New Scientist Space - Cosmology

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its massive Starship rocket today - watch the livestream of the event here

People who had higher levels of xylitol in their blood were more likely to have a heart attack or stroke within the next three years, with lab experiments suggesting the sweetener promotes blood clotting

New books from Adrian Tchaikovsky and the late Michael Crichton (with James Patterson) are among the great new sci-fi novels out this month

The Dutch police force is already using a remotely controlled Spot robot dog made by Boston Dynamics to examine drug labs in raids, and now it wants to make the robot fully autonomous

The burgeoning use of wood as a building material is a path to more sustainable construction, and it may have psychological benefits too, finds Graham Lawton

People who stop taking antidepressants may get mental and physical symptoms as their bodies adjust to the lack of medicines - now we know how common this is

Social media is adamant that you can fertilise your houseplants with milk, but I'll be saving mine for a hot drink, says James Wong

Eruption, the much-vaunted "collaboration" of the late Michael Crichton and thriller king James Patterson, may work better as a film than a book. Wait till then, says Emily H. Wilson

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

This astonishing image may look like a deep-sea monster, with its big teeth and gaping mouth, but the humpback anglerfish is really no bigger than your hand

From a child's curiosity about a visiting missionary to fighting oil companies, Amazonian activist Nemonte Nenquimo's autobiography shows the journey of an extraordinary Indigenous woman

Feedback was intrigued to learn that a mussel has finally been found innocent of the death of a Danish black headed gull back in 1952

Research exploring the effects of racism on the brain suggests there is reason to be concerned about potential long-term damage, finds Layal Liverpool

Efforts to curb the amount of sodium we eat have mostly failed, so governments must now try a new strategy: adding potassium to table salt

The Starliner spacecraft is on its way, carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station, having finally launched on its third attempt

Rising CO2 levels will spur the growth of forests, which store carbon, but an experiment suggests this effect could be restricted by the availability of phosphorus in the soil

People with eczema have higher levels of sodium in their urine than those without the skin condition, with every additional 1 gram linked to an 11 per cent increase in the risk of a diagnosis

In animal tests, a cube of hydrogel the length of a rice grain was implanted in the brain with a needle to monitor temperature or pressure, and then dissolved away after a few weeks

Could potassium fortification be the answer we're looking for when it comes to battling our unhealthy addiction to salt?

The global average temperature during May was highest for any May on record, reaching 1.52°C above the 1850 to 1900 average