As one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, James Watson pioneered the field of genetics and left behind a complicated legacy

The buried ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus seems to be stable across extremely long periods of time, making it an even more promising place to hunt for life

The effort of reproducing may divert energy away from repairing DNA or fighting illness, which could drive ageing, but a new study suggests that is only the case when environmental conditions are tough

A dwarf galaxy 100 million light years away is being stripped of its crucial star-forming gas, and it seems that the cosmic web is siphoning off this gas as the galaxy passes through

The surface of comet 3I/ATLAS may have been so radically altered by cosmic rays that deducing its home star system would be impossible

Jacob, an 11-year-old lion, has defied expectations by surviving for years after losing a leg – now we know his success is down to an innovative hunting strategy

Archaeologists have compiled the most detailed map yet of roads throughout the Roman Empire in AD 150, totalling almost 300,000 kilometres in length

Many plants including cocoa, coffee and avocado cannot be gene-edited but a technique involving grafting could change that, opening the door to more productive and nutritious varieties

The identity of a skeleton buried under a Budapest convent has been confirmed as Béla of Macsó, a Hungarian royal murdered in a 13th-century power struggle, and archaeologists have pieced together how the attack unfolded

It is widely accepted that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, but now researchers say our measurements of the mysterious force driving that may be wrong and that the universe began to slow 1.5 billion years ago – yet other scientists disagree

Using the Helios-1 quantum computer, researchers have used a record-breaking number of error-proof qubits to run the first and biggest quantum simulation of a model for perfect conductivity

By cutting surveys of public health, the US government won't be able to properly tackle problems ranging from drug addiction to food insecurity

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

The battle to save the magnificent but endangered Amur tiger detailed in Jonathan Slaght's Tigers Between Empires is an inspiring look at what collaboration across borders can achieve, finds Adam Weymouth

Feedback discovers a robot that can mimic Turkish ice cream vendors, who are known for playing tricks on their customers. Researchers concluded that customers, perhaps predictably, don't trust it

Lise Barnéoud's Hidden Guests shows how this fascinating new field brings with it profound implications for medicine, and even what it means to be human, finds Helen Thomson

Neurologically, the flexibility of the future promised by liberal democracy can be a challenge because it brings with it uncertainty. But there are solutions, say Florence Gaub and Liya Yu

A planet is about to be destroyed by the collapse of a binary star system in Slow Gods, Claire North’s first venture into classic science fiction. Read it! says Emily H. Wilson

A mathematical model suggests that when a pair of black holes gets quantum entangled, this can give rise to a lumpy space-time tunnel between them

Researchers warn that the alga Karenia cristata, which has killed around a million animals in Australian waters in one of the biggest algal blooms ever seen, could harm marine life elsewhere