New Scientist Space - Space Headlines
NASA cut $420 million for climate science, moon modelling and more
Under pressure from Elon Musk’s DOGE task force, NASA is cancelling grants and contracts for everything from lunar dust research to educational programmes
Categories: Astronomy
The animals revealing why human culture isn't as special as we thought
Even animals with very small brains turn out to have cultural traditions, which poses a puzzler for biologists wondering what makes human culture unique
Categories: Astronomy
Do Ozempic and Wegovy really cause hair loss?
As semaglutide-based weight loss treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy become more popular, new side effects are emerging – and one is hair loss
Categories: Astronomy
Aged human urine is a pungent pesticide as well as a fertiliser
Urine that has sat in the sun for a while seems to fertilise crops while warding off pests, without affecting the produce's taste
Categories: Astronomy
Monkeys use crafty techniques to get junk food from tourists
At the Dakshineswar temple complex in India, Hanuman langurs beg for food by grabbing visitors’ legs or tugging on their clothes – and they don’t stop until they get their favourite snacks
Categories: Astronomy
US bridges are at risk of catastrophic ship collisions every few years
After a container ship struck and destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, researchers began calculating the risks of similar catastrophic incidents for other US bridges – and they’re surprisingly high
Categories: Astronomy
Cave spiders use their webs in a way that hasn't been seen before
Cave-dwelling orb spiders have adapted their webs so they act as tripwires for prey that crawl on the walls of the caves
Categories: Astronomy
A revolutionary new understanding of autism in girls
By studying the brains of autistic girls, we now know the condition presents differently in them than in boys, suggesting that huge numbers of women have gone undiagnosed
Categories: Astronomy
Quantum eavesdropping could work even from inside a black hole
An eavesdropper hiding inside a black hole could still obtain information about quantum objects on its outside, a finding that reveals how effectively black holes destroy the quantum states near their event horizons
Categories: Astronomy
Unusually tiny hominin deepens mystery of our Paranthropus cousin
Paranthropus was an ape-like hominin that survived alongside early humans for more than a million years. A fossilised leg belonging to a strikingly small member of the group raises questions about how it did so
Categories: Astronomy
Dramatic cuts in China’s air pollution drove surge in global warming
The rate at which the planet is warming has sped up since 2010, and now researchers say that China's efforts to clean up air pollution are inadvertently responsible for the majority of this extra warming
Categories: Astronomy
Does aspirin have potential as an anti-cancer drug?
Taking aspirin was first linked to a lower risk of colorectal cancer in 1988, but the research into its anti-tumour potential has been full of twists and turns since then
Categories: Astronomy
Are Trump's cuts to science the end of the endless frontier?
Since the second world war, US economic prosperity and major technological developments have hinged upon the government’s commitment to funding scientific research. The Trump administration is ending that
Categories: Astronomy
Measles is spreading across the US – here is what you need to know
The US has confirmed more than 480 measles cases across 19 states, the highest total since an outbreak in 2019 sickened more than 1200 people
Categories: Astronomy
Asteroid 2024 YR4 could still hit the moon, JWST observations reveal
Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe asteroid 2024 YR4, which earlier this year seemed to be at risk of hitting Earth in 2032. Earth is now safe, but astronomers are cheering on a possible collision with the moon
Categories: Astronomy
The anus may have evolved from a hole originally used to release sperm
The long-standing question of how animals came to have an anus may have been solved by studies of which genes are active during development in various animals
Categories: Astronomy
Could a new kind of carbon budget ensure top emitters pay their dues?
Some researchers propose that countries should start to rack up a carbon debt once they exceed their carbon budget, obliging them to do more to draw down carbon dioxide, but the idea is unlikely to form part of international climate agreements
Categories: Astronomy
Distracted by your phone? Putting it out of reach may not help
When researchers asked people to work on a computer with their phones 1.5 metres away, the amount of time they spent on their phone went down – but they just scrolled social media on their laptop instead
Categories: Astronomy
Little red dots seen by JWST might be a kind of black hole 'star'
Red specks in the early universe are puzzling astronomers, but a proposed explanation suggests they are the progenitors of supermassive black holes
Categories: Astronomy
Flourishing microalgae could offset emissions as the planet heats up
Photosynthesising microbes in soil may increase their activity as temperatures rise, offsetting some of the carbon emissions expected to be released from peatland and permafrost
Categories: Astronomy
