Ian Randall
Deputy Science Editor
Ian Randall is Newsweek's Deputy Science Editor, based in Royston, U.K. His focus is reporting on science and health. He has covered archeology, geology, and physics extensively. Ian joined Newsweek in 2023 from the Daily Express U.S. and had previously worked at Express.co.uk and MailOnline, alongside freelancing for various specialist science publications including Science, Physics World and Chemistry World. He is a graduate of the University of Oxford and City, University of London. You can get in touch with Ian by emailing i.randall@newsweek.com. Languages: English.
Astronomers solve mystery of "brightest of all time" gamma-ray burst
"This was an event that Earth sees only once every 10,000 years," said Northwestern University astrophysicist Peter Blanchard.
Solar eclipses to be made on demand by new spacecraft
The feat will help us study the "corona", part of the Sun's atmosphere which creates space weather that can affect us on Earth.
Solar eclipse to see NASA send rockets into moon's shadow
The mission will study how the sun's vanishing act disturbs Earth's ionosphere and potentially interferes with communications.
Paleontologists discover first-ever fossil tapeworm trapped in amber
Because of their soft bodies and parasitic lifestyles, tapeworms had never been definitively identified in the fossil record.
Sugar-coated gold nanoparticles could replace some antibiotics
The particles, which are activated by laser light, could be used to clean infected wounds or to kill off decay-causing dental plaque.
Better Planet
Arctic Ocean to become 'ice-free' in matter of years
US researchers said that so-called ice-free days are inevitable—and may arrive more than 10 years earlier than was anticipated.
Asteroid strikes may have frozen past Earth into 'snowball,' study argues
By blotting out the sun with dust clouds, an impact on an already chilly Earth could set off runaway cooling, models suggest.
Better Planet
Fusion test's last hurrah sets record, brings near-unlimited energy closer
"These results are really exciting for the fusion community and a great end to the operations of JET," one expert told Newsweek.
Weight loss surgery misunderstood by most Americans
Weight loss surgery is not a shortcut, according to experts, who say a stigma may be keeping people from getting the help they need.
Rudolph and the other reindeer have a gift for multitasking, study finds
Researchers have found that reindeer seem to be able to get extra rest when they are busy feeding in the summer months without having to sleep longer hours.
World's oceans could be a sustainable source of nuclear fuel, say chemists
The team have developed a new system for extracting trace amounts of uranium from seawater — tapping into a vast fuel source.
Oldest dated English scientific instrument has "tantalizing" implications
The hand-held "horary quadrant" would have been used by workers to tell the time, which worked in a very different way to today.
Quirk in our galactic neighborhood may explain cosmological mystery
A team of astrophysicists thinks that the Milky Way might lie in a "giant void" a whopping two billion light-years across.
Alzheimer's mystery could be solved by new brain probe
A fiber implanted into the hippocampus could allow scientists to study real-time changes in the brain as the disease takes hold.
Why airline passengers misbehave
Turbulence in the skies is not restricted to strong winds—and in some cases of air rage, flight attendants are even assaulted.
Electronic pill that listens to your stomach may reveal cause of bad sleep
Once swallowed, the tiny electronic device goes into your stomach and listens to your breathing and heart rates.
Eat "America's most unwanted fish" to save native species, scientists say
Alongside outcompeting other fish, some invasive carp are—bizarrely—known to leap into unlucky water-skiers, knocking them out.
Artificial intelligence reveals first-ever image of unseen parts of the sun
The AI acts as a "virtual observatory," extrapolating the solar polar regions' appearance from neighboring areas we have imaged.
NASA finds clouds made of sand in 'fluffy' exoplanet's atmosphere
With the clouds also raining sand, it is lucky for us the atmosphere is "completely different from what we know here on Earth."
