Using smartphones, computers and the internet seems to slow cognitive decline in people aged over 50

We’ve now figured out how to culture chocolate in the lab. The breakthrough could help with spiralling cocoa costs, and may even lead to tastier treats with more nutritional value

An antibiotic that is commonly used for urinary tract infections effectively treated gonorrhoea, and may even work against drug-resistant cases

Scientists have used gene editing to produce artificial electrical synapses in mice, where they can be targeted to make the animals more sociable or reduce their risk of OCD-like symptoms

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) wants to know which of the quantum computers now in development have the best chance of being game-changing technologies

Proposed cuts would wipe out NOAA’s Ocean and Atmospheric Research office among a raft of other reductions to one of the main scientific agencies of the US

Roman ships equipped with bronze rams sank dozens of Carthaginian ships during a major naval battle in 241 BCE – now we know how the rams were made

Bioreactors housing methane-eating bacteria could offer a portable, off-grid solution for soaking up methane leaks from sites like landfills and coal mines

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are commonly found in the bodies of short-beaked common dolphins that get stranded on UK beaches, and are linked to the animals’ risk of infectious diseases

Culture editor Alison Flood rounds up the book club’s thoughts on our latest read, the weird and wild Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva. Warning: spoilers ahead  

The author of the award-winning classic science fiction novel, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, on the science behind his creation

In this extract from the classic science fiction novel, the latest read for the New Scientist Book Club, we meet Ringworld’s protagonist Louis Wu, as he travels a future Earth

Diamonds formed in Earth’s lower mantle contain tiny flecks of minerals that are helping us understand the inner workings of our planet

Wider hips may make childbirth easier, but increase the risk of other health issues

A fossil jawbone found by fishers in the Taiwan Strait has extended the known range of ancient Denisovan people thousands of kilometres to the east

Schrödinger called his metaphorical cat “quite ridiculous” but the quantum weirdness it represents has become a useful benchmark for the quantum computing industry, finds our quantum columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Globally, only 14 per cent of the plastic we use is recycled – but some countries achieve higher rates and new technologies could change the picture drastically

A machine controlled by AI that sprays bears with the chilli pepper chemical capsaicin could reduce dangerous confrontations with people

A newly discovered settlement in the north-western Nile delta was built by the Egyptian New Kingdom perhaps 3500 years ago and included a temple dedicated to pharaoh Ramesses II

Solvej Balle's newly translated speculative novel, On the Calculation of Volume (parts I and II), examines the numbing effects of time through the old trope of being stuck in a single day. It is an effective meditation