Earliest use of anaesthetics uncovered in Chinese doctor’s tomb 26. May 2026 (13:24) Residues on medical equipment reveal that physicians in China over 600 years ago used aconitine, a highly toxic plant chemical, to alleviate pain during surgical procedures(New Scientist)
Will lab-grown sperm let infertile men have children of their own? 26. May 2026 (11:00) Men who do not produce sperm can’t be helped by existing fertility treatments, but a start-up is now claiming it can grow their sperm in the lab. Columnist Michael Le Page suspects this technique will have to be combined with gene editing if it is to help many men(New Scientist)
Why your brain needs plenty of “Aha!” moments 25. May 2026 (11:00) In the age of AI, instant answers to our questions are readily available. But columnist Helen Thomson finds that continuing to encourage those delicious flashes of insight that come from your own thoughts may be beneficial both for your everyday life and your long-term brain health(New Scientist)
Mercury may have gained all of its unexpected water in a single day 22. May 2026 (20:00) Despite being the closest planet to the sun, Mercury has thick deposits of ice at its poles, and now we may understand the events that formed them over just one Mercurian day(New Scientist)
