This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say

Forests full of dead trees aren’t just found by the US coasts – they are also appearing far from the sea around freshwater lakes

The 2026 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine has gone to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for the development of techniques for controlling brain cells with light

Physicists have long struggled with their goal of making gravity a quantum force. A radical post-quantum approach might solve that problem – and clear up other cosmic mysteries, too

Why does music evoke emotion, and do people from other cultures feel the same way? Why do we scrunch our faces up when we taste something sour?

Pressing down on shin bones improved cognitive and motor symptoms in mice and pigs with traumatic brain injuries

Antibiotics can reduce the diversity of microbes in your gut and lead to health problems, but a study in people with cancer has identified a potential solution

A monster El Niño is brewing in the Pacific Ocean – but there may be ways we can stop the worst impacts from occurring

Commentators say the probability of machines wiping us out ranges from 0 to over 95 per cent. Columnist Jacob Aron explains why you shouldn't trust any of those numbers

Wearing shoes seems to affect the volume of a spongy network within a bone in our ankles, which could affect the validity of previous research into the evolution of walking

With a new book from the late primatologist Frans de Waal and a deep dive into artificial intelligence from New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose, there is some hard-hitting popular science to look forward to this month – with added Pokémon, says Liz Else

Higher temperatures around the world due to the record-breaking El Niño will lead to an estimated 450,000 extra deaths by February unless swift action is taken, warn researchers

Extreme weather could damage harvests worldwide, but the answer is more local food production, not stockpiling, Katie White said in an interview with New Scientist

As New Scientist celebrates its 70th anniversary, climate change, AI and misinformation have heightened the need for rigorous, sceptical reporting

Therapy and drugs are the go-to options for treating mental health. But psychologist Kimberley Wilson argues that what we eat also has a crucial role to play

This question was posed as part of New Scientist’s Last Word series, in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions. Here’s what our readers had to say

Pills and other medications may seem like the most rigorous way to treat illness, but we increasingly know that our health must revolve around the whole mind and body

Though the El Niño is still months from its peak, it is already breaking many records. Two main factors are behind how it became so powerful

Every few years, a disturbance in the Pacific Ocean is amplified by feedback mechanisms in the atmosphere, unleashing heat and extreme weather around the globe

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