New Scientist Space - Cosmology

Building the full value of pi has been a project thousands of years in the making, but just how much of this infinite number do we actually need, asks our maths columnist Jacob Aron

Shifting your focus could help you overcome the trickery of optical illusions

The health problems associated with ultra-processed foods may be explained by the way the products encourage overeating. Adding more protein to the foods might help people limit their intake – but it isn’t a complete solution

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it is discontinuing its regular update calls due to staffing problems, but its researchers may also fear political retaliation for discussing climate change

A study of the fossilised fur of six mammals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods has found they were all greyish-brown in colour, which would have helped them hide from dinosaurs

The 2023 breach of the Kakhovka dam drained a huge reservoir and exposed a vast area of toxic sediment, creating a debate about how best to rebuild after the Russia-Ukraine war

Potential cuts of up to 50 per cent of NASA's science budget could mean cancelling missions including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Voyager probes

Bones dating back 25,000 years suggest that humans lived in extremely icy conditions in Tibet, which were previously thought to be uninhabitable

New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation

A mission to survey the results of a deliberate crash between an asteroid and a NASA spacecraft has taken stunning images of Mars and its moon Deimos

To reduce the growing risk of intense wildfires, California is cutting and burning the areas that fuel them – but these efforts may be moving too slowly

NASA’s Perseverance rover found large crystals of quartz with a high purity on Mars, which probably had to have formed in the presence of hot water

Hydrocortisone and testosterone are just two of 13 drugs and supplements that could lessen the impact of genes that accelerate brain ageing

Noughts and crosses, or tic-tac-toe, is a simple game – but twist the rules and you can really spice it up, says Peter Rowlett

The odds are stacked against an all-female robotics team in Rule Breakers, a fantastic film about teaching girls in Afghanistan

In his Atomic series, artist James Stanford showcases "the spectacle and the horror" of growing up near a nuclear bomb testing site

Cosmic Titans, a new exhibition at the University of Nottingham, UK, is a powerful collaboration of artists and quantum physicists that sets out to make the intangible tangible

Our Future Chronicles column explores an imagined history of inventions yet to come – this time how, by the mid-21st century, many people were opting for a "nose job" that would supercharge their sense of smell. Rowan Hooper is our guide.

Feedback would like to bring to readers' attention the retraction of five psychology articles by Nicolas Guéguen, including a "field study" into "bust size and hitchhiking"

Whether social media sites police their platforms using humans or algorithms, content moderation isn't keeping users safe, says Jess Brough