New Scientist Space - Cosmology
Hair conditioner made from wood is black and smelly, but eco-friendly
Hair conditioner made using lignin, a polymer found in wood and bark, works just as well as a commercial product - as long as you don't mind the smell
Categories: Astronomy
How one farm is testing multiple carbon-capture tricks all at once
Rock dust, compost and biochar can all help capture carbon dioxide and boost crop yields when spread on soil – but researchers are discovering they may be even more effective when used in combination
Categories: Astronomy
US stops sharing flu data with WHO amidst one of its worst flu seasons
The US withdrawal from the World Health Organization formally takes one year, but the country has already stopped sharing influenza surveillance with the international body, which could impact the efficacy of the next flu vaccine
Categories: Astronomy
The bold plan to bring back Tasmanian devils across mainland Australia
Tasmanian devils are already being released inside predator-proof sanctuaries in New South Wales, and rewilding advocates believe they could suppress feral cats and foxes across the continent
Categories: Astronomy
Time can move both forwards and backwards at the quantum scale
Physicists use mathematical assumptions in many situations that forbid time from moving backwards – but that isn’t necessarily a reflection of quantum reality
Categories: Astronomy
Mini-brains have been fused to resemble that of a 40-day-old fetus
By fusing different human organoids, researchers have created “mini-brains” containing most of the cell types found in fetal brains
Categories: Astronomy
Asteroid 2024 YR4 will now almost certainly miss Earth in 2032
New observations have dramatically reduced the chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032, lowering the risk to minimal levels, but its extraordinarily close approach will offer astronomers the chance to examine it in detail
Categories: Astronomy
AI can decode digital data stored in DNA in minutes instead of days
A new AI-based method can accurately recover digital data from DNA strands nearly 90 times faster than older techniques, raising the possibility of practical DNA storage for computing
Categories: Astronomy
NOAA scientists refuse to link warming weather to climate change
In a monthly reporting call on global climate, researchers from the US government’s climate and weather agency avoided mentioning rising levels of greenhouse gases
Categories: Astronomy
Mice seen giving 'first aid' to unconscious companions
Young mice seemingly attempt to revive an anaesthetised cage mate by grooming and biting it and will even pull aside the tongue to clear its airway
Categories: Astronomy
Volcano in Ethiopia is releasing unusually large plumes of methane
Satellites have detected large volumes of methane spewing from Mount Fentale’s crater following months of earthquakes that have shaken the region
Categories: Astronomy
The story of mirror life: From intriguing idea to unprecedented threat
Grave warnings have been issued about the dangers of creating life forms using mirror-image molecules. How worried should we be?
Categories: Astronomy
AI trained on novels tracks how racist and sexist biases have evolved
Questioning a chatbot that has been trained on bestselling books from a particular decade can give researchers a measure of the social biases of that era
Categories: Astronomy
Watch a cuttlefish transform into a leaf and a coral to hunt its prey
In new video footage, cuttlefish show off their dazzling camouflage techniques, such as creating stripes that move over their bodies or mimicking non-threatening objects
Categories: Astronomy
Gigantic star has gone through a rapid transformation and may explode
A red supergiant star appears to have changed in just a few years – an astronomical blink of an eye – which suggests it may be getting ready to explode in a supernova
Categories: Astronomy
Why being bilingual really does seem to delay dementia
Multiple studies suggest that speaking more than one language pushes back the onset of dementia, but doesn't seem to stop it entirely
Categories: Astronomy
USAID funding freeze devastates reproductive healthcare worldwide
The Trump administration’s pause on US foreign assistance could lead to an estimated 4.2 million unintended pregnancies and more than 8300 pregnancy-related deaths
Categories: Astronomy
Robot Iris turns out to be a straw man in horror-comedy Companion
Starring Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher, this film sets out to deconstruct men's objectification of women, and asks good questions about why we want robots at all. Shame about the logical hole at its centre
Categories: Astronomy
Striking artworks reveal the beauty of mushrooms and other soil life
A new exhibition at Somerset House in London, SOIL: The World at Our Feet, wants us to rediscover how key soil is to our lives and to the planet’s future
Categories: Astronomy
Riveting case studies reveal how neurology shapes who we are
A terrifying but fascinating book, Our Brains, Our Selves by Masud Husain shows how our identities hang by slender neurological threads
Categories: Astronomy