a century ago – and is still going
Our understanding of the true nature of the cosmos relies on measurements of its expansion, but cosmologists have been arguing back and forth about it for more than 100 years
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Our understanding of the true nature of the cosmos relies on measurements of its expansion, but cosmologists have been arguing back and forth about it for more than 100 years
The time of day that cancer drugs are administered could make a big difference to a patient's outcomes, and would be a relatively simple intervention to roll out
Timing cancer drug delivery around our body clock may boost survival
The time of day that cancer drugs are administered could make a big difference to a patient's outcomes, and would be a relatively simple intervention to roll out
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 11:27 AM
The time of day that cancer drugs are administered could make a big difference to a patient's outcomes, and would be a relatively simple intervention to roll out
Feedback's eyebrows are raised at tech millionaire Bryan Johnson's latest exploits, which involve Grimes, music, and hallucinogenic mushrooms
What is Bryan Johnson up to now? We try to explain
Feedback's eyebrows are raised at tech millionaire Bryan Johnson's latest exploits, which involve Grimes, music, and hallucinogenic mushrooms
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Feedback's eyebrows are raised at tech millionaire Bryan Johnson's latest exploits, which involve Grimes, music, and hallucinogenic mushrooms
At the Q2B Silicon Valley conference, scientific and business leaders of the quantum computing industry hailed "spectacular" progress being made towards practical devices – but said that challenges remain
'Spectacular' progress has been made towards useful quantum computers
At the Q2B Silicon Valley conference, scientific and business leaders of the quantum computing industry hailed "spectacular" progress being made towards practical devices – but said that challenges remain
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:47 AM
At the Q2B Silicon Valley conference, scientific and business leaders of the quantum computing industry hailed "spectacular" progress being made towards practical devices – but said that challenges remain
Mysterious ‘little red dots’ seen by the James Webb Space Telescope can be explained by a new kind of black hole enshrouded in an enormous ball of glowing gas
Black hole stars really do exist in the early universe
Mysterious ‘little red dots’ seen by the James Webb Space Telescope can be explained by a new kind of black hole enshrouded in an enormous ball of glowing gas
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Mysterious ‘little red dots’ seen by the James Webb Space Telescope can be explained by a new kind of black hole enshrouded in an enormous ball of glowing gas
Efforts to lower the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may come too late to prevent long-term changes to the Arctic
Some Arctic warming ‘irreversible’ even if we cut atmospheric CO2
Efforts to lower the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may come too late to prevent long-term changes to the Arctic
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Efforts to lower the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may come too late to prevent long-term changes to the Arctic
Rapid advances in the kind of problems that quantum computers can tackle suggest that they are closer than ever to becoming useful tools of scientific discovery
Quantum computers turned out to be more useful than expected in 2025
Rapid advances in the kind of problems that quantum computers can tackle suggest that they are closer than ever to becoming useful tools of scientific discovery
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Rapid advances in the kind of problems that quantum computers can tackle suggest that they are closer than ever to becoming useful tools of scientific discovery
Careful slope monitoring prevented mass casualties in the landslide at Blatten, Switzerland, this year, but mountain communities may face a growing risk of disasters
Alpine communities face uncertain future after 2025 glacier collapse
Careful slope monitoring prevented mass casualties in the landslide at Blatten, Switzerland, this year, but mountain communities may face a growing risk of disasters
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Careful slope monitoring prevented mass casualties in the landslide at Blatten, Switzerland, this year, but mountain communities may face a growing risk of disasters
Big AI firms have built their models by hoovering up copyrighted material from the internet as training data. They say this is legal, but copyright holders disagree - and this year they hit back in a major way
AI firms began to feel the legal wrath of copyright holders in 2025
Big AI firms have built their models by hoovering up copyrighted material from the internet as training data. They say this is legal, but copyright holders disagree - and this year they hit back in a major way
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Big AI firms have built their models by hoovering up copyrighted material from the internet as training data. They say this is legal, but copyright holders disagree - and this year they hit back in a major way
Mean temperatures this year approached 1.5°C above the preindustrial average, making it the second hottest year after 2024
2025 is the second-hottest year since records began
Mean temperatures this year approached 1.5°C above the preindustrial average, making it the second hottest year after 2024
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:28 AM
Mean temperatures this year approached 1.5°C above the preindustrial average, making it the second hottest year after 2024
It's easy to assume that the most talented adults among us were once gifted children, but it turns out that talent during childhood is no guide to later success
High-achieving adults rarely began as child prodigies
It's easy to assume that the most talented adults among us were once gifted children, but it turns out that talent during childhood is no guide to later success
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 6:10 AM
It's easy to assume that the most talented adults among us were once gifted children, but it turns out that talent during childhood is no guide to later success
Astronomers thought they had seen the "first hints of life on an alien world" this year, but they disappeared under closer scrutiny
Hopes of finding aliens were raised in 2025 – but quickly faded
Astronomers thought they had seen the "first hints of life on an alien world" this year, but they disappeared under closer scrutiny
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Astronomers thought they had seen the "first hints of life on an alien world" this year, but they disappeared under closer scrutiny
Children regularly exposed to temperatures over 30°C (86°F) have lower scores on literacy and numeracy tests at age 3 to 4, according to UNICEF data from six countries
Extreme heat hampers children’s early learning
Children regularly exposed to temperatures over 30°C (86°F) have lower scores on literacy and numeracy tests at age 3 to 4, according to UNICEF data from six countries
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Children regularly exposed to temperatures over 30°C (86°F) have lower scores on literacy and numeracy tests at age 3 to 4, according to UNICEF data from six countries
How a Finnish physicist named Karl Lemström once became obsessed with recreating the aurora borealis from scratch – and may have ended up creating something even more intriguing
The audacious quest to light up the sky with artificial auroras
How a Finnish physicist named Karl Lemström once became obsessed with recreating the aurora borealis from scratch – and may have ended up creating something even more intriguing
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:29 AM
How a Finnish physicist named Karl Lemström once became obsessed with recreating the aurora borealis from scratch – and may have ended up creating something even more intriguing
Controlling qubits with quantum superpositions allows them to dramatically violate a fundamental limit and encode information for about five times longer during quantum computations
Qubits break quantum limit to encode information for longer
Controlling qubits with quantum superpositions allows them to dramatically violate a fundamental limit and encode information for about five times longer during quantum computations
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Controlling qubits with quantum superpositions allows them to dramatically violate a fundamental limit and encode information for about five times longer during quantum computations
Growing evidence reveals that creativity is one of the best-kept secrets for boosting your health. From live theatre to a quick crafting break, here’s how to harness the power of art in your everyday life
How to extend and improve your life by getting more creative
Growing evidence reveals that creativity is one of the best-kept secrets for boosting your health. From live theatre to a quick crafting break, here’s how to harness the power of art in your everyday life
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Growing evidence reveals that creativity is one of the best-kept secrets for boosting your health. From live theatre to a quick crafting break, here’s how to harness the power of art in your everyday life
Astronomers discovered a new moon of Uranus and hundreds of moons around Saturn over the past year, and there may be many more yet to be found
More than 100 moons were discovered in our own solar system in 2025
Astronomers discovered a new moon of Uranus and hundreds of moons around Saturn over the past year, and there may be many more yet to be found
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Astronomers discovered a new moon of Uranus and hundreds of moons around Saturn over the past year, and there may be many more yet to be found
From vitamin C to your microbiome and mindset, the latest science of immunity is often counterintuitive. Here's how to give your system a fighting chance to overcome infection
You can upgrade your immune system, but not in the way you think
From vitamin C to your microbiome and mindset, the latest science of immunity is often counterintuitive. Here's how to give your system a fighting chance to overcome infection
www.newscientist.com
December 26, 2025 at 12:17 AM
From vitamin C to your microbiome and mindset, the latest science of immunity is often counterintuitive. Here's how to give your system a fighting chance to overcome infection
A new theory of "dark photons" attempted to explain a centuries-old experiment in a new way this year, in an effort to change our understanding of the nature of light
Physicists used 'dark photons' in an effort to rewrite physics in 2025
A new theory of "dark photons" attempted to explain a centuries-old experiment in a new way this year, in an effort to change our understanding of the nature of light
www.newscientist.com
December 25, 2025 at 8:37 PM
A new theory of "dark photons" attempted to explain a centuries-old experiment in a new way this year, in an effort to change our understanding of the nature of light
Ejaculating within 48 hours of providing a sperm sample for IVF seems to lead to greater success rates than abstaining from ejaculation for longer
IVF success may depend on how long men abstain from ejaculation
Ejaculating within 48 hours of providing a sperm sample for IVF seems to lead to greater success rates than abstaining from ejaculation for longer
www.newscientist.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Ejaculating within 48 hours of providing a sperm sample for IVF seems to lead to greater success rates than abstaining from ejaculation for longer
The detection of mercurial particles of light emanating from mice led to a flurry of interest in biophotons, a mysterious phenomenon that could have applications in agriculture
A ghostly glow was seen emanating from living things in 2025
The detection of mercurial particles of light emanating from mice led to a flurry of interest in biophotons, a mysterious phenomenon that could have applications in agriculture
www.newscientist.com
December 25, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The detection of mercurial particles of light emanating from mice led to a flurry of interest in biophotons, a mysterious phenomenon that could have applications in agriculture
There are a host of celestial events to get excited about next year – including a total solar eclipse. Abigail Beall is lining up her calendar
The stargazing events to look forward to in 2026
There are a host of celestial events to get excited about next year – including a total solar eclipse. Abigail Beall is lining up her calendar
www.newscientist.com
December 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
There are a host of celestial events to get excited about next year – including a total solar eclipse. Abigail Beall is lining up her calendar