L-theanine: Can a compound in tea lower anxiety and help you focus? 05. September 2025 (09:00) L-theanine supplements are touted for stress relief, focus and better sleep. Although the evidence so far is preliminary, studies suggest the compound may have several brain benefits(New Scientist)
Liquid crystal lenses could make better bifocal glasses 04. September 2025 (23:07) A prototype of bifocal eyeglasses uses liquid crystals and electric fields to switch between modes that aid in nearby and distance vision(New Scientist)
Powerful images show dark side of South-East Asia’s fishing industry 04. September 2025 (22:00) Photographer Nicole Tung captures the tough world facing South-East Asia’s fishers and their families in this series of images, which won her the Carmignac Photojournalism Award for fieldwork(New Scientist)
We could spot a new type of black hole thanks to a mirror-wobbling AI 04. September 2025 (21:00) The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) uses lasers and mirrors to look for black holes across the universe, and it turns out a Google DeepMind AI could make it even more sensitive(New Scientist)
A single dose of LSD seems to reduce anxiety 04. September 2025 (18:00) About half of people with generalised anxiety disorder don’t respond to common treatments with antidepressants – but psychedelics may offer relief(New Scientist)
Early penguins may have used dagger-like beaks to skewer prey 04. September 2025 (15:00) Four new species of aquatic birds related to modern penguins have been described from fossils found in New Zealand, showing how these creatures flourished around 60 million years ago(New Scientist)
Smartphone scrolling on the toilet could increase risk of haemorrhoids 03. September 2025 (21:00) People seem to spend longer on the toilet if they use a smartphone while sitting there – and all that scrolling may be boosting their likelihood of getting haemorrhoids(New Scientist)
