Feedback delights in a 2018 paper that takes care to warn us it reveals “nothing like super interesting”, and embarks on a quest to find more examples of disarming honesty

The prevailing wisdom is that horror fans lack empathy and are addicted to adrenaline. My research shows otherwise, says Coltan Scrivner

Future Chronicles is our regular speculative look at inventions yet to come. In this latest installment, we journey to 2050, when technology had been developed so that criminals could be monitored at home. It led to a drop in crime, writes Rowan Hooper

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

In the run-up to this year's COP in Brazil, Madeleine Cuff explores The Climate Diplomat, a poignant account by the late Peter Betts, a negotiator who showed what diplomacy can achieve

Skin irritation, such as through eczema, promotes hair growth in mice, which prompted scientists to create a treatment that works via similar pathways, with no discomfort required

There are hundreds of coherent theories attempting to explain the origins of experience. Robert Lawrence Kuhn explores what they reveal about free will, artificial intelligence and life after death

A new quantum computing protocol may be able to augment a standard technique for understanding molecules in chemistry, biomedicine and materials science

Classical swine fever reduces productivity and harms animal welfare, but pigs have now been genetically edited to make them completely resistant to the disease

Future smartphones and other devices could have colour e-paper displays, thanks to a new technique that lets such screens display video while minimising energy usage

The microbes that take hold in our bodies during early life have long-term effects on our brain health. Helen Thomson investigates how to get kids’ microbiomes off to the best start.

Antidepressants can be very effective, but they also come with side effects that vary from one drug to the next, supporting the idea of more personalised prescriptions

An exclusive New Scientist survey of leading scientists reveals widespread concern that schemes to tweak Earth’s atmosphere could launch within decades in a risky bid to cool the planet

Confining and rotating extremely cold atoms or molecules within atomic “Ferris wheels” made from laser light could test relativity’s predictions on the quantum scale

We have more satellites than ever before, but when they burn up they create a new kind of air pollution. Evidence is now revealing what effects this could have and how to tackle it

The comet-like object Chiron has been caught in the process of forming new rings, which could help us understand how these complex systems work

Many of the signs of perimenopause can also be symptoms of other conditions, and some of these get increasingly dangerous if they’re misdiagnosed

Breastfeeding seems to cause specialised immune cells to flood into the breasts and stay there for years or even decades, reducing the risk of cancer

It has remained mysterious for millennia, but we’re finally uncovering the profound role the lymphatic system plays in everything from preventing dementia to fighting cancer

Age-related macular degeneration is a common cause of vision loss, with existing treatments only able to slow its progression. But now an implant in the back of the eye and a pair of high-tech glasses have enabled people with the condition to read again