How brain organoids are revealing what truly makes humans unique 01. October 2025 (16:00) Madeline Lancaster created the first brain organoids, which have revolutionised our understanding of how the brain works - but also raised ethical questions(New Scientist)
The best new science fiction books of October 2025 01. October 2025 (11:00) Science fiction legend Ursula K. Le Guin is honoured with a new collection out this month, and sci-fi fans can also look forward to fiction from astronaut Chris Hadfield and award-winning authors Ken Liu and Mary Robinette Kowal(New Scientist)
We now know why a belly button becomes an 'innie' 30. September 2025 (22:27) Scientists have discovered a new abdominal structure called the umbilical sheath, which anchors the remnant of the umbilical cord to deep abdominal tissues and helps determine the shape of your navel(New Scientist)
Egg cells made with DNA from human skin fertilised in the lab 30. September 2025 (19:05) An innovative use of skin cells could provide a route for gay couples or women with fertility problems to have children they are both genetically related to(New Scientist)
'Funny' videos of stressed and frightened pets are no laughing matter 30. September 2025 (18:54) Social media is awash with videos of cats and dogs getting startled or hurt for our entertainment. We should all be more alert to poor animal welfare, says Christa Lesté-Lasserre(New Scientist)
Ancient artists created giant camel engravings in the Arabian desert 30. September 2025 (18:00) Almost 200 engravings created around 12,000 years ago have been discovered in Saudi Arabia, including depictions of camels etched into cliff faces over 40 metres high(New Scientist)
The exceptionally tasty new fermented foods being cooked up in the lab 30. September 2025 (18:00) Fermented foods make up a third of what we eat and were mostly discovered by accident centuries ago. Now a fermentation revolution is promising extraordinary new flavours and novel ways to boost gut health(New Scientist)
Astronomers captured an incredible view of M87’s black hole jet 30. September 2025 (13:00) The black hole at the centre of a galaxy more than 50 million light years away is spewing out a jet of extremely hot plasma – though we have studied it for a century, we are only now seeing it in great detail(New Scientist)
We may finally know what causes will-o’-the-wisps 29. September 2025 (22:00) Mysterious flashes of light seen in swamps and bogs could be caused by burning methane or other gases, ignited by sparks that fly between bubbles in water(New Scientist)
