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New Scientist covers the latest developments in science and technology that will impact your world. New Scientist employs and commissions the best writers in their fields from all over the world. Our editorial team provide cutting-edge news, award-winning features and reports, written in concise and clear language that puts discoveries and advances in the context of everyday life today and in the future.

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Pessimistic optimism • To reach ambitious goals, we can learn from those who prepare for the worst

New Scientist International Edition

Glowing with festive cheer

A surprising twist on infinity • Maths contains an entire ladder of infinities, but a discovery threatens to upset that order and perhaps redefine the structure of the mathematical universe, finds Alex Wilkins

New forms of animals made by fusing several comb jellies together

Flying robot leaps upwards then takes to the air like a bird

Does Santa change child behaviour? • You might expect a child’s belief in Father Christmas – with his ability to know if kids have been good – would affect the way they act. But other festive rituals may play a bigger role, says Michael Marshall

Mesopotamians felt happiness in their livers

DeepMind AI predicts weather more accurately than existing forecasts

Field notes Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve • What stalagmites can tell us about life on a hotter Earth The way wildfires will continue to change as a result of climate change could be revealed by clues deep underground, finds James Dinneen

Caving for clues

Medical advice chatbot put to the test • People whose medical queries were answered by an AI-powered healthcare app reported high satisfaction levels, but one exchange included “potentially dangerous inaccuracies”, says Alex Wilkins

Toddler bones hint that mammoths were the main food of the first Americans

A good crop of fungi makes plants more attractive to bees

Another year of climate breakdown • Heatwaves, storms and wildfires were among the symptoms of our warming world seen in 2024

A festival of stunning creatures • The past 12 months have seen animals of all shapes, sizes and colours strut their stuff – here are just a few of the best pictures from the year

Space was for sale as private missions boomed

Bird flu suddenly got serious • More than 50 people in the US tested positive for bird flu this year, increasing concerns about its pandemic potential, reports Grace Wade

Neuralink’s brain implants were on our minds

The shine began to wear off AI as advances slowed down

Dazzling auroras lit up the skies – and we can expect more

What next for the Anthropocene? • An official body rejected a proposal to declare a new geological epoch, but its proponents will carry on highlighting humanity’s impact on the planet, says Chen Ly

Pig kidney transplants offered new hope

Sleep it off • New Scientist’s columnists take a look back at 2024 – plus a wintry instalment of Future Chronicles, an imagined history of inventions

Little beauties • Evident Image of the Year Award

Abracadabra • Award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Nnedi Okorafor journeys to the near future in this unsettling short story

A wickedly tricky word search • We challenge you to find more than 100 words – but we’re not telling you what they are

Your letters

Holiday tales • Welcome to New Scientist’s festive features, each filled with intrigue and amusement – from informative farts (page 42) and record-breaking snowflakes (page 64) to tantalising time machines (page 54), influential ancient insults (page 50) and the baffling inner lives of dogs (page 66). Happy...