New Scientist Australian Edition

New Scientist covers the latest developments in science and technology that will impact your world. New Scientist employs and commissions the best writers in their fields from all over the world. Our editorial team provide cutting-edge news, award-winning features and reports, written in concise and clear language that puts discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life today and in the future.

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A note from the executive editor

The value of nature • Covid-19 is a wake-up call to halt our abuse of the ecosystems that support us

New Scientist Australian Edition

Two variants combine • A merger of coronavirus variants in the US has sparked warnings that we may be entering a new phase of the pandemic, reports Graham Lawton

New variants vs normality • Countries that are vaccinating can be optimistic about a return to normality despite new variants, finds Michael Le Page

Did the virus come from frozen food? • The idea is being investigated, but the science is far from clear

England’s quarantine hotels won’t stop variants • The decision that visitors from only some countries must isolate in hotels ignores scientific advice and is bound to fail, says Donna Lu

Martian invasion • Landers, rovers and even a helicopter are descending on Mars this month, where they will search for signs of water and past life, says Leah Crane

First helicopter on another planet could glow in the dark

Chimpanzees seem to ‘speak’ in sentences of three or more calls

Physicists may have solved the mystery of why ice is slippery

Stonehenge may be a recycled Welsh structure

AI can identify you by the vein patterns on your hands

The brains that time forgot • CRISPR gene editing helps create mini brains with Neanderthal characteristics

Cockroaches munch each other’s wings in mutual cannibalism

AI can tell if people are enjoying your video call

Ancient icy calamity left its marks on bacterial DNA

Vampire bat shows soft side by adopting orphaned baby

Tiny craft may soar into forbidden zone

Now body heat could power your gadgets

Really brief

Reflected whale calls provide seismic data

Freakish young galaxy rips up the astrophysics rule book

Avatar can boost speaking confidence

Borrowing bee brains • We need a revolution in artificial intelligence, and learning from insects will help us achieve it, says James Marshall

Exploring ancient cities with futuristic tech • Data archaeologists are uncovering the secrets of long-lost metropolises – including why they died out, writes Annalee Newitz

Your letters

Top of the class

A climate call to arms • Bill Gates may be a flawed messenger on global warming, but his book is still a fine primer on how to get ourselves out of this mess, says Adam Vaughan

Watch out for the comet! • Despite the familiar disaster movie premise of a comet hurtling towards Earth, Greenland is hugely watchable, says Linda Marric

Don’t miss

Coming together • In Unity, Elly Bangs conjures a post-apocalyptic Earth where her protagonist, once part of a hive mind, faces a dangerous, fractured future. The novel is a powerful exploration of union, trauma and consent, says Bethan Ackerley

A rescue plan for nature

Biodiversity: A status report

WHAT DO ECOSYSTEMS DO FOR US?

HOW TO RESTORE AN ECOSYSTEM • How ecosystems are degraded by human activity varies – and ways to restore them differ too

Back from the brink • Stories of species brought back from near-extinction show we can help nature turn the corner, says Adam Vaughan

‘We have to be optimistic’ • The new biodiversity targets to be agreed this year...