Today on New Scientist: 12 June 2012

Rare brain samples lost in freezer failure

A perfect storm of technical failures at a Harvard centre has destroyed precious human brain samples, including 53 from people with autism

Mysterious electrical bursts warn of material collapse

Flashes of electricity have been detected bursting out of materials just before they crack - could they forewarn of bridge collapses?

How worms are pioneering remote control medicine

See how a nano-implant that makes worms turn in a magnetic field could revolutionise drug delivery

First crew to head for China's heavenly space palace

China's space lab is set to be a ghost town no more - a major achievement for the superpower that came late to the space race

Small, cheap black-hole hunter could be new NASA model

The NuSTAR space telescope's images will be 10 times as crisp as those of any previous telescope

WHO demands action on drug-resistant gonorrhoea

A lack of new drugs and vaccines in development means the prospects for treating incurable strains of gonorrhoea look bleak

Automated bed makes itself

Another of life's small chores can be avoided thanks to a new self-making bed

Familiarity shouldn't block creativity in haptics

Now that we have textured screens, why replicate familiar sensations when you can create entirely new ones?

Mars Curiosity rover to land closer to the good stuff

When the NASA rover lands on Mars on 5 August, it will be closer to its target than previously thought - leaving more time for it to do exciting science

The cultural legacy of the last space shuttle

The legacy of NASA's just-retired Discovery orbiter is a world with fewer boundaries, both on Earth and out in space

Mutilated women rediscover sexual pleasure

Reparative surgery has eased the pain of female genital mutilation and improved sexual pleasure in hundreds of women who have undergone the procedure

Criminalising drugs is harming medical research

David Nutt, former adviser to the UK government, says the ban on drugs like ecstasy is hampering neuroscience

Touch and go: Fondling the digital world

What would digital bits and graphics feel like if we could grasp them with our hands? Thanks to tactile illusions on touchscreens, we're about to find out

Flame cyberweapon is tied to Stuxnet program

An analysis by Kaspersky Labs has shown that Stuxnet and Flame share some of the same code

Renewable energy's growing pains

The renewables industry received $257 billion last year, but difficult times lie ahead as the price of solar panels drops

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