The controversial Gaia hypothesis sees Earth as a superorganism adapted to be perfect for life. A weird type of evolution may finally show how that actually happens

No matter how deep we dig, life has always found a way to survive. The remarkable story of these impossible microbes can teach us about how life evolved

An emotional and intellectual voyage into an underground mythical world imagined by the Sami people reveals truths about our collective future

Lessons from the deep past reveal that human-induced warming could create more extreme conditions than Earth has ever experienced

The influential scientist talks about his Earth-as-superorganism hypothesis and predicts a new era for humanity, unfettered by the constraints of our bodies

Diamonds that formed twice as deep as normal contain evidence of a pristine hunk of original Earth rock hiding deep underground

How did animal life begin? A must-see exhibition in Oxford brings together the world's best fossils from the Cambrian explosion to tell the story

A decade ago, Johan Rockström identified the limits to Earth's life support systems. From chemical pollution to climate change, we're veering into the danger zone - so why is he (cautiously) optimistic about the future?

Corners of unexpected planetary beauty are revealed in these stunning images on display in The Elevated Eye at Forest Lawn Museum, California

The ice shelves in eastern Antarctic peninsula seem to have been thinning since around 1700, leaving ice shelves such as Larsen B vulnerable to their recent break-up as human-caused climate change took hold

Undersea fibre-optic cables for transmitting data can also be used to detect earthquakes and find fault lines offshore

From anti-ageing drugs to self-driving cars and long-lost human ancestors, New Scientist experts reveal what the biggest science stories will be in 2020

The Permian extinction, which wiped out almost all complex life, may have been caused by the undersides of continents slipping off into Earth’s interior

Ethereal photos of life’s building blocks, Earth’s toughest creature and a close-up of a gem win Olympus Global Image of the Year Life Science Light Microscopy Award regional prizes

Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of a Georgia courthouse on Friday to decry the killing of an unarmed black man in February and the delay in charging two white men in a shooting captured on video that was released earlier this week.

Australia's most populous states held back from relaxing coronavirus restrictions on Saturday although other states began allowing small gatherings and were preparing to open restaurants and shops.

While President Donald Trump traveled to the battleground state of Arizona this week, his Democratic opponent for the White House, Joe Biden, campaigned from his basement as he has done throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Mykhailo Pinchuk takes a short walk around his empty zoo, greeting some animals with a stroke and a morsel of food.

Voice-enabled technology has rapidly evolved from a novel concept to one that now plays a central role in our day-to-day lives. According to a recent report from Google, 72% of people who own voice-activated speakers say their devices are used as a part...

The next season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship kicks off in December 2018, and is already shaping up to be exceptional. Featuring new cars, a new race format, new cities, new power modes, new teams, and new drivers, season five promises to ramp up...

At this year’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, HARMAN and its automotive partners brought the latest evolution of premium in-car experiences that reflect and seamlessly connect with your lifestyle. Ensuring users are...

The fifth season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship has kicked off in style in December 2018 with the SAUDIA Ad Diriyah E-Prix. Since then, the Championship’s 22 participating Gen2 electric cars and drivers have been crisscrossing the planet in 13...

CES 2020 – LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 6, 2020 – Harman Kardon adds to its most iconic speaker series with the SoundSticks 4. In 2000, when the original SoundSticks was introduced, it quickly became one of the most sought-after desktop sound systems. The...

A mobile video game called Sea Hero Quest has been used to test navigation abilities, showing that people who grew up in cities are worse navigators than others

Four West African populations may carry genes from an undiscovered archaic hominin that diverged from a shared ancestor of Neanderthals, Denisovans and modern humans

Nicolas Cage grapples with a weird luminous alien presence in the movie Color Out of Space. It's a story that has roots in a late-19th-century obsession with new forms of radiation, says Simon Ings

Elisabeth Bik is on a mission to detect duplicate images in scientific papers, exposing either genuine mistakes or signs of fraud. But her work isn't always appreciated, she says

A cache of Denisovan tools shows how these extinct humans moved from using sharp stone flakes 150,000 years ago to stone blades and chisels around 60,000 years ago

Christopher Medina-Kirchner used to be a drug dealer. Now he is a researcher looking at their effects, and says society's views on drugs and addiction need updating

Skull fragments from Homo erectus found alongside stone tools in Ethiopia suggest the ancient hominin used more tool technology than we thought

This week, watch as Westworld breaks out of the park and into LA, discover why vision is so important and listen as a drama exploits the weirdness of sound

In an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus, China has shut its wildlife markets for good. It is a welcome move, says Adam Vaughan

Efforts to prevent prisoners from reoffending are often lacking in scientific rigour and can even fly in the face of available evidence

By understanding garlic's chemistry we can amp up its pungency in a fiery garlic sauce or tame it through gentle cooking to make mellow garlic confit, says Sam Wong

As the coronavirus outbreak continues, why do some people stockpile and others shrug? The psychology of uncertainty explains what's going on, says Rachel McCloy

People living in Russia about 20,000 years ago built a "bonehenge" – a circular structure made of mammoth bones that could have been used to store food

It's easy and fun to make hand-pulled noodles, especially if you understand how gluten is acting inside the dough to make it stretch y and elastic, says Sam Wong

The mysterious Liangzhu civilisation was a neolithic "Venice of the East", rivalling ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia with its engineering marvels

Many people feel intimidated by the prospect of making pastry, says Sam Wong, but a little understanding can go a long way to successfully making this beautiful rhubarb tart

Always forgetting birthdays? Terrible at staying in touch? New tech promises to turn you into the best buddy ever. We put it to the test

Forget the simple out-of-Africa idea of how humans evolved. A huge array of fossils and genome studies has completely rewritten the story of how we came into being.

This week, listen as the US debates covid-19, play a struggling survivor of an earthquake-torn city and discover how the planet gains from human progress slowing down

Boredom can be unpleasant, but we can learn from some of the world's dullest people how to keep ourselves amused, says boredom researcher James Danckert

West Africa's waters are a hotspot for illegal fishing, says conservationist Justine Dossa. She is working to change fishing practices and tackle pollution

A piece of string found in a cave in France is the oldest ever discovered and shows that Neanderthals knew how to twist fibres together to make cords

Tom Gauld’s science cartoons appear weekly in New Scientist. He explains how he gets his ideas as his latest collection, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories, hits the shelves

A podcast called Science Diction looks at the stories behind scientific terms and phrases. Each episode is short and nicely put together, says David Silverberg

Getting your wok scorching hot and preparing your ingredients in advance is the best way to make a tasty stir-fry, says Sam Wong

Hyperconsumption adds to environmental destruction that brings people into contact with animal viruses that can spark pandemics. We have to avoid the temptation to rely on it to get us out, writes Graham Lawton

Mark O'Connell's book Notes from an Apocalypse is an exploration of doomsday preparation from Mars colonists to fallout shelter estate agents