Today on New Scientist: 28 June 2012

AI system helps spot signs of copper cable theft

The theft of copper telecoms cable cost the industry ?770 million last year - now an AI is helping stop the thieves

Graffiti battery lets you spray paint power supply

Five sprayable paints form a lithium-ion battery when layered together, letting you store energy on walls, tiles or even your favourite mug

Chile's icy nazarenos line up on glacial plains

Like a procession of hooded sinners, the penitentes - icy shards formed by sublimating ice at high altitude - stand guard on Chile's Chajnantor plain

Supreme Court rules healthcare bill is constitutional

Obama's healthcare bill has been declared legal - good news for those who are already implementing some of the changes

Journey into a giant magnetic tornado on the sun

Zoom into a solar twister to see how heat is transported to the uppermost layers of the sun

Scandal of an underfunded and undertreated cancer

Lung cancer in those who have never smoked is on the rise - but they face the same stigma as their smoking counterparts

Two faces of chatbot technology speaks volumes about us

A brief tale of two bots illustrates how humans extend our noble and negative facets into our technical endeavours

Google Now assistant knows what you need, right now

The latest Android update includes Google Now, a competitor to Apple's Siri that attempts to predict what information you need

Dancing sunflowers hide their sunlight under Brussels

A hard-to-reach exhibit at the European Commission headquarters holds promise for powering west African schools

Implanted electrodes offer clues to brain's 'thesaurus'

Electrical patterns in the brain reveal how we file and retrieve words according to what they mean, rather than, say, the time when we heard or read them

SETI chief still waiting for ET to call

After 35 years of searching, Jill Tarter is retiring as Earth's top alien hunter. She tells New Scientist why alien rule of our planet would be benign

Win tickets to Wilderness Festival

We have a pair of weekend camping tickets to give away for Wilderness festival in Oxfordshire, UK. Will you be the lucky winner?

Autism's brain activity captured in diagnostic test

A test that could be used to diagnose autism identifies characteristic patterns of electrical activity in the brain

Lawyerbot takes the drudgery out of law

Software that sifts through millions of documents for relevant information gets the green light to replace human lawyers

'Death carrot' could hold the key to new cancer drugs

Clinical trials are in the pipeline for toxic Mediterranean plant ingredient that can kill prostate cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone

Silicon sirens: The naughty bots out to seduce you

Chatbots have turned to crime, using ever-slicker methods to steal cash or identities - and these cheating algorithms are passing the Turing test every day

Robot beats humans at rock-paper-scissors every time

If the robot uprising comes in the form of a rock-paper-scissors match, we're all doomed

Gene therapy curbs nicotine addiction in mice

A virus carrying an antibody against nicotine could be more effective than a nicotine vaccine at helping smokers quit - but it's a long way off

Eats bark, fruit and leaves: diet of ancient human

Australopithecus sediba, a 2-million-year-old member of the human family, had a diet unlike other known hominins

Astrophile: Solar cyclones hold fusion reactor clues

Ten thousand Europe-size tornadoes are scouring the surface of our sun in a process that could be imitated in reactors on Earth

Double rainbow all across the sky - seen from space

You wait ages for a spectacular weather pattern, and then two turn up at once. This image shows both "glories" and von Karman vortex clouds

capital one bowl winter classic 2012 georgia bulldogs football rashard mendenhall rachel zoe penn state football mt rainier national park