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New Scientist

High-tech research ship ready to seek new life at hydrothermal vents

The Falkor (too), a 100-metre, state-of-the-art research vessel, is scheduled to set sail on 3 March to look for hydrothermal vents and undiscovered organisms, potentially shedding light on how life may have arisen on other planets

Adding wild fungi to soil could make trees store more carbon

A loblolly pine plantation in the state of Georgia is the test site for a start-up company trying to see if improving the fungi and other microbes in soil can help trees grow bigger and faster

Young snapping shrimp’s tiny claws beat underwater acceleration record

Juvenile bigclaw snapping shrimp can clamp their claws nearly twenty times faster than their parents. The acceleration is similar to a bullet leaving a gun and even faster than mantis shrimp

Aye-aye and possums top list of mammals we should focus on saving

Biologists have come up with an improved method of prioritising conservation efforts based on how unique a species is and how endangered its relatives are

Tiny insects excrete vast amounts of urine using an anal catapult

Sharpshooters eliminate up to 300 times their body weight in liquid waste each day, and save energy through a phenomenon called superpropulsion

Northern lights: The best pictures of the aurora taken across the UK

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are usually seen near the Arctic – but solar activity has seen much of the UK treated to the spectacular night time display

Ancient fish thought to be larger than sharks was actually quite short

Dunkleosteus terrelli was an armoured predator fish with bladed jaws instead of teeth that lived 360 million years ago. Researchers thought it was a 9-metre-long giant but it may have actually have been half that size

SpaceX launches Starlink V2 satellites to increase internet capacity

A new generation of Starlink’s internet satellites will orbit at low altitudes and eventually re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, limiting the amount of clutter in orbit

Artificial intelligence training is powered mostly by fossil fuels

Most AI training relies on electrical grids primarily powered by coal and gas rather than low-carbon sources, according to an analysis of 95 AIs

Ford patents car that can repossess itself and drive back to showroom

A new patent allows Ford to build cars that take action if the owner falls behind on payments by playing annoying sounds – or even driving themselves back to the seller