New Scientist Space - Cosmology
Hominin fossils from Morocco may be close ancestors of modern humans
The jawbones and vertebrae of a hominin that lived 773,000 years ago have been found in North Africa and could represent a common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans
Categories: Astronomy
Super-low-density worlds reveal how common planetary systems form
Most planetary systems contain worlds larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, and the low-density planets around one young star should help us understand how such systems form
Categories: Astronomy
How rethinking your relationship with time could give you more of it
You might feel like the days and weeks are slipping by. Here is how one psychologist says you can shift your experience of time
Categories: Astronomy
AI chatbots miss urgent issues in queries about women's health
AI models such as ChatGPT and Gemini fail to give adequate advice for 60 per cent of queries relating to women’s health in a test created by medical professionals
Categories: Astronomy
CAR T-cell therapy makes ageing guts heal themselves
Immune cells are most commonly engineered to kill cancers, but now, scientists have shown the technique makes the gut lining of older mice resemble that of younger mice, raising hopes that the same approach could work in people
Categories: Astronomy
Early humans may have begun butchering elephants 1.8 million years ago
A 1.78-million-year-old partial elephant skeleton found in Tanzania associated with stone tools may represent the oldest known evidence of butchery of the giant herbivores
Categories: Astronomy
The first quantum fluctuations set into motion a huge cosmic mystery
The earliest acoustic vibrations in the cosmos weren’t exactly sound – they travelled at half the speed of light and there was nobody around to hear them anyway. But Jim Baggott says from the first moments, the universe was singing
Categories: Astronomy
Passwords will be on the way out in 2026 as passkeys take over
The curse of having to remember easily hackable passwords may soon be over, as a new alternative is set to take over in 2026
Categories: Astronomy
Jellyfish sleep about as much as humans do – and nap like us too
The benefits of sleep may be more universal than we thought. We know it helps clear waste from the brain in humans, and now it seems that even creatures without brains like ours get similar benefits
Categories: Astronomy
The secret weapon that could finally force climate action
An ambitious form of climate modelling aims to pin the blame for disasters – from floods to heatwaves – on specific companies. Is this the tool we need to effectively prosecute the world’s biggest carbon emitters?
Categories: Astronomy
The first commercial space stations will start orbiting Earth in 2026
For nearly three decades, the International Space Station has been the only destination in low Earth orbit, but that will change this year. Could it be the start of a thriving economy in space?
Categories: Astronomy
US will need both carrots and sticks to reach net zero
Modelling suggests both carbon taxes and green subsidies will be necessary to decarbonise the US economy, but the inconsistent policies of successive presidents are the "worst case" scenario
Categories: Astronomy
Northern Greenland ice dome melted before and could melt again
The Prudhoe ice dome disappeared during a warm period 7000 years ago. Global warming could cause similar temperatures by 2100, showing the Greenland ice sheet’s vulnerability
Categories: Astronomy
What if the idea of the autism spectrum is completely wrong?
For years, we've thought of autism as lying on a spectrum, but emerging evidence suggests that it comes in several distinct types. The implications for how we support autistic people could be profound
Categories: Astronomy
Weird clump in the early universe is piping hot and we don’t know why
A galaxy cluster in the early universe is 10 times hotter than it ought to be, which may reshape how we think these enormous structures formed
Categories: Astronomy
El Niño was linked to famines in Europe in the early modern period
A study of 160 European famines between 1500 and 1800 shows that El Niño weather events led to the onset of some famines and extended the duration of others
Categories: Astronomy
The best new popular science books of January 2026
A host of new science books are due to hit shelves in January, by authors including Claudia Hammond, Deborah Cohen and Daisy Fancourt
Categories: Astronomy
2026 will shed light on whether a little-known drug helps with autism
The US government is approving the drug leucovorin to address rising rates of autism, despite limited evidence that it works. This year, results from the largest trial yet should give more insight into its potential
Categories: Astronomy
A strange kind of quantumness may be key to quantum computers' success
Researchers at Google have used their Willow quantum computer to demonstrate that "quantum contextuality" may be a crucial ingredient for its computational prowess
Categories: Astronomy
The best new science fiction books of January 2026
Big hitter Peter F. Hamilton has a new sci-fi novel out this month – and Booker winner George Saunders ventures into speculative fiction with his latest book, Vigil
Categories: Astronomy

