Received this from a friend?
Sign up now to get every issue direct to your inbox each weekday

Huge numbers of drones on the battlefield in Ukraine are changing the way war is fought. Plus: what modern societies can learn from the fall of Bronze Age civilisations.

Like what you see? Subscribe today to gain unlimited access to all our subscriber only content.

Evgen Kotenko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Drone warfare

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has promised that in 2024 the country’s military will have a million drones. His nation already deploys hundreds of thousands of small drones, but this is a step change – a transition to an armed forces with more drones than soldiers. “The war has demonstrated that a military that wants to field many drones need not spend a lot on their development, procurement and use,” says Samuel Bendett, adviser to the Center for a New American Security think tank - and this is likely to set the pattern for future conflicts. Read more

Bronze Age collapse

The Late Bronze Age collapse between 1200 and 1100 BC saw a number of civilisations crumble, including the Mycenaeans in Greece and the Hittites in Anatolia. Others, including Egypt’s New Kingdom, were left weakened by the collapse. Possible triggering factors include earthquakes, climate change, economic upheaval or even invasion by a mysterious group of so-called Sea Peoples. Using simulations, researchers have now shown how the collapse could have been caused by cascading instability across networks of political alliances and trade. That may hold lessons for preventing a similar disruption of the modern world’s global economy. Read more

The breathtaking advances in artificial intelligence and a growing urgency to find climate change solutions are set to dominate headlines in 2024. Stay ahead with New Scientist for just $1.50 a week and let us guide you through the coming year. 

More headlines

• Haemophilia: People with a mild form of the blood clotting condition seem to have a slightly longer life expectancy than those without it.

• Walking aid: Shoes that beep when someone walks with a strong stride improve stability in people with Parkinson’s disease.

• Megalodon: The ancient shark, often depicted as a super-sized great white, was in fact a rather different beast, according to a new analysis of fossil evidence.

Klaus Thymann

In a flooded cave system in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, on the Yucatán peninsula, a manatee mother (pictured above) swims up to cave diver Klaus Thymann, who captured stunning images of these endangered mammals living in a unique, under-explored habitat. “Of course, I think she’s looking at me,” says Thymann. “But the reality is she’s probably looking at the reflection in the camera.” More photos and video

New Scientist Jobs is conducting a global salary, employment, and industry survey. If you work in STEM, we would love your thoughts and feedback. The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete and as a thank you, you will have the opportunity to enter a prize draw to win one of three Amazon eGift cards for £150 (or local currency equivalent). 

Can you use science to help us answer our readers' questions? The best answers will be published in our Last Word section. This week we ask:

All the climbing plants and weeds in my garden twine anticlockwise. Is there an evolutionary advantage to this? And do any twine clockwise?

Thanks for reading!

Sam Wong

Assistant news editor, New Scientist
Email me at newsletter@newscientist.com

Received this from a friend? Sign up here

For the latest science and technology news, in-depth articles and video, visit newscientist.com