Science

Legislation working its way through the UK parliament would ban children from using social media and virtual private networks – but the proposals would endanger online privacy and may not make children safer, say legal experts

Researchers have discovered new ways to shape quantum light, creating high-dimensional states that can carry much more information per photon. Using advanced tools like on-chip photonics and ultrafast light structuring, they’re pushing quantum communication and imaging into exciting new territory. Although long-distance transmission remains tricky, innovative approaches—such as topological quantum states—could make these fragile signals far more resilient. The momentum suggests quantum optics is entering a bold new phase.

Researchers have discovered new ways to shape quantum light, creating high-dimensional states that can carry much more information per photon. Using advanced tools like on-chip photonics and ultrafast light structuring, they’re pushing quantum communication and imaging into exciting new territory. Although long-distance transmission remains tricky, innovative approaches—such as topological quantum states—could make these fragile signals far more resilient. The momentum suggests quantum optics is entering a bold new phase.

A dying star has ejected its outer layer and illuminated it with its powerful radiation. The resulting nebula looks every bit like a transparent human skull. Astronomers are calling the unusual structure the Exposed Cranium Nebula.

If skies are clear, don’t miss one of the top astronomical events of the year this coming Tuesday, March 3rd, as the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow in a total lunar eclipse. This will be a fine leisurely affair centered around the Pacific Ocean region, with totality lasting almost an hour in duration. For many observers worldwide, this is the last total lunar eclipse until late 2028 and mid-2029.

Scientists at the University of Oxford have finally settled a decades-long mystery about the Moon’s magnetic field — and it turns out both sides were right. By reanalyzing Apollo mission rocks, they discovered that the Moon did occasionally generate an incredibly powerful magnetic field, even stronger than Earth’s — but only for fleeting bursts lasting thousands of years or less. Most of the time, the Moon’s magnetic field was weak.

Nearly all of the solar system’s planets are about to file across the night sky in a planetary alignment, and it will be visible from anywhere on Earth

When a trial has results that defy basic biology, it's reasonable to be skeptical.

The post Implausible Apple Cider Vinegar Weight Loss Study Retracted first appeared on Science-Based Medicine.

The UK's first geothermal plant in Cornwall is part of a wave of projects aiming to meet growing electricity demand, some of them enabled by technology from oil and gas fracturing

Both boosters and sceptics have strongly held opinions on AI tools like ChatGPT, but after an experiment in vibe coding, I have realised that both camps are wrong, says Jacob Aron

The existence of massive, elliptical galaxies in the early universe has puzzled astronomers for two decades. An international team led by Nikolaus Sulzenauer and Axel Weiß from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) used data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to shed light on this open question of galaxy formation. They studied one of the most spectacular galaxy aggregations in great detail and published their results in the current issue of The Astrophysical Journal.

When MSL Curiosity was sent to Gale Crater, one of its goals was to study boxwork ridge features on Mt. Sharp. The rover has gathered its fourth sample from the rocks, and results are on their way. Previous samples showed tantalizing evidence in favour of ancient life on Mars. But we're still waiting for the extraordinary evidence required to conclude that Mars was once inhabited.

Astronomers have long debated why so many icy objects in the outer solar system look like snowmen. Michigan State University researchers now have evidence of the surprisingly simple process that could be responsible for their creation. Jackson Barnes, an MSU graduate student, has created the first simulation that reproduces the two-lobed shape naturally with gravitational collapse. His work is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The environmental impact of SpaceX's planned gargantuan mega-constellation is still being grappled with, but the FCC isn’t required to study it

Many of us obsess over how much sleep we get each night, and the dangers to our health of not getting enough, but really, there is another way

Feedback is excited to learn that University of Maryland researchers are measuring farts in a bid to build a Human Flatus Atlas, a project that seems destined for an Ig Nobel

Post-apocalyptic bunker sci-fi is huge this year as TV front-runners Fallout, Paradise and Silo return. Bethan Ackerley asks whether this is a signal we’ve given up on our real world, or if there is hidden hope

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

NASA crew members practise emergency rescue drills in a 40-foot-deep pool simulating the lunar surface, as part of tests on a new generation of spacesuit, the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit

From ice ages to asteroid strikes, an epic book shows how important it has been for humans to look outwards. Alex Wilkins surveys a climate historian's cosmic sweep