New Scientist Space - Cosmology
Why does time fly or drag? How emotions warp our temporal perceptions
Felt time can speed up and slow down, depending on circumstances, because our perception of duration is intrinsically linked to the mental states induced by our physiological responses to the world
Categories: Astronomy
How do we make the most of our time? The power of confronting death
Our species' unique awareness of our own mortality can create a nagging sense that we are wasting our time – but leaning into the fact that our time is finite can transform the way we approach life
Categories: Astronomy
How long does evolution take? It happens on two different timescales
To make sense of the fact that adaptation can happen quickly and yet true evolutionary change seems to take forever, biologists suggest that evolution runs on two very different clocks
Categories: Astronomy
Can we live without time? Not if we value a solid sense of self
Ditching artificial light and living by the natural cycle of the sun can offer plenty of benefits for your health. But when you lose any sense of time whatsoever, you risk losing yourself too
Categories: Astronomy
Jun Ye interview: What use is the world's most accurate clock?
The most advanced atomic clocks don’t just tell time – they could soon get so ludicrously accurate that they could be used for detecting gravitational waves and testing the limits of relativity
Categories: Astronomy
Will we ever unite physics? Clocks in superposition could offer clues
Physicists have long sought to marry general relativity and quantum mechanics – now some reckon experiments that probe the way each theory treats time could finally make it happen
Categories: Astronomy
Will time ever end? The answer lies in the death throes of the cosmos
The universe might meet its end in a big freeze, a big crunch, or a big rip. But whether time ends with the demise of the cosmos depends on whether it is even real after all
Categories: Astronomy
What is time? The mysterious essence of the fourth dimension
The true nature of time continues to elude us. But whether it is a fundamental part of the cosmos or an illusion made in our minds has profound implications for our understanding of the universe
Categories: Astronomy
Could we ever go back in time? Relativity does not rule it out
The physics thought to explain the arrow of time is not as simple as you might think – and in traversable wormholes, Einstein’s theory of general relativity does in principle offer routes to the past
Categories: Astronomy
How do we sense time? The brain cells that order our memories
Recent studies suggest there is not one part of the brain dedicated to measuring duration, as there is for senses like taste and smell. Instead, the passage of time is tracked by a network of “time cells”
Categories: Astronomy
Mars looks more vivid than ever in new photos from Perseverance rover
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is sending back stunning images as it explores an ancient river delta in Jezero crater for signs of life
Categories: Astronomy
Emissions from rocket launches could affect Earth's weather systems
Increasing numbers of space launches will put more black carbon high in the atmosphere, where it can trap heat from the sun
Categories: Astronomy
Why has a court decided not to grant Happy the elephant personhood?
An animal rights group says that an elephant in the Bronx Zoo in New York is so intelligent she should be granted legal personhood, but a court has now issued a ruling saying otherwise
Categories: Astronomy
Google wants to challenge AI with 200 tasks to replace the Turing test
Alan Turing first proposed a test for machine intelligence in 1950, but now researchers at Google and their partners have created a suite of 204 tests to replace it, covering subjects such as mathematics, linguistics and chess
Categories: Astronomy
When cats chew catnip it releases mosquito-repelling chemicals
When cats lick and chew catnip or silver vine plants, higher levels of insect-repelling iridoid chemicals are released
Categories: Astronomy
Severe covid-19 symptoms linked to more than 1300 genetic variants
Hundreds of genetic variants may influence your risk of becoming severely ill with covid-19, a discovery that could lead to more targeted treatments or even tests that assess a person's likelihood of complications
Categories: Astronomy
Moon rocks collected by the Chang’e 5 mission have water in them
China’s Chang’e 5 mission landed on the moon in 2020 and sent back samples of dust and rocks, which have been found to contain water – but not very much of it
Categories: Astronomy
Lizard unfurls its face like a flower as a way to scare off predators
The toad-headed agama can unfold colourful skin flaps at the corners of its mouth to produce a vibrant display, but a study suggests this behaviour hasn’t evolved to impress mates – it may actually help to startle predators
Categories: Astronomy
UK may go it alone in orbit after Brexit shutout from EU space plans
The UK may invest in its own space plans if Brexit-related issues continue to prevent full involvement in the European Union’s programmes
Categories: Astronomy
Bacteria bred for 2000 generations settle long-term evolution mystery
A 2000-generation experiment with bacteria suggests existing variation makes a smaller contribution to evolution than we had thought
Categories: Astronomy