You can be fairly sure that this booze is only harming your body in all the dozens of usual ways, and not by radiation poisoning.

Some money from each sale goes to Ukraine, so you can get tipsy and do some good all at once. You can order online here: www.atomikvodka.com/shop

Coming up on @newscientist.com podcast: @rowhoop.bsky.social and I try spirits distilled by Jim Smith at the University of Portsmouth from grains and fruit grown in Chornobyl. The ingredients start off radioactive but by the time they make it into a bottle there's no detectable contamination.

The ground drone I had a ride on near Kyiv, built by Ratel, is now featured on a set of commemorative stamps by the Ukrainian post office.

www.newscientist.com/article/2514...

In a word, no.

From the chernobyl community on Reddit: I am a reporter for New Scientist who gained exclusive access to Chernobyl. AMA on Thursday 16 April. Explore this post and more from the chernobyl community

I'm doing an AMA on reddit this afternoon about Chornobyl. Decent response so far, but if you have any questions about the site, radiation, nature, whatever, drop a comment. There is no such thing as a stupid question!

www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/...

I've been trying to get a test ride for some time now with all the incoming UK players. Curious that they seemingly don't want me to try it.

Exclusive report: Inside Chernobyl, 40 years after nuclear disaster New Scientist reporter Matthew Sparkes secured unrivalled access to Chernobyl's most crucial scientific sites, where researchers are fighting to protect the area and ensure it remains safe amid the co...

@sparkes.bsky.social report from Chernobyl is astonishing, revealing how the site has become a one-of-a-kind science experiment, teaching us what radiation does to our health and ecosystems, and what to do the next time there's a major nuclear accident. www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

From the chernobyl community on Reddit: I am a reporter for New Scientist who gained exclusive access to Chernobyl. AMA on Thursday 16 April. Explore this post and more from the chernobyl community

I'll be doing a reddit AMA on my recent visit to Chornobyl. Feel free to ping a question on contamination, the exclusion zone, the militarisation of the site - whatever - on the thread.

www.reddit.com/r/chernobyl/...

The man who crawls into the perilous heart of the Chernobyl reactor Ever since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, scientists have needed to monitor radioactive conditions inside. That job currently falls to Anatoly Doroshenko, who explains the dangers and importance of his work to New Scientist

Ever since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, scientists have needed to monitor radioactive conditions inside. That job currently falls to Anatoly Doroshenko, who explains the dangers and importance of his work to New Scientist

They are in this week's issue.

My life as a meteorologist in Chernobyl under Russian occupation When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Chernobyl lay on the path to the capital Kyiv. When the plant was occupied by Russian troops, meteorologist Lyudmila Dyblenko fearlessly continued taking vital mea...

The New Scientist has a series of articles about the Chornobyl for the 40th anniversary of the disaster. Behind a paywall but hoping these will appear in an issue, which can be accessed via the Libby App (from your local library or perhaps university)
www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Chernobyl at 40: The man with the most dangerous job on Earth Ever since the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, scientists have needed to monitor radioactive conditions inside. That job currently falls to Anatoly Doroshenko, who explains the dangers and...

Anatoly Doroshenko may have the most dangerous job on Earth. He crawls inside the ruins of Chornobyl's reactor 4 and takes scientific readings.

"I am worried about my health, because if I don’t worry about it, I can make mistakes," he tells @newscientist.com

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

Chernobyl at 40: My life as a meteorologist under Russian occupation When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Chernobyl lay on the path to the capital Kyiv. When the plant was occupied by Russian troops, meteorologist Lyudmila Dyblenko fearlessly continued taking vital mea...

Lyudmila Dyblenko was trapped at Chornobyl when Russian troops invaded. She was under observation. One troop barged into her home looking for booze and she ran him out like a naughty schoolboy. All the while she kept doing science. What a hero.

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

I visited Chornobyl ahead of the 40th anniversary to get the truth on the ground: has contamination worsened, or faded? Has the Russian invasion made things worse? What's the future for the exclusion zone? Is nature struggling or thriving?

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

The first quantum computer to break encryption is now shockingly close Traditional encryption methods have long been vulnerable to quantum computers, but two new analyses suggest a capable enough machine may be built much sooner than previously thought

Nothing concrete has changed yet, but the mood is definitely shifting, as @kpc.bsky.social is reporting.

An exciting field to watch. Or terrifying, maybe. Both?

www.newscientist.com/article/2521...

Quantum computers are a million times too small to hack bitcoin Bitcoin is theoretically vulnerable to being cracked by quantum computers, but calculations show they would need to be a million times larger than those that exist today

And in 2022 quantum computers were a million times too small to crack Bitcoin.

www.newscientist.com/article/2305...

Cryptographers bet cash on when quantum computers will beat encryption It is thought that quantum computers will eventually be able to crack the encryption methods we use today, but exactly when this will happen is an open question. Now, one cryptographer has started a b...

Given Google's claims about quantum computers being close to breaking encryption, I delved into our archives. Things have moved fast...

As recently as 2023 experts were betting that no quantum machine would break a 2048-bit RSA key by 2050.

www.newscientist.com/article/2370...

Tobacco plant altered to produce five psychedelic drugs Genetically engineering tobacco plants could enable a more sustainable production method for psychedelic drugs, which are increasingly in demand for research and medical uses

Tobacco plants that produce five psychedelic compounds including psilocin, psilocybin and DMT could make therapeutic research easier, but might also be in demand for... other applications, I suspect.

www.newscientist.com/article/2521...

Plug-in solar is coming – how dangerous is it and is it worth it? Plug-in solar panels are a cheaper, simpler alternative to professionally installed panels. But can they really reduce energy bills and are they safe? Matthew Sparkes investigates

I love the idea of plug-in solar and believe it can make a dent in bills and climate-changing emissions. But it really does sound like the IET has a point and there are some safety questions to answer.

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

I've proven to be incapable of taking an acceptable photo, so failed at an early hurdle.

I hope passports are as easy to renew because I have to do that today.

New fibre optic record allows 50,000,000 movies to be streamed at once Improved hardware can send ten times as much data through existing fibre optic cables, potentially providing a way to massively upgrade the internet's infrastructure without the cost and inconvenience...

New record for data transmission through fibre optic cable beneath London streets: 450 terabits per second, or 450,000,000,000,000 bits per second.

That's enough for around 50 million movies to be streamed simultaneously.

That is a LOT of bits.

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

Ukraine hits back against Rheinmetall CEO's housewives' drones comments Ukrainians have criticised German arms maker Rheinmetall after its CEO dismissed their ​country's drone-focused defence innovation as basic technology put together by housewives in kitchens.

I've met a lot of Ukrainian drone makers and, while there's no reason that housewives shouldn't be proficient engineers, they weren't housewives. They were teams of tech-savvy, innovative and determined folk of all ages, sexes and backgrounds.

#MadeByHousewives

www.reuters.com/world/ukrain...

Computer finds flaw in major physics paper for first time A computer language designed to robustly verify mathematical theorems and expose logical flaws has been turned towards a physics paper – and spotted an error. The discovery raises questions about how ...

Formalisation, the process of making the logic of a proof checkable by a computer, is transforming maths. I've been wondering when it would come for physics, and now it's here - with a nagging question of just how much published physics is wrong. Great story from @sparkes.bsky.social

Computer finds flaw in major physics paper for first time A computer language designed to robustly verify mathematical theorems and expose logical flaws has been turned towards a physics paper – and spotted an error. The discovery raises questions about how ...

Formalising of mathematical theorems with new computer tools is changing the whole field. Now a researcher has tried the same thing with a physics paper - and spotted a big error. It makes you wonder: how many other physics papers are hiding secret flaws?

www.newscientist.com/article/2520...

We don’t know if AI-powered toys are safe, but they’re here anyway Toys powered by AI show a worrying lack of emotional understanding. But we need to understand the risks and benefits of the technology so the industry can be regulated, not outright banned

Toys powered by AI show a worrying lack of emotional understanding. But we need to understand the risks and benefits of the technology so the industry can be regulated, not outright banned

Please drive carefully: scientists plan to transport volatile antimatter for first time Cern researchers are testing traps capable of moving antimatter, which explodes into energy as soon as it comes into contact with regular matter

Astonishing what humans can accomplish, isn't it?

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...