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Columnist

Tackling topics from the cutting edge of dark matter research to the latest developments in the tech world, explore the incisive opinions of New Scientist's expert columnists.
Cyclists and commuters make their ways home in evening sunshine at the junction of Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill in the City of London, aka the Square Mile - the capital's financial district, on 4th April 2023, in London, England. (Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)

Technology

I'm a cyclist. Will the arrival of robotaxis make my journeys safer?

Inveterate cyclist Matt Sparkes, who has been knocked off his bike by human-driven cars several times, wonders if the arrival of driverless cars in London is a good thing - or a bad one

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Physics

Why no one can agree on what quantum physics really means

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A majestic oak tree seen from the base, its thick trunk covered in moss and reaching up into a canopy of vibrant green leaves. The branches spread wide against a bright sky.; Shutterstock ID 2527834681; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

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Trees have a microbiome inside them? This is both obvious and profound

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2H2KWEA Big Bang to Present. Stages in the history of the Universe after the Big Bang. At 300, 000 years, matter and radiation decouple, and the Universe becomes transparent for the first time. The first galaxies form at around 300 million years after the Big Bang, but the exact time period is uncertain. At an age of 9 billion years the Solar System formed. Finally, 13.7 billion years after the Big Bang we arrive at the present day. The Universe is still expanding and evolving.

Physics

What happens to light's energy when it redshifts? It's complicated

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Mind

What are the best ways to improve your cognitive reserve?

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RC9MHB Rome, Italy, 05/06/2018: a street artist simulates an invisible man on the pedestrian area along tevere castello near castel sant'angelo.

Technology

How invisibility cloaks could make us disappear – at least from AI

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Social media is dead – here’s what comes next

Technology

Social media is dead – here’s what comes next

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EJ532Y The 11/19 pit and twin slag heaps in Lens (France) or residues left over from the coal extraction process.

Earth

We've found that a new type of rock is forming from old slag heaps

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The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA?s James Webb Space Telescope?s reveals a portion of the Milky Way?s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and S. Crowe (University of Virginia).

Space

The cosmos is vast, so how do we measure it?

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A pink robot with heart eyes

Technology

Why falling in love with an AI isn’t laughable, it’s inevitable

It’s easy to sneer at people who say they’ve fallen in love with ChatGPT. But we've been developing confusing feelings for bots for decades longer than you might think, writes Alex Wilkins. With so many people feeling lonely, can that be a good thing?

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Humans

70,000 years ago humans underwent a major shift – that’s why we exist

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Could hormone implants allow us to boost focus, endurance and libido?

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Mind

What sleep scientists recommend doing to fall asleep more easily

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Technology

Forget the Terminators, our robot future may be squishy and fun

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