De-extinction was big news in 2025 – but didn't live up to the hype 10. December 2025 (19:00) Biologists poured cold water on Colossal Biosciences’ claim to have brought the dire wolf back from extinction, and some worry the overblown headlines will undermine conservation work(New Scientist)
AI firms began to feel the legal wrath of copyright holders in 2025 10. December 2025 (19:00) Big AI firms have built their models by hoovering up copyrighted material from the internet as training data. They say this is legal, but copyright holders disagree - and this year they hit back in a major way(New Scientist)
Donald Trump and Elon Musk put science on the chopping block in 2025 10. December 2025 (19:00) The Trump administration has targeted everything from public health to space missions for funding cuts, bringing an end to the longstanding US policy of scientific pursuits as a path towards progress and economic prosperity(New Scientist)
People saw a new colour for the first time in 2025 10. December 2025 (19:00) Scientists found a way to let people perceive an intense blue-green hue unlike anything they had seen before – and the technique could help people with colour blindness(New Scientist)
Test your brain on these mind-bending scientific riddles 10. December 2025 (19:00) A bizarre Christmas dinner invitation, some mysterious carol singers and even a spot of charades. Can you solve all 12 of our unique festive riddles?(New Scientist)
The potential of GLP-1 drugs to transform medicine exploded in 2025 10. December 2025 (19:00) We knew that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy did more than just help control type 2 diabetes and aid weight loss, but the extent of that potential really came to light in 2025(New Scientist)
Chance of a devastating asteroid impact briefly spiked in 2025 10. December 2025 (19:00) A building-sized asteroid had a 1-in-32 chance of hitting Earth at its peak, but astronomers soon found there was zero chance of it impacting the planet(New Scientist)
Best acronym? Best use of AI? We present our end-of-year awards 10. December 2025 (19:00) Feedback has spent some time sifting through 2025's key scientific achievements to come up with a range of weird and wonderful (and less wonderful) winners for our inaugural Backsies awards(New Scientist)
