Neuroscientists Find Part of The Brain That Responds Specifically to Singing

The capacity to engage with and comprehend music spans nearly every human society. While other creatures also display musical behaviors (think bird song, humpback whale calls, or bonobo vocalizations), our musical cognition appears to be evolutionary distinct within the animal kingdom.    A new study has given us more insight into the brain’s relationship with music, finding that … Read more

Dual review: The dark side of cloning played straight for laughs

Riley Stearns’s dark comedy about a death match between clones has an appealing premise, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark Humans 23 February 2022 By Davide Abbatescianni Preparing for a death match against your double brings mental and physical challenges Courtesy of Sundance Institute Dual Riley Stearns Coming in 2022 FROM its very first scene, … Read more

Dust devils’ subtle trails across Mars revealed in bold blue

The Martian surface is criss-crossed by little whirlwinds that swirl through its thin atmosphere. Their tracks are revealed in this striking infrared image taken by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Space 23 February 2022 By Gege Li ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS Photograph ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS THIS intriguing landscape is one of the latest images of the surface of Mars. It … Read more

Don’t miss: The live launch of NASA’s latest environmental satellite

New Scientist’s weekly round-up of the best books, films, TV series, games and more that you shouldn’t miss Humans 23 February 2022 Read Carbon Queen is Maia Weinstock’s account of the remarkable life of nanoscience pioneer Mildred Dresselhaus, who, from the 1950s, defied society’s expectations of women to become an influential scientist and engineer. Daniel … Read more

Rising seas could submerge Rio and Jakarta by 2100 – what can we do?

Smart engineering solutions such as “sand motors” and artificial reefs will defend our coasts for a while. But in many places, conversations are already turning to a managed retreat inland Environment 23 February 2022 By Simon Usborne Shutterstock/Chxli A MINATH SHAUNA grew up on the Addu Atoll, a small group of islands in the Maldives … Read more

Cryptocurrencies: MI5 and MI6 are investigating Bitstamp transactions

Bitstamp, Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, says it has handed over information on some of its customers to the UK’s intelligence agencies, MI5 and MI6 Technology 25 February 2022 By Matthew Sparkes Bitcoin has a variety of uses Mete Caner Arican/Alamy The UK’s intelligence agencies have asked Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp, to hand over information … Read more

Europe’s space chief says cooperation with Russia will continue, but experts aren’t so sure

Business with Russia continues as usual amid the escalating situation in Ukraine, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) chief said on Friday (Feb. 25). But it’s unclear if the partnership can survive Russia’s recent aggression, experts say. On Friday, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher released a statement via Twitter addressing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and … Read more

Antibiotic resistance: C. difficile superbug has protective protein coat like chain mail

The outer coat of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Clostridium difficile has a structure similar to chain mail that stops drugs and immune system cells from killing it Health 25 February 2022 By Carissa Wong The outer proteins of Clostridium difficile form a structure like chain mail Newcastle University A bacterium called Clostridium difficile is known as … Read more

Ukraine invasion: Is Russia winning the disinformation war?

Russia has flooded social media with disinformation as part of its offensive on Ukraine, but unlike its previous campaigns to spread falsehoods, few people seem to be falling for it Technology | Analysis 25 February 2022 By Chris Stokel-Walker A fire in a building in Chuguiv, Ukraine, after Russian bombing on 24 February ARIS MESSINIS/AFP … Read more

Covid-19 news: 5.2 million children have lost a relative or caregiver

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins White flags that are part of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg’s temporary art installation, “In America: Remember” Brynn Anderson/AP/Shutterstock Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 25 February Around 3.3 … Read more