New Scientist Space - Space Headlines
How bats pick out their own calls when flying in enormous swarms
Researchers trained a hawk outfitted with microphones to fly through a swarm of 600,000 bats, revealing how they can hear their own voice in a crowd
Categories: Astronomy
Glasses coated in lithium could let us see in the dark
A film made of lithium niobate and gratings of silicon dioxide converts infrared light into visible light better than the other leading compound, potentially allowing nighttime vision
Categories: Astronomy
Starship launch 4: What time is the SpaceX flight tomorrow?
SpaceX is getting ready to launch its massive Starship rocket tomorrow and we have all the details on the mission
Categories: Astronomy
Gene therapy enables five children who were born deaf to hear
Five children have had gene therapy to treat inherited deafness, this time in both ears, following the success of earlier treatments in just one ear
Categories: Astronomy
People are less likely to believe an AI if it conveys uncertainty
When a large language model expresses doubt about the information it supplies, people are less likely to accept it as fact and more likely to find accurate information elsewhere
Categories: Astronomy
Why excessive positivity is bad for your health and mental well-being
There are real benefits to a positive mindset, but the idea that we should always look on the bright side has gone too far. Research into toxic positivity can help restore balance
Categories: Astronomy
China is sending giant pandas to US zoos for the first time in decades
In recent years, China recalled pandas from three out of four US zoos that had the bears, signalling diplomatic tensions between the two countries – but this year China has offered two new pairs of giant pandas
Categories: Astronomy
Glitching radio waves from dead stars explained by swirling superfluid
Pulsars that emit radio waves “glitch” as they rotate – this seems to be caused by interruptions to swirling vortices inside these ultra-dense stars
Categories: Astronomy
Diet-monitoring AI tracks your each and every spoonful
An AI that watches you while you eat can estimate how much you’re consuming, and could help people track their calorie intake
Categories: Astronomy
Ancient snake drawings are among the largest known rock art worldwide
Rock art along the Orinoco river in South America is made up of some of the largest etchings we know of and could date back 2000 years
Categories: Astronomy
Morning exercise may be optimal for improving bone health
Mice that exercised soon after waking up had stronger and longer bones than those that exercised later in the day
Categories: Astronomy
Endangered giant pangolin spotted in Senegal after nearly 24 years
A rare sighting of a giant pangolin revives hopes for the species' survival in West Africa, despite threats from poaching and deforestation
Categories: Astronomy
How materials that rewind light can test physics' most extreme ideas
Strange solids called temporal metamaterials finally make it possible to investigate the controversial idea of quantum friction – and push special relativity to its limits
Categories: Astronomy
Ancient geese stood 3 metres tall and weighed as much as a cow
A rare fossil skull provides strong evidence that the Dromornithidae, an extinct group of Australian flightless birds, were related to geese and ducks
Categories: Astronomy
Periods are starting younger and we're struggling to pin down why
Menstruation is occurring earlier and earlier in life for younger generations in the Western world, but researchers are puzzled as to why
Categories: Astronomy
China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft begins sampling on far side of the moon
The Chang’e 6 moon lander touched down on 2 June and began collecting lunar rock for China’s second sample-return mission
Categories: Astronomy
Snares are wiping out South-East Asian wildlife – what can be done?
Efforts to remove animal traps and discourage poaching in Vietnamese protected areas have been partly effective, but conservationists say other approaches are needed to safeguard threatened species
Categories: Astronomy
Wormholes could blast out blazing hot plasma at incredible speeds
If matter falls into one end of a wormhole, it could heat up in a tornado of plasma hot enough to initiate nuclear fusion – and come blasting out the other end
Categories: Astronomy
Battle-damage detector can help aid groups rapidly respond during war
A simple statistical test can quickly guide humanitarian efforts in areas like Gaza and Ukraine impacted by war – and it could perform as well as more expensive, AI-powered methods
Categories: Astronomy
Asian hornets have overwintered in the UK for the first time
Queen Asian hornets found in East Sussex this year are a genetic match to a 2023 nest, suggesting the invasive species is becoming established in the UK
Categories: Astronomy