New Scientist Space - Cosmology

Cocaine and morphine hijacked neural responses in the brains of mice, which resulted in them consuming less food and water

The vertebrae of Vasuki indicus, a snake that lived 47 million years ago, suggest it could have been as long as 15 metres

Measurements of sulphur isotopes in Io’s atmosphere show that the moon may have been volcanically active for its entire lifetime

Cryptographers are scrambling to understand an algorithm that could undermine the mathematics behind next-generation encryption methods, which are intended to protect against quantum computers

A mathematical model of a particle that remembers its past so that it never travels the same path twice produces stunningly complex patterns

In the foundations of a Maya temple, researchers found the charred bones of royal individuals – possibly evidence of a fiery ritual to mark the end of one dynasty and the beginning of another

Cloud seeding almost certainly did not play a significant role in the flooding on the Arabian peninsula this week – but the heavy rains may have been exacerbated by climate change

The jawbone of an ichthyosaur uncovered in south-west England has been identified as a new species, and researchers estimate that the whole animal was 20 to 25 metres long

Underground tunnels created by lava flows provided humans with shelter for thousands of years beneath the hot desert landscape of Saudi Arabia

Amid a deluge of dour TV shows about the end of the world, Fallout, based on the hit video games of the same name and set in the wastelands of 2296, stands out, says Bethan Ackerley

Artist Matthew Attard turned to eye-tracking technology to generate a fresh take on images of ships carved by seafarers on chapels in Malta hundreds of years ago

Can you see through deceiving data and beguiling stories? Read Alex Edmans's new book and take his card test to find out

Feedback pores over new research that suggests "robot-human boxing" would reduce brain injuries by reducing the number of live opponents involved

One in five adults worldwide is living with fatigue. The general advice is to “do more” - but this isn’t the only solution to our exhaustion epidemic, says Amy Arthur

Millions of people experience symptoms many doctors dismiss as imaginary, but why? Caroline Crampton's moving first-person account is very revealing

Caused by debris from a comet thought to originate in the Oort Cloud, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks this year on 22 April and is best viewed from the northern hemisphere, says Abigail Beall

Negative thinking is unpopular but it could drive more realistic efforts to limit harm from global warming

We know there is some connection between skin and gut health, but many assumed the gut was the one calling the shots. A new study suggests that the influence can go the other way

A computer intended to mimic the way the brain processes and stores data could potentially improve the efficiency and capabilities of artificial intelligence models

Weeding robots can sometimes struggle to tell weeds from crops, but genetically modifying the plants we want to keep to make them brightly coloured would make the job easier, suggest a group of researchers