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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

Earth

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

News

HavenGreen_EP3_NETFLIX USSCallister_Unit

Comment

Black Mirror returns full of delights and disappointments

Culture

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

Environment

Lab-grown chicken could be made chewier using artificial capillaries

News

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

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

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

Culture

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

Space

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

In this extract from the classic science fiction novel, the latest read for the 91av Book Club, we meet Ringworld’s protagonist Louis Wu, as he travels a future Earth

Culture

Earth

Inside the hunt for unknown minerals in super-deep diamonds

News

Physics

Speculative novel layers Groundhog Day with existential dreaminess

Culture

Society

What politicians so often get wrong about science

Leader

Comment

Rereading the best sci-fi writers of all time: Larry Niven

Culture