New Scientist Space - Cosmology
The unexpected reasons why human childhood is extraordinarily long
Why childhood is so protracted has long been mysterious, now a spate of archaeological discoveries suggest an intriguing explanation
Categories: Astronomy
Martin MacInnes: 'Science fiction can be many different things'
The author of In Ascension, the latest pick for the New Scientist Book Club, on why he wrote his novel, cultivating a sense of wonder and the role of fiction in the world today
Categories: Astronomy
Dust clouds from the Sahara are reaching Europe more frequently
Changes in wind patterns and desertification may be increasing the amount of dust from the Sahara desert blown over western Europe and the frequency of these events
Categories: Astronomy
Birds make an 'after you' gesture to prompt their mate to enter nest
Japanese tits sometimes flutter their wings in an apparent gesture of encouraging their mate to enter their shared nest first
Categories: Astronomy
Humans spread more viruses to other animals than they give to us
An analysis of viral genomes shows it is more common for viruses to jump from humans to other animals than the other way around
Categories: Astronomy
Tiny deer from the dry valleys of Peru recognised as new species
A 38-centimetre-tall deer, found in an arid region in the central Andes, is the first new deer species found in South America for over 60 years
Categories: Astronomy
NASA's mission to Europa isn't meant to find alien life - but it could
Later this year, NASA is launching its Europa Clipper spacecraft to the icy moon of Jupiter. Its mission is only to investigate whether the moon is habitable, but now researchers have found that one of its instruments could look for direct signs of life
Categories: Astronomy
Medieval horses buried in London had far-flung origins
Isotopic analysis of horse teeth from a medieval burial site suggest that the animals were imported to England from Scandinavia or the Alps, perhaps for use in battle or jousting
Categories: Astronomy
Dogs really do understand that words stand for objects
Pet dogs have different patterns of brain activity when they are shown an object that doesn’t match the word they hear, suggesting they have a mental representation of what words mean
Categories: Astronomy
Largest recorded solar storm was even bigger than we thought
Rediscovered magnetic recordings reveal just how extreme the largest recorded solar storm in history, the Carrington event in 1859, really was, highlighting the danger such storms could present to us nowadays
Categories: Astronomy
Ant queens have good reasons for eating their own babies
Feasting on family members may be an unorthodox way for ant queens to keep their fledgling colonies from being overrun by lethal fungi
Categories: Astronomy
Male and female spiders pair up to look like a flower
Together, a dark-hued male crab spider and a larger, paler female resemble a flower, in what researchers suspect is the first case of cooperative mimicry
Categories: Astronomy
Why giving AI a robot body could make its ‘brain’ more human-like
At its AI conference, Nvidia announced new software and hardware for AI-powered humanoid robots: a model called Project GR00T and a computer called Jetson Thor
Categories: Astronomy
SpaceX’s Starship created a volcano-like explosion in first launch
The Starship rocket destroyed its launch pad during its first launch attempt in 2023, and the explosion resembled a powerful volcanic eruption, spraying sand and chunks of debris over a huge area
Categories: Astronomy
Organic farms seem to trigger more pesticide use on conventional farms
Insects tend to be more abundant on organic farms than conventional ones, which may cause the pests to spill over into neighbouring fields, prompting these farmers to increase their pesticide use
Categories: Astronomy
Pig kidney transplanted into living human for the first time
A genetically modified pig kidney has been successfully transplanted into a living human – and the recipient is expected to leave hospital soon
Categories: Astronomy
Sulphur dioxide from Iceland volcano eruption has reached the UK
A huge plume of sulphur dioxide from the latest eruption in Iceland is drifting across Europe, but it isn't expected to cause any significant harm
Categories: Astronomy
Teen sweat has distinct chemical make-up with notes of musk and urine
Teenagers and babies produce different chemicals in their sweat, which may be why infants are generally considered to smell sweeter
Categories: Astronomy
Food costs more because of climate change - and it will get worse
Rising temperatures are predicted to drive up food inflation by between 0.9 and 3.2 per cent a year by 2035, as crop yields suffer from extreme heat
Categories: Astronomy
Why 2024 Abel prize winner Michel Talagrand became a mathematician
After losing an eye at the age of 5, the 2024 Abel prize winner Michel Talagrand found comfort in mathematics
Categories: Astronomy