New Scientist Space - Space Headlines

Google has put the algorithm it used to achieve quantum supremacy to work. It generated verifiably random numbers, which could be used one day in encryption or lotteries

Plane manufacturer Airbus is working with airlines to test a fuel-reduction scheme inspired by the v-formation used by geese

The interstellar comet Borisov is making its closest approach to the sun and Earth, giving astronomers their best look yet

A relatively small quantum computer has broken a number-factoring record, which may one day threaten data encryption methods that rely on factoring large numbers

Time travel brings up paradoxes that break the laws of physics, but multiple similar timelines running parallel to one another could get around this

A space rock seen in July 2017 passed through Earth's atmosphere and back out the other side in a rare event known as a grazing fireball

The starry night toad has been documented by biologists for the first time since 1991 in Colombia. But unlike other such stories of rediscovered species, we never really lost it

Artificial intelligence may be able to work out the maximum lifespans of extinct species and early humans. The technique relies on analysing specific regions of DNA that are linked to ageing

Many countries and groups already use military drones, but Turkey is about to be the first to have a military drone armed with a machine gun

Google's Sycamore quantum computer, which recently demonstrated its dominance over ordinary computers, is now breaking records in quantum chemistry

A global analysis of street connectivity has identified the cities that are easiest to get around and shown they have less car use and greater travel by foot

To solve the problem of Japan’s ageing workforce, tech companies have developed exoskeletons that help older workers continue to do heavy manual labour

The longest running study of insect biomass in the world suggests it is twice as large in Great Britain as it was in the 1960s, but has been declining since the 1980s

Two new species of parasitic “rodeo” ant have been discovered in Texas. They ride the queens in other ant colonies to fool the workers into looking after them

A strange discrepancy in global temperatures 8000 years ago can be explained if sea ice is more vulnerable to the effects of warming than we thought

Seven people who experienced a fever every few weeks have finally been given a diagnosis of CRIA syndrome, which was a previously unknown disorder

Even a total vacuum is full of strange quantum fluctuations, which have now been caught making heat leap across empty space for the first time

Arthur I. Miller's sure-footed survey of machine art reveals a world of beauty, but his book slips a gear when it tries to marry creativity to consciousness

Training facial recognition algorithms requires masses of data, and big tech companies can go to extreme lengths to get that, says Annalee Newitz

Amazingly, it is possible to see the spiral arms of Andromeda, our nearest galaxy 2.5 million light years away – if you just know where to look