Matthew Sparkes
@sparkes.bsky.social
Reporter at New Scientist magazine. Got a story? Email: [email protected]
My only hope is that after my death my proboscis can be useful to science.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
Mosquito proboscis repurposed as a fine nozzle for 3D printing
When engineers struggled to make 3D printer nozzles narrow enough for their needs, they turned to nature and found the proboscis of a female mosquito had exactly the properties they needed
www.newscientist.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:16 AM
My only hope is that after my death my proboscis can be useful to science.
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
www.newscientist.com/article/2504...
A £4k electric bike sounds high-end but is actually just a cheap and practical alternative to a car.
Nobody baulks at people spending £30k on a little hatchback, but a £4k electric bike is seen as extravagant.
Gov should be begging people to start cycling.
www.ft.com/content/e41e...
Nobody baulks at people spending £30k on a little hatchback, but a £4k electric bike is seen as extravagant.
Gov should be begging people to start cycling.
www.ft.com/content/e41e...
Rachel Reeves to curb high-end bike purchases in Cycle to Work scheme
Introduction of new cap comes after retailers warned some higher-rate taxpayers were exploiting the perk
www.ft.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:12 AM
A £4k electric bike sounds high-end but is actually just a cheap and practical alternative to a car.
Nobody baulks at people spending £30k on a little hatchback, but a £4k electric bike is seen as extravagant.
Gov should be begging people to start cycling.
www.ft.com/content/e41e...
Nobody baulks at people spending £30k on a little hatchback, but a £4k electric bike is seen as extravagant.
Gov should be begging people to start cycling.
www.ft.com/content/e41e...
A team of experts doesn't trust our governments are doing enough to protect society from technological collapse caused by Russian hackers, solar storms, floods...
So they're planning to do it themselves.
www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
So they're planning to do it themselves.
www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
How preppers plan to save us if the whole internet collapses
Recent outages have revealed how vulnerable the internet is, but there seems to be no official plan in the event of a catastrophic failure. Meet the team of hackers who are ready to jump into action
www.newscientist.com
November 4, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A team of experts doesn't trust our governments are doing enough to protect society from technological collapse caused by Russian hackers, solar storms, floods...
So they're planning to do it themselves.
www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
So they're planning to do it themselves.
www.newscientist.com/article/2500...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
So, is the US actually going to start testing nuclear weapons? Here's what the experts tell @sparkes.bsky.social and New Scientist www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
The US is unlikely to test nuclear weapons, despite what Trump says
President Donald Trump appears to have ordered a return to nuclear testing after decades of uneasy but effective treaties banning the practice – but will it actually happen?
www.newscientist.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:12 PM
So, is the US actually going to start testing nuclear weapons? Here's what the experts tell @sparkes.bsky.social and New Scientist www.newscientist.com/article/2502...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
Here's @sparkes.bsky.social on what happens if/when the AI bubble bursts. If you're expecting it to all go away, you're probably wrong www.newscientist.com/article/2499...
The AI bubble is heading towards a burst but it won't be the end of AI
Economists, bankers and even the boss of OpenAI are warning of a rapidly inflating AI bubble. If and when it bursts, what will happen to the technological breakthroughs of the past few years?
www.newscientist.com
October 15, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Here's @sparkes.bsky.social on what happens if/when the AI bubble bursts. If you're expecting it to all go away, you're probably wrong www.newscientist.com/article/2499...
Very strange story. Police seem to be saying it takes longer to review CCTV to spot moment of bike theft as the length of time the bike was left there increases. Surely you jump to midpoint of footage then, if bike is there, jump to midpoint of second half, etc etc?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised'
The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Very strange story. Police seem to be saying it takes longer to review CCTV to spot moment of bike theft as the length of time the bike was left there increases. Surely you jump to midpoint of footage then, if bike is there, jump to midpoint of second half, etc etc?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Great paper on arXiv today for anyone who doesn't find musical theory complex enough already. Very pretty.
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.21428
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.21428
September 29, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Great paper on arXiv today for anyone who doesn't find musical theory complex enough already. Very pretty.
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.21428
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.21428
After many, many interviews I'm sitting down to write up a long feature today.
My cat has taken that as a cue to be sick on my keyboard, rendering it not only gross but also, somehow, entirely broken.
Tiny laptop keyboard it is, then.
My cat has taken that as a cue to be sick on my keyboard, rendering it not only gross but also, somehow, entirely broken.
Tiny laptop keyboard it is, then.
September 16, 2025 at 9:46 AM
After many, many interviews I'm sitting down to write up a long feature today.
My cat has taken that as a cue to be sick on my keyboard, rendering it not only gross but also, somehow, entirely broken.
Tiny laptop keyboard it is, then.
My cat has taken that as a cue to be sick on my keyboard, rendering it not only gross but also, somehow, entirely broken.
Tiny laptop keyboard it is, then.
Small modular nuclear reactors sound great, but they won't be ready any time soon.
”This is very rich men giving a few crumbs off the table to this technology they’ve always loved the idea of, without really looking too carefully,” says one expert.
www.newscientist.com/article/2496...
”This is very rich men giving a few crumbs off the table to this technology they’ve always loved the idea of, without really looking too carefully,” says one expert.
www.newscientist.com/article/2496...
Modular nuclear reactors sound great, but won't be ready any time soon
The UK government has announced a raft of tiny nuclear power projects, while Russia, China and a host of tech giants are also betting big on small nuclear reactor designs. Does the idea make sense and...
www.newscientist.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Small modular nuclear reactors sound great, but they won't be ready any time soon.
”This is very rich men giving a few crumbs off the table to this technology they’ve always loved the idea of, without really looking too carefully,” says one expert.
www.newscientist.com/article/2496...
”This is very rich men giving a few crumbs off the table to this technology they’ve always loved the idea of, without really looking too carefully,” says one expert.
www.newscientist.com/article/2496...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
An important part of this story (which I am not expecting the NASA live stream to mention) is that the sample return mission that could potentially answer the question of life on Mars is being threatened by budget cuts from the Trump administration www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
NASA hasn't found life on Mars yet – but signs are promising
A rock found last year on the surface of Mars offered tantalising evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet. Now scientists have found yet more evidence that could point to the existence of an...
www.newscientist.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
An important part of this story (which I am not expecting the NASA live stream to mention) is that the sample return mission that could potentially answer the question of life on Mars is being threatened by budget cuts from the Trump administration www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
Gravitational waves have finally proven Stephen Hawking's 50-year-old black hole theorem.
This research was made possible because of increasingly sensitive gravitational wave detectors, but also an extremely loud signal.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
This research was made possible because of increasingly sensitive gravitational wave detectors, but also an extremely loud signal.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
Gravitational waves finally prove Stephen Hawking's black hole theorem
An exceptionally loud collision between two black holes has been detected by the LIGO gravitational wave observatory, enabling physicists to test a theorem postulated by Stephen Hawking in 1971
www.newscientist.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Gravitational waves have finally proven Stephen Hawking's 50-year-old black hole theorem.
This research was made possible because of increasingly sensitive gravitational wave detectors, but also an extremely loud signal.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
This research was made possible because of increasingly sensitive gravitational wave detectors, but also an extremely loud signal.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
NASA hasn't found life on Mars yet – but the signs are promising. More evidence stacking up.
We have multiple rock samples that need to be analysed further back on Earth. But the mission to bring them home is in budget jeopardy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
We have multiple rock samples that need to be analysed further back on Earth. But the mission to bring them home is in budget jeopardy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
NASA hasn't found life on Mars yet – but signs are promising
A rock found last year on the surface of Mars offered tantalising evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet. Now scientists have found yet more evidence that could point to the existence of an...
www.newscientist.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
NASA hasn't found life on Mars yet – but the signs are promising. More evidence stacking up.
We have multiple rock samples that need to be analysed further back on Earth. But the mission to bring them home is in budget jeopardy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
We have multiple rock samples that need to be analysed further back on Earth. But the mission to bring them home is in budget jeopardy.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
TRAPPIST-1e might have an atmosphere that could host life. But we're going to need to scan it over a dozen more times to find out.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
Exoplanet 40 light years from Earth may have right conditions for life
The planet TRAPPIST-1e lies in its star’s Goldilocks zone, where water remains liquid – and an analysis suggests it might have a nitrogen-rich atmosphere like Earth’s
www.newscientist.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:51 PM
TRAPPIST-1e might have an atmosphere that could host life. But we're going to need to scan it over a dozen more times to find out.
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
www.newscientist.com/article/2495...
Asteroid 2025 QD8 will buzz Earth this week at 218,000km - 57% of the average distance from Earth to our moon.
Totally safe. No danger. But a reasonably close one.
www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/09/01/n...
Totally safe. No danger. But a reasonably close one.
www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/09/01/n...
Near-Earth Asteroid 2025 QD8 very close encounter: online observation - 2 Sept. 2025. - The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0
See near-Earth asteroid 2025 QD8 live, safely coming very close to us from the comfort of your home, next 2 Sept. 2025.
www.virtualtelescope.eu
September 1, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Asteroid 2025 QD8 will buzz Earth this week at 218,000km - 57% of the average distance from Earth to our moon.
Totally safe. No danger. But a reasonably close one.
www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/09/01/n...
Totally safe. No danger. But a reasonably close one.
www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/09/01/n...
Every embassy in the UK has a different code for diplomatic number plates.
Today I learned that Joint European Torus staff are extended the same privilege: if you see a car plated with three numbers then "D 931" it might be on important fusion business.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Today I learned that Joint European Torus staff are extended the same privilege: if you see a car plated with three numbers then "D 931" it might be on important fusion business.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
List of country codes on British diplomatic vehicle registration plates - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
September 1, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Every embassy in the UK has a different code for diplomatic number plates.
Today I learned that Joint European Torus staff are extended the same privilege: if you see a car plated with three numbers then "D 931" it might be on important fusion business.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Today I learned that Joint European Torus staff are extended the same privilege: if you see a car plated with three numbers then "D 931" it might be on important fusion business.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to predict local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
Why are weather forecasting apps so terrible?
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to predict local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
www.newscientist.com
August 31, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to predict local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to make local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
Why are weather forecasting apps so terrible?
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to predict local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
www.newscientist.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Weather apps regularly differ in their predictions for the same location – why is it so hard to make local forecasts, and where can we get the best weather information?
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
The claim is the glowing plants 💡🌵 pictured below have "unprecedented brightness". But they were created by injecting phosphors into the leaves of normal plants 🧪
That's cheating and I absolutely hate this idea
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
That's cheating and I absolutely hate this idea
www.newscientist.com/article/2494...
Glow-in-the-dark plants to replace streetlights? Forget it
The brightest and most colourful glowing plants yet have been created by injecting phosphorescent chemicals directly into the leaves, but it is little more than a cheap gimmick
www.newscientist.com
August 27, 2025 at 3:21 PM
CPR doesn't work in space, because people have no weight. So NASA recommends that you wedge yourself and the patient between two hard objects, handstand on their chest and push with your feet. It's not ideal. Now there's a better way.
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
CPR in space could be made easier by chest compression machines
Performing CPR on a space station in microgravity involves doing a handstand on a person's chest and pushing against the walls with your legs – but now researchers say there is a better way
www.newscientist.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:32 AM
CPR doesn't work in space, because people have no weight. So NASA recommends that you wedge yourself and the patient between two hard objects, handstand on their chest and push with your feet. It's not ideal. Now there's a better way.
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
Inveterate cyclist Matt Sparkes, who has been knocked off his bike by human-driven cars several times, wonders if the arrival of driverless cars in London is a good thing - or a bad one
I'm a cyclist. Will the arrival of robotaxis make my journeys safer?
Inveterate cyclist Matt Sparkes, who has been knocked off his bike by human-driven cars several times, wonders if the arrival of driverless cars in London is a good thing - or a bad one
www.newscientist.com
August 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Inveterate cyclist Matt Sparkes, who has been knocked off his bike by human-driven cars several times, wonders if the arrival of driverless cars in London is a good thing - or a bad one
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
Across 142 routes in Europe, trains are on average twice as expensive as flights
On some routes, they are 26 times the price
Low-cost airlines profit from unfair tax exemptions, but trains are burdened with VAT, energy taxes and high track fees
Governments and the EU must stop rewarding polluters
On some routes, they are 26 times the price
Low-cost airlines profit from unfair tax exemptions, but trains are burdened with VAT, energy taxes and high track fees
Governments and the EU must stop rewarding polluters
Low-cost flights up to 26 times cheaper than trains - Greenpeace European Unit
Brussels, 21 August 2025 – A new Europe-wide Greenpeace study shows that climate-damaging flying is still cheaper than taking the train on a majority of cross-border routes – even though…
www.greenpeace.org
August 21, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Across 142 routes in Europe, trains are on average twice as expensive as flights
On some routes, they are 26 times the price
Low-cost airlines profit from unfair tax exemptions, but trains are burdened with VAT, energy taxes and high track fees
Governments and the EU must stop rewarding polluters
On some routes, they are 26 times the price
Low-cost airlines profit from unfair tax exemptions, but trains are burdened with VAT, energy taxes and high track fees
Governments and the EU must stop rewarding polluters
What's the plan for all these vast GPU data centres when the AI bubble bursts, and recedes back to a sane level?
Please don't say bitcoin.
Please don't say bitcoin.
August 21, 2025 at 9:03 AM
What's the plan for all these vast GPU data centres when the AI bubble bursts, and recedes back to a sane level?
Please don't say bitcoin.
Please don't say bitcoin.
Driverless taxis are on their way to London. As a cyclist, a Londoner and a journalist who's spent years covering AI’s pratfalls, I am a tad nervous. Yet, given how often I've been hit by inattentive human drivers in London, part of me is cautiously optimistic.
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
I'm a cyclist. Will the arrival of robotaxis make my journeys safer?
Inveterate cyclist Matt Sparkes, who has been knocked off his bike by human-driven cars several times, wonders if the arrival of driverless cars in London is a good thing - or a bad one
www.newscientist.com
August 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Driverless taxis are on their way to London. As a cyclist, a Londoner and a journalist who's spent years covering AI’s pratfalls, I am a tad nervous. Yet, given how often I've been hit by inattentive human drivers in London, part of me is cautiously optimistic.
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...
Reposted by Matthew Sparkes
I saw Ian McKellen's S/2025 U1 at the National, absolutely stunning interpretation of the classic work
We've found another moon around Uranus. That brings the total to 29. They're conventionally named after characters from Shakespeare plays, so "S/2025 U 1" should get a more interesting title soon.
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
New moon discovered orbiting Uranus is its smallest one
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new moon that is small and dim in orbit around Uranus. The discovery brings the planet's total to 29 and scientists say there are likely more to be foun...
www.newscientist.com
August 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I saw Ian McKellen's S/2025 U1 at the National, absolutely stunning interpretation of the classic work
We've found another moon around Uranus. That brings the total to 29. They're conventionally named after characters from Shakespeare plays, so "S/2025 U 1" should get a more interesting title soon.
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
New moon discovered orbiting Uranus is its smallest one
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a new moon that is small and dim in orbit around Uranus. The discovery brings the planet's total to 29 and scientists say there are likely more to be foun...
www.newscientist.com
August 19, 2025 at 5:23 PM
We've found another moon around Uranus. That brings the total to 29. They're conventionally named after characters from Shakespeare plays, so "S/2025 U 1" should get a more interesting title soon.
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...
www.newscientist.com/article/2493...