The Last Word - Terms and conditions
Questions should be scientific enquiries about everyday phenomena, and both questions and answers should be concise. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style. Please include a postal address, daytime telephone number and email address.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude) to write either questions or answers is forbidden, and any submissions found to have been written using AI tools will be withdrawn.
Send questions and answers by email to lastword@newscientist.com or to The Last Word, ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, Kensington, London, W8 5TT, UK. Please include a postal address, a daytime telephone number and an email address.