How the US military wants to use the world's largest aircraft 21. May 2025 (00:00) The world’s largest aircraft, called WindRunner, is being designed to carry huge wind turbine blades – but the US military is looking into its own applications for the proposed plane(New Scientist)
How an ancient alchemy technique is transforming modern chemistry 20. May 2025 (18:00) Today’s chemistry is a wet business, mostly done by mixing compounds in liquid solvents. But a push towards using dry powders instead is proving surprisingly effective(New Scientist)
Astronomers double down on claim of strongest evidence for alien life 20. May 2025 (12:44) Are there aliens living on the exoplanet K2-18b? Some astronomers believe they have evidence for molecules on the planet that must have a biological origin, but others disagree(New Scientist)
Sea level will rise fast even if we limit global warming to 1.5°C 20. May 2025 (12:00) Satellite observations show the ice sheets are melting faster than expected, and slowing sea level rise to a manageable rate would require lowering the global temperature below the current level(New Scientist)
AI doesn't know 'no' – and that's a huge problem for medical bots 19. May 2025 (23:41) Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease(New Scientist)
Attempt to reach expert consensus on teens and phones ends in argument 19. May 2025 (18:57) There are a range of competing views on whether smartphones and social media are harmful to adolescents, and an attempt to settle the debate has instead sparked more disagreement(New Scientist)
This new book is a one-sided attempt to puncture the AI bubble 19. May 2025 (18:45) The AI Con by Emily Bender and Alex Hanna wants to expose the hype generated by large artificial intelligence companies, but it is a frustrating read(New Scientist)
