New Scientist Space - Cosmology
AI data scrapers are an existential threat to Wikipedia
As AI developers harvest Wikipedia content to train their models, the resulting surge in automated traffic is driving up costs for the non-profit that runs the popular crowdsourced encyclopaedia
Categories: Astronomy
Cannibal spiders have strange trick to stop their siblings eating them
A spider species eat their siblings as soon as they die but tolerate each other when they are alive, suggesting a mysterious signal helps them to determine when to dine on a nest mate
Categories: Astronomy
Largest ever US honeybee die-off has destroyed 1.6 million colonies
Beekeepers often experience some seasonal losses, but this past winter, more than half of all US honeybee colonies died off, potentially the largest loss in US history
Categories: Astronomy
Wind farm developers are worried about neighbours stealing their wind
Wakes from offshore wind farms can reduce the power generated by neighbouring farms – an issue that is growing more prevalent as turbines get bigger and more numerous
Categories: Astronomy
Kennedy has taken a sledgehammer to the US's public health
The US anti-vaccine movement is now firmly embedded in the highest levels of government, where those overseeing public health agencies are making drastic cuts both wide and deep
Categories: Astronomy
Bonobos use a kind of syntax once thought to be unique to humans
The way bonobos combine vocal sounds to create new meanings suggests the evolutionary building blocks of human language are shared with our closest relatives
Categories: Astronomy
Mammoth tusk flakes may be the oldest ivory objects made by humans
Ancient humans living in what is now Ukraine 400,000 years ago may have practised or taught tool-making techniques using mammoth tusks, a softer material than bone
Categories: Astronomy
Common artificial sweetener makes you three times hungrier than sugar
A widely used artificial sweetener increases brain activity in regions involved in appetite, suggesting it makes people hungrier
Categories: Astronomy
We could make solar panels on the moon by melting lunar dust
Researchers used a synthetic version of moon dust to build working solar panels, which could eventually be created within – and used to power – a moon base of the future
Categories: Astronomy
Ozempic weight loss is deemed less praiseworthy than lifestyle changes
People seem to be less impressed when others lose weight with the drug Ozempic than when they achieve it via lifestyle changes
Categories: Astronomy
Extreme weather could disrupt China's renewable energy boom
As China’s vast electrical grid relies more on wind, solar and hydropower, it faces a growing risk of power shortages due to bad weather – and that could encourage the use of coal plants
Categories: Astronomy
The best retro games console is the one you played at age 10
Nostalgia for video games seems to be strongest for those played during childhood – at least for Nintendo Switch players
Categories: Astronomy
Ice-monitoring drones set for first tests in the Arctic
High-speed drones will be put to the test in the extreme Arctic environment as part of a project to assess how quickly glaciers in Greenland are retreating
Categories: Astronomy
Can't stop doomscrolling? Here's some research to help you cut back
If you find yourself buffeted by bad news online, our resident advice columnist David Robson has some science-backed tips for managing your consumption and boosting your resilience
Categories: Astronomy
Robert Pattinson shines in clunky sci-fi adaptation Mickey 17
Our hero Mickey accidentally breaks the rules when he's "reprinted", in a tired take on an old trope, finds film columnist Simon Ings
Categories: Astronomy
Washed-up clothing mimics seaweed in stunning cyanotypes
Mandy Barker's new book, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype imperfections, highlights the ongoing ocean pollution crisis by echoing an influential 19th-century book
Categories: Astronomy
A moving story reveals hidden human cost of drug trials
Drug trials are vital to medicine, but what of those taking part? Jennie Erin Smith's moving new book about what happened in a rural community hit by early-onset Alzheimer's disease gives them a voice
Categories: Astronomy
A bestseller is born: How Zuckerberg discovered the Streisand Effect
Feedback is baffled – baffled! – as to why Facebook owner Meta's attempts to suppress a previous employee's memoir sent the book rocketing to the top of the book charts
Categories: Astronomy
Why pilots are worried about plans to replace co-pilots with AI
A cost-cutting initiative in the world of passenger aviation could see flight-deck staff reduced to just a captain, with their co-pilot replaced by AI. It may save money, but it's a risk too far, argues Paul Marks
Categories: Astronomy
Our drive for adventure and challenge has ancient origins
Why are some people drawn towards exploration and challenge – even to the point of extreme danger? Alex Hutchinson's bracing new book unpicks the complex reasons
Categories: Astronomy