New Scientist Space - Space Headlines
Surgical robots take step towards fully autonomous operations
An AI system trained on videos of operations successfully guided a robot to carry out gall bladder surgery on a dead pig, with minimal human assistance
Categories: Astronomy
Will we ever feel comfortable with AIs taking on important tasks?
An example from the history of mathematics shows how views on the trustworthiness of artificial intelligence can quickly start to change
Categories: Astronomy
Antidepressant withdrawal symptoms may be less common than we thought
Previous estimates have suggested that more than half of people who stop taking antidepressants experience withdrawal symptoms, but now a review of the evidence suggests this isn't the case, at least for short-term use.
Categories: Astronomy
Evolution has made humans both Machiavellian and born socialists
Humanity’s innate treachery is behind social ills ranging from inequality to abuse of power. Lessons from our ancestors can help defeat the enemy within
Categories: Astronomy
Exercise helps fight cancer – and we may finally know why
Exercise seems to help prevent cancer and reduce the growth of tumours, and that protective effect may be due to the way working out changes the gut microbiome
Categories: Astronomy
Oldest proteins yet recovered from 18-million-year-old teeth
The oldest protein fragments ever recovered have been extracted from fossilised teeth found in Kenya's Rift Valley, revealing the remains belonged to the ancient ancestors of rhinoceroses and elephants
Categories: Astronomy
Why falling in love with an AI isn’t laughable, it’s inevitable
It’s easy to sneer at people who say they’ve fallen in love with ChatGPT. But we've been developing confusing feelings for bots for decades longer than you might think, writes Alex Wilkins. With so many people feeling lonely, can that be a good thing?
Categories: Astronomy
Colossal's plans to "de-extinct" the giant moa are still impossible
After a controversial project claiming to have resurrected the dire wolf, Colossal Biosciences has now announced plans to bring back nine species of the extinct moa bird
Categories: Astronomy
A youthful brain and immune system may be key to a long life
Maintaining good overall health is key to living a long life, but we may want to particularly focus on the state of our brain and immune system
Categories: Astronomy
1500 deaths in the recent European heatwave were due to climate change
We now have the ability to rapidly assess the death toll of climate change after extreme heat – a first-of-its-kind analysis has shown that it nearly tripled the death toll from the most recent European heatwave
Categories: Astronomy
Herpes virus could soon be approved to treat severe skin cancer
A cancer-killing virus could soon be approved for use after shrinking tumours in a third of people with late-stage melanoma
Categories: Astronomy
The truth about ivermectin’s supposed health benefits
Interest in the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin skyrocketed during the covid-19 pandemic, but evidence for many of its supposed health claims are lacking
Categories: Astronomy
What will be the climate fallout from Trump's 'big beautiful bill'?
The “One Big Beautiful Bill” just signed by President Trump will slash support for clean energy, leaving the US far short of its Paris Agreement pledge
Categories: Astronomy
70,000 years ago humans underwent a major shift – that’s why we exist
Ancient humans in Africa changed their behaviour in a major way 70,000 years ago, which could explain how their descendants managed to people the rest of the world
Categories: Astronomy
Geoengineering could avoid climate tipping points, but not if we delay
Putting aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight could prevent the shutdown of key ocean currents, but only if it is done soon, a computer model suggests
Categories: Astronomy
'Flashes of brilliance and frustration': I let an AI agent run my day
Ordering takeaway food, writing emails, reworking presentations: AI assistants are promoted as a way of outsourcing mundane tasks to free up your time for more interesting pursuits. So, what are they actually good for – and what are the risks?
Categories: Astronomy
Forests' vanishing snow is also bad news for carbon storage
The loss of snow cover in temperate forests is set to slow their growth and reduce their ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere, an overlooked consequence of climate change
Categories: Astronomy
Mathematicians are chasing a number that may reveal the edge of maths
Some numbers are so unimaginably large that they defy the bounds of modern mathematics, and now mathematicians are closing in on a number that may mark the edge of this bizarre abyss
Categories: Astronomy
Rapid bursts of ageing are causing a total rethink of how we grow old
Suddenly feeling old? Evidence now suggests that rather than a long, steady decline, we dramatically age around three specific times in our lives. Might it be possible to stay younger for longer?
Categories: Astronomy
Did something just hit Saturn? Astronomers are racing to find out
Around seven asteroids or comets are thought to hit Saturn every year, but we have never spotted one in the act. Now, it seems one astronomer may have caught the moment of impact and the hunt is on for other images to verify the discovery
Categories: Astronomy