Today on New Scientist: 20 June 2012

Stealthy virus presents unique public health challenge

Coming up with ways to address the threat is difficult enough: explaining them to the public may be more difficult still

Plasmonic graphene controls rippling electrons

As if diamond-beating strength and high conductivity aren't enough, the wonder material has learned a new trick

Dairy farming in the Sahara - 7000 years ago

Milky residues on pottery shards found in the Libyan Sahara confirm that the first farmers there were cow herders not crop cultivators

Stealthy virus that robs years of life could be beaten

Most of us carry cytomegalovirus, a virus that ages our immune system and can cut four years off life - but the hunt for a vaccine is on

Infrared reveals lost Renaissance artistry

Science has come to the rescue of art with a new technique that reveals parts of Renaissance frescoes that past restorers just painted over

Human-powered helicopter breaks world record

Watch a pedalling pilot keep a helicopter in the air for 35 seconds

US and Israel developed Flame, says official

A report suggests the Flame malware was used as an advance spy in the US and Israeli cyberattacks on Iran

Andy Warhol's endangered species three decades on

In 1983 Andy Warhol produced Endangered Species, a series of prints in his iconic style. Here is a selection - and news of how the animals have fared since

Win tickets to ?ya Festival

We have a pair of tickets to give away for ?ya Festival in Oslo, Norway, where you can catch Bj?rk performing her Biophilia project. Here's your chance to win

Earthquake risk for carbon capture and storage schemes

Injecting carbon dioxide into underground repositories might trigger earthquakes that allow CO₂ to leak back to the surface

What a way to go: prehistoric turtles died during sex

Pairs of 47-million-year-old turtles are the only vertebrates known to have been fossilised while mating

Special goggles reveal when babies see in 3D

Babies begin to see in three dimensions about four months after birth, regardless of their due date

The evidence for sea-level rises in North Carolina

North Carolina has passed a bill that tells its scientists to predict rising sea levels by assuming a linear rise. Are they right?

Rio+20 declaration talks fail almost before they begin

Even as ministers arrive for the Rio Earth Summit, the Brazilian hosts have called time on further talks to agree a declaration

Listen to the bowel cancer warnings

John Gilbey wonders why, after a lifetime of science, he ignored the mounting evidence of his own bowel cancer

Arresting creations of biodiversity

Whimsical and surreal works of art aim to explore interdependence in nature in the exhibition Nature's Toolbox, in Chicago

Pollen-coated sticky bullets track a gunman's DNA

A dusting of lily pollen mixed with titanium on a bullet casing can capture DNA and could help forensic teams identify a mystery gunman

Peak planet: Are we starting to consume less?

Some say humanity's ever-rising environmental impact is about to go into reverse. Fact or just fantasy, asks Fred Pearce

tornadoes mitch hedberg secret service scandal shea weber greystone sidney crosby at the drive in