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Google's Project Loon to float the internet on balloons

Google admits its new balloon-based connectivity project is a "moonshot" to bring the last two-thirds of the global population online. How realistic is the audacious plan?

Virtual reality display lets fire crews see in a blaze

Wearable infrared sensors will give firefighters vital information about temperature and layout when they enter a burning, smoke-filled building

New lease of life for hobbled planet-hunter Kepler

NASA might not be able to save its damaged space telescope Kepler, but it could begin a second career spotting new worlds with a gravitational lens

Slime mould could make memristors for biocomputers

The ability to "remember" electrical resistance could make slime mould a useful material for building living computers

Mars R Us: Six toys all space fans must have

To celebrate the latest honour for the Curiosity Mars rover – immortality in Lego – New Scientist presents the pick of space probe models from Mars and beyond

Mars fans vote to immortalise Curiosity rover in Lego

A model of Curiosity is the latest of the many Lego space kits: it was demanded by thousands of space fans and designed by an engineer from the real Mars rover

Echolocating app will let you map a room with sound

Just as bats use sound to navigate, an app now being developed could help you find your way around using sound alone

Exhibition blurs boundary between you and your objects

William Blake's death mask (with EEG) next to a Cyberman's head and a gargoyle: a new exhibition crosses the lines between humans and the things we make

Worsening smog angers Singaporeans, tourists

Singapore's smog problem from forest fires in Indonesia worsened Wednesday as air pollutant levels reached a 16-year high.

First Gagarin film turns Soviet idol into new Russian hero

Strapped in an orange suit in his spaceship, Yuri Gagarin smiles as the rockets roar and chirpily tells mission control: "Let's go!"

Dish won't submit revised bid for Sprint

Satellite TV operator Dish Network Corp. said Tuesday it would not submit a revised bid for Sprint, leaving the path open for the wireless carrier to accept what it already considers a superior offer from Japan's Softbank.

Cape Wind gets $200M investment from Danish fund

The Cape Wind offshore wind project has secured a $200 million investment from a Danish pension fund in what the wind farm's president said Tuesday is a milestone for the long-delayed project.

Making memories: Practical quantum computing moves closer to reality

Researchers at the University of Sydney and Dartmouth College have developed a new way to design quantum memory, bringing quantum computers a step closer to reality. The results will appear June 19 in the journal Nature Communications.

World Bank warns global warming woes closing in

The World Bank on Wednesday warned that severe hardships from global warming could be felt within a generation, with a new study detailing devastating impacts in Africa and Asia.

Netflix to expand to Netherlands later this year

Netflix is going Dutch. The online video giant says it will expand into the Netherlands, its 41st country, later this year.

A year on, Assange stays put in Ecuadorean Embassy

A year ago, Julian Assange skipped out on a date with Swedish justice. Rather than comply with a British order that he go to the Scandinavian country for questioning about sex crimes allegations, the WikiLeaks founder took refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.