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New Scientist - Home
New Scientist - Home
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Forests' vanishing snow is also bad news for carbon storage
The loss of snow cover in temperate forests is set to slow their growth and reduce their ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere, an overlooked consequence of climate change
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Mathematicians are chasing a number that may reveal the edge of maths
Some numbers are so unimaginably large that they defy the bounds of modern mathematics, and now mathematicians are closing in on a number that may mark the edge of this bizarre abyss
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Rapid bursts of ageing are causing a total rethink of how we grow old
Suddenly feeling old? Evidence now suggests that rather than a long, steady decline, we dramatically age around three specific times in our lives. Might it be possible to stay younger for longer?
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Did something just hit Saturn? Astronomers are racing to find out
Around seven asteroids or comets are thought to hit Saturn every year, but we have never spotted one in the act. Now, it seems one astronomer may have caught the moment of impact and the hunt is on for other images to verify the discovery
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Vapour-sniffing drug detector tested at the US-Mexico border
Drugs and explosive chemicals are difficult to detect, but a device more sensitive than a dog’s nose can pick up their traces in seconds
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AI could be about to completely change the way we do mathematics
Computers can help ensure that mathematical proofs are correct, but translating traditional maths into a machine-readable format is an arduous task. Now, the latest generation of artificial intelligence models is taking on the job, and could change the face of maths research
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'Hybrid' skull may have been a child of Neanderthal and Homo sapiens
The skull of a 5-year-old girl who lived 140,000 years ago has similarities with modern Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, suggesting her parents might have belonged to different species
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Fig trees may benefit climate by turning carbon dioxide into stone
Some carbon dioxide absorbed by fig trees gets turned into calcium carbonate within the wood and the surrounding soil, ensuring that the carbon is kept out of the air for longer
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Ancient mass extinction shows how Earth turned into a super-greenhouse
A study of fossils from the Permian-Triassic extinction event 252 million years ago shows that forests in many parts of the world were wiped out, disrupting the carbon cycle and ensuring that Earth remained hot for millions of years
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Cyberattacks could exploit home solar panels to disrupt power grids
The growth of domestic solar installations opens the possibility of hackers targeting their smart inverter devices as a way to cause widespread power-system failures