Today on New Scientist: 16 May 2012

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Brain-controlled arm could beat paralysis

A paralysed woman sipping a cup of coffee with a robotic arm becomes the first human to use their brain signals to manipulate a real-world object

Biological clock began ticking 2.5 billion years ago

An enzyme found in nearly all forms of life runs on a 24-hour clock and dates back to a pivotal moment in evolution

Win tickets to How The Light Gets In Festival

Enter our competition to win a pair of tickets for this hidden gem of a philosophy and music festival called How The Light Gets In

Best illusions of 2012: Making Brad Pitt look ugly

See how a finalist in this year's illusion contest can make pretty faces look grotesque

Amber reveals earliest example of pollinating insects

A piece of Cretaceous amber found in Spain gives a glimpse into how the relationship between plants and insects first evolved

Interactive 'wallpaper' screens are the future of TV

Wall-sized, total-immersion screens will go beyond today's power-hungry flat screens and change how you watch TV

The moral uncertainty of a P = NP world

Four mathematicians have the potential to do more damage than James Bond as they waver over releasing a proof that can help break secret codes in this thriller

Pulsar heavyweight champ challenges Einstein

A pulsar with twice the sun's mass could challenge Einstein's theory of general relativity: but such a dense object is near impossible, according to his work

The ancient American bones at centre of two lawsuits

The future remains uncertain for the 9000-year-old remains of two Americans found beneath the University of California in San Diego in 2006

Chatbots fail to convince despite Loebner Prize win

Yesterday's Loebner prize to identify the best chatbots was another fun occasion - but even the winner didn't come close to convincing judges it was human

Chikungunya virus loves warm New York winters

A mosquito-borne virus that causes debilitating joint pain could become endemic in New York City within years as winters get warmer

Making perfumes past and present

Perfumery is an ancient industry, its techniques refined over centuries and ingredients found in unlikely places - find out more in our gallery

Google Glasses won't live up to the hype

Google says the prototype version of its augmented-reality glasses can only display information in a small window above the wearer's usual line of sight

Wikipedia busts the language barrier

Ever read about UFOs in Spanish or Hebrew? Omnipedia software lets Wikipedia users browse topics in 25 languages, and get a foreign cultural perspective

'Nobody is exempt from climate responsibility'

Could Christiana Figueres have the world's toughest job: getting all nations to agree how to tackle climate change? We talk to the UN's climate chief

The power of cool: Whatever became of Starlite?

Two decades ago, Maurice Ward invented a fireproof substance that outperformed all known materials. Why wouldn't he reveal its secret, asks Richard Fisher

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