New Scientist Space - Cosmology
Why does the US want to ban TikTok?
The US House of Representatives is voting on a bill that would require TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or risk a nationwide ban
Categories: Astronomy
US government wants to tax bitcoin to reduce its environmental impact
The computers that secure cryptocurrencies like bitcoin consume large amounts of power, pushing up electricity prices and potentially contributing to climate change. Now, the US government wants to tackle the problem
Categories: Astronomy
Storm-proofing 1% of power lines protects entire grid from blackouts
Researchers simulated the wind damage from seven historical hurricanes to identify just a few key electrical lines that were crucial to protect the whole grid from cascading power failures
Categories: Astronomy
How neuroscience can help you make tough decisions - with no regrets
Most people are too risk-averse when it comes to life's biggest choices. Learning how to overcome the cognitive biases at play can help you make better decisions - with no looking back
Categories: Astronomy
Stick or twist: How to improve the outcomes of your big life decisions
Most people are too risk-averse when it comes to life's biggest choices. Learning how to overcome the cognitive biases at play can help you make better decisions with fewer regrets
Categories: Astronomy
Plants send out 'distress calls' – but can other plants hear them?
Some studies have claimed that plants emit sounds when stressed and might perceive the distress calls of other plants, but a review finds the evidence is lacking
Categories: Astronomy
How to see the incredible comet 12P/Pons-Brooks tonight
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks orbits the sun every 71 years and is currently making its closest approach. Here's when and how you can see it - perhaps even during a solar eclipse
Categories: Astronomy
The surprising ways animals react to a total solar eclipse
When the moon hides the sun in a total solar eclipse, some animals seem to think that it is briefly nighttime, while others pace anxiously or even gaze up at the sky
Categories: Astronomy
Mars's gravitational pull may be strong enough to stir Earth's oceans
An analysis of deep-sea drill cores suggests that Mars may have enough gravitational influence to shift sediment within Earth's oceans on a 2.4-million-year cycle
Categories: Astronomy
Could an AI replace all music ever recorded with Taylor Swift covers?
A thought experiment in which all music is replaced with AI-generated "Taylor's Versions" should prompt us to find ways to protect data from AI corruption, warn researchers
Categories: Astronomy
The moons of Mars may have been formed in an icy planetary collision
The origins of Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos have long been an enigma, but they may have been formed when a icy, comet-like object slammed into the Red Planet
Categories: Astronomy
There are growing fears of an alarming shift in Antarctic sea ice
Antarctic sea ice cover remains far below average levels for the third year in a row, but researchers are uncertain whether this is a permanent shift driven by climate change or part of natural fluctuations
Categories: Astronomy
The war in Gaza is creating a health crisis that will span decades
Physical injuries, mental health issues and malnutrition are widespread in Gaza – and major health groups have no firm plans to address the impending crisis
Categories: Astronomy
Babies with bilingual mothers have distinct brainwaves at 1 day old
Newborns whose mothers speak two languages appear to have distinct brain responses to speech compared with those born to monolingual mothers, supporting the idea that language acquisition begins in the uterus
Categories: Astronomy
Indigenous Australians have managed land with fire for 11,000 years
Lake sediments reveal the ancient history of Aboriginal people’s use of fire to manage the landscape, a tradition that has benefits for biodiversity
Categories: Astronomy
Ketamine’s unlikely conversion from rave drug to mental health therapy
Bolstered by impressive clinical trials, some companies are offering ketamine therapy as an employee health benefit – but what risks are posed by the drug's newfound popularity?
Categories: Astronomy
Blind cave fish offers lessons in how to survive starvation
Unlike most other animals, the cave-dwelling Mexican tetra doesn’t get a fatty liver when it is malnourished – and its secrets could lead to medical benefits for other species
Categories: Astronomy
Flightless terror birds stalked Antarctica after the dinosaurs' demise
Two fossil claws found on Seymour Island reveal that phorusrhacids, or terror birds, lived in Antarctica 50 million years ago and were probably the apex predator
Categories: Astronomy
Exclusive: Aid groups have no concrete long-term health plans for Gaza
Palestinians face a protracted health disaster as physical injuries, mental health issues and malnutrition are widespread in Gaza – and major health groups have no firm plans to address it
Categories: Astronomy
Snail robot excretes sticky mucus that helps it crawl up slopes
A remotely controlled robot with an inflatable foot that oozes mucus can crawl across surfaces like a snail, and could inspire soft medical robots that move through mucus-lined cavities in the human body
Categories: Astronomy