Herbal Viagra actually contains the real thing

IF IT looks too good to be true, it probably is. Several "herbal remedies" for erectile dysfunction sold online actually contain the active ingredient from Viagra. Michael Lamb at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and colleagues purchased 10...

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Mars trip to use astronaut poo as radiation shield

The man and woman aboard the Inspiration Mars mission set to fly-by the Red Planet in 2018 will face cramped conditions, muscle atrophy and potential boredom. But their greatest health risk comes from exposure to the radiation from cosmic rays. The solution? Line the spacecraft's walls with water, food and their own faeces....

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Mystery ring of radiation briefly encircled Earth

What were you doing last September? The charged particles that dance around Earth were busy. Unbeknown to most earthlings, a previously unseen ring of radiation encircled our planet for nearly the whole month – before being destroyed by a powerful interplanetary shock wave. ...

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Quantum skyfall puts Einstein's gravity to the test

DIVIDING a falling cloud of frozen atoms sounds like an exotic weather experiment. In fact, it's the latest way to probe whether tiny objects obey Einstein's theory of general relativity, our leading explanation for gravity. General relativity is based...

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Today on New Scientist: 26 February 2013

Giant laser creates an artificial star to clear the sky The Very Large Telescope's new laser looks like something off the Death Star, but its powerful beam is used for the peaceful exploration of the galaxyRussian meteor traced to Apollo asteroid family The bounty of footage from dashboard-mounted cameras helped astronomers quickly calculate the orbit of the meteor and trace it to its home turfCuriosity's...

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Today on New Scientist: 25 February 2013

First fruits of a groundbreaking art-science tie-up A pioneering collaboration between two of London's most prestigious cultural institutions shows that sci-art has come of ageThe great illusion of the self Your mind's greatest trick is convincing you of your own reality. Discover the elaborate illusions involved and what they mean in our special featureStunning seeds: a biological meteor wreathed...

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Ancient continent hides beneath Indian Ocean

The sands of Mauritius are hiding a secret: deep beneath them lurks an ancient continent. Trond Torsvik and colleagues at the University of Oslo, Norway, analysed grains of zircon found on the island's beaches, measuring the balance...

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Amazon to open market in second-hand MP3s and e-books

A new market for second-hand digital downloads could let us hold virtual yard sales of our ever-growing piles of intangible possessions WHY buy second-hand? For physical goods, the appeal is in the price – you don't mind the creases in a book or rust spots on a car if it's a bargain. Although digital objects...

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Rusty rocks reveal ancient origin of photosynthesis

SUN-WORSHIP began even earlier than we thought. The world's oldest sedimentary rocks suggest an early form of photosynthesis may have evolved almost 3.8 billion years ago, not long after life appeared on Earth. A hallmark of photosynthesis in plants is that the process...

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Flowers get an electrifying buzz out of visiting bees

Plants could turn out to be one of the more chatty organisms. Recent studies have shown they can communicate with a surprising range of cues. Now it turns out they could be sending out electrical signals, too. As they fly through...

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First snaps made of fetal brains wiring themselves up

The first images have been captured of the fetal brain at different stages of its development. The work gives a glimpse of how the brain's neural connections form in the womb, and could one day lead to prenatal diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as autism and schizophrenia. ...

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Today on New Scientist: 19 February 2013

Doctors would tax sugary drinks to combat obesity Hiking the price of fizzy drinks would cut consumption and so help fight obesity, urges the British Academy of Medical Royal CollegesSpace station's dark matter hunter coy about findings Researchers on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which sits above the International Space Station, have collected their first results - but won't reveal them...

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Today on New Scientist: 18 February 2013

One-Minute Physics: Are unknowns part of the universe? Watch an animation that examines the contents of the universe as described by physics - does it contain everything that is, including the unknown?Traces of life on Mars may have been bleached away Bleach-related compounds in a Mars meteorite from Antarctica suggest that chemical reactions may have destroyed organics - at least on Mars's surfacePredict...

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False memories prime immune system for future attacks

IN A police line-up, a falsely remembered face is a big problem. But for the body's police force – the immune system – false memories could be a crucial weapon. When a new bacterium or virus invades the body, the immune system mounts...

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Tongue-tingling interface lets you taste data

CAN YOU imagine feeling Earth's magnetic field on the tip of your tongue? Strangely, this is now possible, using a device that converts the tongue into a "display" for output from environmental sensors. Gershon Dublon of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology...

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Is the new coronavirus the next SARS?

Fears a new respiratory virus identified last year in the Middle East could cause a pandemic are unfounded. The virus isn't showing signs of it – yet A 60-year-old man is in serious condition in hospital with the new coronavirus that was discovered in Saudi Arabia last year. Reports that he passed it onto his son have...

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Water wars loom as the US runs dry

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Today on New Scientist: 12 February 2013

Exploring oscillation proves a moving experience From the animating pigs' hearts to diving into an acoustic pod, an exhibition exploring the world of oscillation is full of surprisesGene therapy cures diabetic dogs Diabetic beagles haven't needed an insulin injection for four years following treatment with two genes that work together to regulate glucoseWithering heights: Why animals are shrinking...

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Trading places with us makes robots better teammates

I am not a natural team player: I hate to have to rely on other people performing well but, equally, I am devastated if I fear I have let them down. That makes working with me a tough brief for my latest teammate, Abbie, a bright orange, industrial robot arm. Together we are going to insert...

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Liver cancer survival time tripled by virus

The virus used in the vaccine that helped eradicate smallpox is now working its magic on liver cancer. A genetically engineered version of the vaccinia virus has trebled the average survival time of people with a severe form of liver cancer, with only mild, flu-like side effects. ...

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