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New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. Founded in 1956, it is published by Reed Business Information Ltd, a subsidiary of Reed Elsevier. It has also run a website since 1996, which publishes daily news. As well as covering current events and news from the scientific community, the magazine often features speculative articles, ranging from the technical to the philosophical. It is not a peer-reviewed scientific journal, but it is widely read by both nonscientists and scientists as a way of keeping track of developments outside their own fields of study or areas of interest. Many science articles in the general press are based on its contents; and it is a popular method for artists who are interested in art-science links to get information about scientific innovations, material about how the brain works, and perception. The magazine also regularly includes features, news and commentary on environmental issues, such as climate change *. Based in London, New Scientist has U.S. and Australian editions as well as a British edition. Its website runs daily news stories along with some of the articles that appear in the print edition.
Magazine layout
Website Daily news articles can be viewed in full on the website (www.newscientist.com) as well as extracts from longer articles. There are also special reports on topics from nanotechnology to cancer. Subscribers can see all content. New Scientist has also started a free podcast, SciPod, which can be downloaded directly from their site or through iTunes. In late 2004 NewScientist.com added a subdomain called "nomoresocks" (No More Socks) where visitors could search for, rate, and discuss innovative gifts. Usage of the site dropped considerably by June 2005, and seems to no longer be in use. In mid-2006, New Scientist content was also made available to users of Newsvine, a community-driven social news web site. According to Technorati, NewScientist.com is the 40th in the list of most-linked-to news organisations and the only science and technology specialist in the top 100. Criticism In September 2006, New Scientist drew criticism from the writer Greg Egan, who distributed a public letter stating that "a sensationalist bent and a lack of basic knowledge by its writers" was making the magazine's coverage sufficiently unreliable "to constitute a real threat to the public understanding of science". In particular, Egan found himself "gobsmacked by the level of scientific illiteracy" in the magazine's coverage of Roger Shawyer's "electromagnetic drive", where New Scientist allowed the publication of "meaningless double-talk" designed to bypass a fatal objection to Shawyer's proposed space drive, namely that it violates the conservation of momentum. Egan urged those reading his letter to write to New Scientist and pressure the magazine to raise its standards, instead of "squandering the opportunity that the magazine's circulation and prestige provides" for genuine science education. The letter was endorsed by mathematical physicist John C. Baez and posted on his blog. * The reply of New Scientist's editor defends the article, saying New Scientist is "an ideas magazine - that means writing about hypotheses as well as theories" *. Official Website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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