New Scientist Space - Space Headlines

When light strikes a soft robot made from a twisted strip of hydrogel sheets, it moves in a predictable way and can climb a vertical rod or haul up a load

If a lavender scent is sprayed into pig pens three times a day, the animals show less aggressive behaviour and appear more relaxed

A study of more than 2 million people in 168 countries suggests that having access to the internet is linked to higher life satisfaction, but many questions remain unanswered

Ultra-fast pulses of laser light can be shaped into vortices similar to smoke rings – when chained together, they can carry enough information to transmit a simple image

A rare geomagnetic storm not seen for nearly 20 years could cause a stunning aurora borealis on 10 and 11 May

Sufficiently advanced aliens would be able to capture vast quantities of energy from their star using a massive structure called a Dyson sphere. Such a device would give off an infrared heat signature - and astronomers have just spotted 60 stars that seem to match

Heavy, prolonged or painful menstrual periods are associated with more days off school and scoring worse on compulsory exams in a UK study

A centuries-old maths problem asks what shape a circle traces out as it rolls along a line. The answer, dubbed a “cycloid”, turns out to have applications in a variety of scientific fields

With a bit of training, macaques can make rhythmic movements in time with music, an ability only shown before by a handful of animals

People who can run a mile in less than 4 minutes generally live almost five years longer than would otherwise be expected, challenging the idea that too much strenuous exercise is bad for the heart

Surprising recent measurements hint that the universe isn’t expanding in the way we had thought, and it could be explained by still-theoretical dark radiation

An analysis of a mathematical economic game suggests that even learning from past mistakes will almost never help us optimise our decision-making – with implications for our ability to make the biggest financial gains

The Red Planet launches large bursts of plasma into space from its upper atmosphere, much like the sun’s coronal mass ejections, despite not having a global magnetic field

For decades, cosmologists have been fighting over the Hubble constant, a number that represents the expansion rate of the universe – it may have finally been pinned down

We are generally as reluctant to contact a long-lost friend as we are to talk to a stranger, but scientists have come up with an approach so it's easier to make the first move

A new robotic hand can withstand being smashed by pistons or walloped with a hammer. It was designed to survive the trial-and-error interactions required to train AI robots

The quantum principle of superposition – the idea of particles being in multiple places at once – could help make quantum batteries that charge within minutes

Egg whites are key to so many baked goods but can be tricky to work with. These tips will help you master the technique, says Catherine de Lange

This beautifully written and compassionate novel tells the story of how comet Halle-Bopp turns a small-town writer onto astronomy and opens him up to fresh adventures

Lisa Kaltenegger has been working on how to find life on exoplanets since the 1990s. Her new book, Alien Earths, brings her quest to vivid life