Today on New Scientist

30 April 2014

Cyborg angst: 5 ways computers will perplex us in 2039
What is the ideal number of fingers? Do plants need Facebook? All this and more is on the agenda of a fictional conference set 25 years in the future

Fibre sends appetite-suppressing molecule to the brain
Mice on a high-fat diet gain less weight if fibre is added to their food, thanks to a fibre-related fatty acid that makes a surprise beeline for the brain

The bacteria that chat back and tell you how they are
The first conversations with bacteria, based on light signals, could lead to speech-based communication and food that warns you when it has gone off

Pfizer’s AstraZeneca bid: bitter pill or welcome tonic?
What’s in store for UK research if US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer buys UK-based rival AstraZeneca, wonders science campaigner Sarah Main


One rule of life: Are we poised on the border of order?
There are signs that all living things sit on the knife-edge of criticality – something that could help them adapt to complex and unpredictable events

Avoid camels to escape MERS, warns Saudi minister
Saudi authorities have warned against close contact with camels, and some camel products, after evidence that the animals are the source of the MERS virus

Epic Mars flooding triggered by collapsed crater lake
Lakes that gushed up through collapsed sediment can explain bumpy landscapes on Mars and perhaps sheltered microbes that may now lie dormant in ice