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Rare mutation in Old Order Amish people linked to lower heart disease

A genetic mutation may cause lower levels of cholesterol and a blood clotting protein associated with heart disease, and the hope is to design drugs that have the same effect

02/12/2021

Extremely dense planet with an enormous iron core has an 8-hour year

A small, dense planet found using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite is similar to Mercury, with what seems to be an enormous iron core and temperatures above 1400°C

02/12/2021

Small Jupiter-like planets hint we need to rethink how gas giants form

We thought young gas giant planets would be large and low-density, but the gas giants around a star that is just 20 million years old don’t fit this model

02/12/2021

Guano doping: Can a dash of bird poo make graphene great again?

The foul-smelling futility of co-doping two-dimensional carbon, plus optimal moose tessellation and passing through two doors at once, in Feedback’s weekly round-up

01/12/2021

Plastic food packaging gets a bad rap, but does it always deserve it?

When you look at the research evidence, it soon becomes clear that calls to ban all plastic wrap on fresh fruit and veg could do more harm than good

01/12/2021

The best books of 2021 - New Scientist’s Christmas gift guide

Here is New Scientist's pick of the science and scfi-fi books from 2021 that will keep you entertained over the holiday season

01/12/2021

DeepMind AI collaborates with humans on two mathematical breakthroughs

Humans and AI working together can reveal new areas of mathematics where data sets are too large to be comprehended by mathematicians

01/12/2021

Algorithms

Originally a way of solving complicated equations with moving variables, the modern definition of an algorithm is morphing

01/12/2021

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī was a Persian polymath, sometimes known as the father of algebra, who produced ground-breaking works in mathematics, astronomy and geography

01/12/2021

Risso’s dolphins have invented rapid spin-dive technique for hunting

A species of dolphin that hunts prey living 600 metres below the surface spins its body as it dives so it can drill down through the water rapidly

01/12/2021