New Scientist Space - Cosmology

The planets around a nearby star seem to be in the wrong order, hinting that they formed through a different mechanism than the familiar one by which most systems grow

The activity of certain neurons may influence our endurance for exercise, and these could be targeted to help us run faster for longer

The idea of self-amplifying gene editing is to get cells to pass on packages of CRISPR machinery to their neighbours, boosting the effect

A fleet of wind-propelled robot boats could act as a sensor network covering a wide area and relay acoustic signals from a submarine

Many researchers thought that earthquakes in the Himalayas recur at regular intervals – but an analysis of sediment cores has shown they are largely random, and the region has seen far more than we previously realised

The Chincha Kingdom was transporting seabird excrement from islands to valleys as early as the 13th century, and this powerful fertiliser may have been key to its economic success

We must find a balance between haste and getting mired in medical inertia

There are huge benefits to ringing the changes when it comes to exercise, finds committed runner Grace Wade when she analyses the science

In George Saunders's Vigil, a ghost visits Earth to help a dying oil tycoon, while terraforming efforts on Mars are about to bear fruit in The Rainseekers by Matthew Kressel. Emily H. Wilson's sci-fi column explores two very different short novels

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week

It's hard not to despair about the state of the world today, but here are five reasons to be a little bit hopeful, says Fred Pearce

We are told we need cynical strategies to "play" the dating game, but the science says this is totally wrong. David Robson enjoys an evidence-based takedown from psychologist Paul Eastwick

Feedback is always on the lookout for better ways to measure things, and was delighted to learn how the weight of ice is quantified in Austin, Texas

Biologists have long thought that speaking to nature’s economic value would persuade boardrooms it was worth saving. It hasn’t worked – so what, if anything, will?

About 4600 years ago, the population of Britain was replaced by a people who brought Bell Beaker pottery with them. Now, ancient DNA has uncovered the murky story of where these people came from

A gene therapy that patients breathe in has been found to shrink lung tumours by inserting immune-boosting genes into surrounding cells

South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind and solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30 per cent in a year and sometimes going negative

Scientists have captured remarkable footage of the young of a mouse-sized marsupial, called a fat-tailed dunnart, making their way to their mother’s pouch soon after being born

Building the human story based on a few artefacts is tricky – particularly for wooden tools that don’t preserve well, or cave art that we don’t have the technology to date. Columnist Michael Marshall explores how we determine what came first in the timeline of our species

Once considered an oddity of quantum physics, time crystals could be a good building block for accurate clocks and sensors, according to new calculations