New Scientist Space - Cosmology

Can sea slugs form abstract thoughts? Do we dare to see any "purpose" in evolution? Is the subjective just a complicated form of the objective? Nikolay Kukushkin's One Hand Clapping is a bold voyage around the mysteries of the human mind, finds Thomas Lewton

The man who invented the web is aware of the many issues it faces, from problematic social media use to the rise of unfettered AI. He also has a plan to remedy the situation

Computers built with analogue circuits promise huge speed and efficiency gains over ordinary computers, but normally at the cost of accuracy. Now, an analogue computer designed to carry out calculations that are key to AI training could fix that

During sleep, your brain cleans itself by flushing through cerebrospinal fluid to prevent damage to brain cells. If you're lacking in sleep, this happens when you are awake – and seems to cause momentary lapses in attention

During sleep, your brain cleans itself by flushing through cerebrospinal fluid to prevent damage to brain cells. If you're lacking in sleep, this happens when you are awake – and seems to cause momentary lapses in attention

Combining a quantum-inspired algorithm and quantum information processing technologies could enable researchers to measure masses of cosmic objects that bend light almost imperceptibly

The Trump administration has laid off government workers integral to major public health surveys, meaning the country will lack crucial information on births, deaths and illnesses nationwide

Plague, leprosy, smallpox and other diseases didn't jump from animals to humans when we thought. Ancient DNA is revealing where they come from and how they changed history

The monster hurricane pummelling Jamaica is powered by abnormal sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, which were made at least 500 times more likely by global warming

Among over-50s, women seem to require less exercise than men to get the same reduction in heart disease risk, suggesting health guidelines need to be updated

If we admit that quantum numbers are the true essence of reality – not particles, space or time – then a surprising and beautiful new vision of reality opens up to us

It took a long time for zero to be recognised as a number at all, let alone one of the most powerful ones – but now it’s clear that every number is made up of zeroes, says Jacob Aron