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Fierce war on alien ruins, 3D illustration.; Shutterstock ID 2188388355; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

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The best new science fiction books of May 2025

May’s new science fiction novels include a hot tip from our culture editor, as well as war on an alien planet from Bora Chung

Culture

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Blue Origin/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock (15255350a) Texas, USA: New Shepard-31 Capsule Recovery with the crew : Katy Perry, American Singer, Aisha Bowe, American aerospace engineer, Lauren Sanchez, American presenter and companion of Jeff Bezos, Kerianne Flynn, American Producer, Gayle King, American journalist, and Amanda N. Nguyen (Amanda Nguyen), Activist. Suborbital launch system and landing mission. This suborbital flight, the 31st in the New Shepard program and the 11th crewed, will extend Blue Origin's initiative to democratize access to space, having already carried 52 people beyond the Karman line. USA. Blue Origin All-Women Crew Historic Space Launch, Texas, USA - 14 Apr 2025

Society

Does science have a future in the US?

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Liquid Gold Anna Curran Department of Mathematics A lattice of bubbles inside a ring that has been dipped in soapy water. The bubbles hold their shape because of molecules in the dish soap called surfactants, which stabilise the interface. Surfactants are all around us - for example, they allow soap to break down dirt and bacteria, and they are given to premature babies to help them inflate their lungs. Conversely, they threaten the efficacy of various industrial applications such as self-cleaning surfaces and laptop cooling systems. My research focuses on mathematically modelling the effect of these molecules at a f luid interface, in order to gain a greater understanding of how to control their behaviour in these applications.

Physics

Photography contest spotlights the beauty of science in vivid detail

Regulars

XB-1 in transonic flight with riblet package test patches installed, Boom Supersonic

Technology

Jets wrapped in 'shark skin' material could fly further on less fuel

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Earth

Ancient humans may have faced radiation risk 41,000 years ago

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HavenGreen_EP3_NETFLIX USSCallister_Unit

Comment

Black Mirror returns full of delights and disappointments

Culture

Life

Living material made from fungus could make buildings more sustainable

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A machine that delivers nutrient-rich liquid inside artificial chicken fibres

Environment

Lab-grown chicken could be made chewier using artificial capillaries

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California-Cultured-Cell-Chocolate. Shaker process

Environment

Inside the mouth-watering race to master lab-grown chocolate

Features

Book Club: Readers admit they weren’t impressed with our latest novel

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Book Club: Readers admit they weren’t impressed with our latest novel

Culture editor Alison Flood rounds up the book club’s thoughts on our latest read, the weird and wild Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva. Warning: spoilers ahead

Culture

Comment

Larry Niven on creating Ringworld, a 'great gaudy intellectual toy'

Culture

Space

Ringworld extract: Read a section from Larry Niven’s timeless classic

Culture

Earth

Inside the hunt for unknown minerals in super-deep diamonds

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Physics

Speculative novel layers Groundhog Day with existential dreaminess

Culture