New Scientist Space - Space Headlines

Countries are eager to use AI to automate some government processes, but this risks eroding citizens’ trust and feelings of democratic control – because AI mistakes can ruin their lives

The IceCube neutrino detector has allowed researchers to resolve a debate about what types of particles make up ultra-high-energy cosmic rays – but much remains unknown about these rare events

A drop in shipping emissions has caused a surge in warming at the Great Barrier Reef, fuelling calls for drastic actions such as marine cloud brightening to lower the risk of coral bleaching

Models suggest that meeting climate targets will be virtually impossible without steep emissions cuts paired with a huge expansion of carbon management technologies

Urban trees lining streets fare better in dry spells than those in parks – now it seems that leaky water pipes are the reason for their endurance

Mice experienced far fewer hay fever symptoms when a pollen-blocking antibody was applied within their nose

Sea-skimming crafts – which fly just above the water – were once considered Cold War relics of a failed Soviet experiment. Now, China and the US are resurrecting the technology as a possible Pacific conflict looms

Microglia replacement therapy helps treat people with a rare genetic condition called ALSP, suggesting the approach could also work for other neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s

Inhaled insulin is effective for controlling blood sugar levels in children with diabetes, providing them with a faster-acting, needle-free option to manage their condition

Observations from NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveal that Jupiter’s strong magnetic field and the unique properties of its plasma can produce a truly novel kind of extraterrestrial wave near its poles

Something strange happens to water as it moves through the stems of horsetail plants – and this unique process provides valuable clues for understanding past and present ecosystems

Astronomers tracking an interstellar object flying through the solar system think it comes from a star at least 8 billion years old, almost twice the age of our sun

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

Kat Zhou has won the Aquatic Life category in the 2025 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition, while a shot of a death-defying leap by a lemur took the top prize

Language is evolving rapidly in a world of social media. Our millennial reviewer finds Adam Aleksic's Algospeak to be a much-needed helping hand

The awe-inspiring distances of the cosmos are hard to visualise, so how can we be certain we are measuring them correctly? Chanda Prescod-Weinstein explains

Feedback has been invited to an event next year in Shaoxing, China. It's an academic conference promising "revolutionary thinkers who are redefining human intimacy through cutting-edge robotics and AI"

The UK's health secretary has announced a 10-year plan to check newborns for a huge range of rare conditions. There are major medical and ethical issues with this, argues neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan

The population is set to plummet and we don't know how to stop it, warn Dean Spears and Michael Geruso in their new book, After the Spike

An example from the history of mathematics shows how views on the trustworthiness of artificial intelligence can quickly start to change