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Holiday long reads

The best of New Scientist's festive long reads, all in one place. Learn about the iceberg cowboys wrangling glaciers from the Antarctic to the equator, strange alien worlds that could survive the death of the sun, how to cook a bizarre but delicious holiday meal, and much more.  

Life

Do animals dream and if so, what about?

By studying the dream-like states of octopuses, pigeons and spiders, biologists hope to find out why dreaming evolved in the first place

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Do animals dream and if so, what about?

Humans

Test your brain with this fiendish set of museum-themed puzzles

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Question mark of gifts on a green background. The question of what to present for the new year. The concept of what to choose a gift.; Shutterstock ID 768612346; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Environment

The unlikely extremophiles lurking in your kitchen

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The unlikely extremophiles lurking in your kitchen
Captain Edward Kean stands on his boat in front of an iceberg in Bonavista Bay on June 29, 2019 in Newfoundland, Canada. - Iceberg water, considered pure, is now marketing for a unique sector of high-end products. "We are trying to target the niche market for healthy foods and products," says former fisherman Edward Kean, an iceberg hunter. For 20 years, he has been cruising the North Atlantic aboard his fishing boat to retrieve chunks of ice to melt and sell the water to local traders. Customers include manufacturers of vodka, cider, liquor, beer, cosmetics, but also companies that bottle water. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

Environment

Arctic cowboys: Meet the people wrangling icebergs for drinking water

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Mystery of the quantum lentils: Are legumes exchanging secret signals?

Physics

Mystery of the quantum lentils: Are legumes exchanging secret signals?

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The future of AI: The 5 possible scenarios, from utopia to extinction

Technology

The future of AI: The 5 possible scenarios, from utopia to extinction

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Science and technology's newest words and what they tell us about 2023

Environment

Science and technology's newest words and what they tell us about 2023

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2R0BH12 The Fra Mauro map, ca 1450 by the Venetian cartographer Fra Mauro

Earth

The magnificent medieval map that made cartography into a science

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15 mind-bending scientific riddles to enjoy solving with your family

Mind

15 mind-bending scientific riddles to enjoy solving with your family

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Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) crawling at Buffalo Zoo, USA. Captivity.

Life

Why are there no flightless bats? We're closing in on an answer

A careful look at the few bats that can walk on the ground – including the common vampire bat – is helping us understand why evolution has yet to produce a flightless bat

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Screaming Hairy Armadillo Pup

Life

Inside the milk bank creating infant formula for orphaned animals

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Gin Fizz

Physics

Make these four classic cocktails and become a fluid dynamics expert

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Artist's impression of a planet around a red giant star

Space

Strange alien worlds suggest Earth could survive the death of the sun

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How to use 'flavour bridging' to cook a bizarre but tasty holiday meal

Chemistry

How to use 'flavour bridging' to cook a bizarre but tasty holiday meal

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