Why our carbon plans don’t add up

Hello and welcome once more to New Scientist’s weekly round-up of science and technology goodness. In this issue we have black holes, brain-inspired computers and the return of my favourite New Scientist podcast. But first, some troubling news about carbon storage.

Our plans to tackle climate change with carbon storage don't add up

If we’re going to slow global warming, we need to find ways of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and putting it somewhere else. But now it seems that the prospects for geological carbon storage (i.e., sticking it underground) have been vastly overestimated, which will make it harder for us to hit climate targets. I’ve written a leader article about this topic, arguing we should be a bit more pessimistic when it comes to climate modelling.

A surprisingly enormous black hole has been found in our galaxy

Who doesn’t love black holes? This latest, known as Gaia-BH3, is interesting because it is much larger than we thought was possible, at least for a black hole that formed as a result of a dying star. What’s more, it is also the second-closest black hole to Earth that we know about.

Intel reveals world's biggest 'brain-inspired' neuromorphic computer

Neuromorphic computers aim to combine data processing and data storage in one location, rather than shuttling data about as on existing computers. This is also the way our brains deal with data, so the hope is it could be much more energy efficient and potentially lead to brain-like AI models. Intel’s new machine is the biggest one yet.

More from New Scientist

• You have to watch this video of a cyborg cockroach swarm.
• Our magazine cover story this week looks at a new understanding of tinnitus and hearing loss – and a potential way to reverse them.
• I’m very excited this week because it marks the return of Dead Planets Society, our universe-destroying podcast that is one of my favourite things produced by New Scientist. Go and listen now!

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Jacob Aron, News Editor?