Timbuktu's precious scientific texts must be saved
Islamist militants in Mali have burned documents that attest to science in Africa before European colonisation - what remains must be protected
Think that massage feels good? Try adding drugs
Nerve bundles that respond to stroking have been identified and chemically activated in mice
How Obama will deliver his climate promise
The US is set to meet - and maybe exceed - Obama's pledge to cut US emissions by 17 per cent, which could give a boost to international climate talks
Minimum booze price will rein in alcohol abuse
Evidence suggests the UK government's proposal to set a minimum price for alcohol could save thousands of lives, and billions of pounds of public money
First real time-travel movies are loopers
Hollywood has played with time travel for decades, but now physicists have the first movies of what travelling to the past actually looks like
Surfer rides highest wave ever caught
Garret McNamara of Hawaii claims to have ridden the highest wave ever caught by a surfer, a 30-metre monster off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal
Infrared laptop trackpad ignores accidental touches
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Close call coming: Averting the asteroid threat
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The right to fight: women at war
The US military has accepted women into combat. What can science tell us about how women deal with being in the line of fire? And are they any different to men?
Earth and others lose status as Goldilocks worlds
Several planets are taking a hit thanks to a redefinition of the habitable zone - the area around a star in which liquid water can theoretically exist
The 10,000-year bender: Why humans love a tipple
Our taste for alcohol results from an evolutionary tussle between humans and yeast - one in which the microbes have often had the upper hand
Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013
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Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013
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Today on New Scientist: 30 January 2013
