New Scientist Space - Space Headlines
How science can help you whip up perfect egg whites for your bakes
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
Categories: Astronomy
Sarah Perry's Enlightenment is a moving story of love and astronomy
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
Categories: Astronomy
The hunt for alien planets and extraterrestrial life
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
Categories: Astronomy
Why carbon offsetting your flight isn't the answer
I always add the carbon offset option when buying a flight, but I had a sneaking suspicion I was being greenwashed. Turns out I was right, says Graham Lawton
Categories: Astronomy
How the discovery of a nest in a Roman museum caused a kerfuffle
On a recent visit to the National Roman Museum, Feedback was an onlooker to the furore that ensued when a sparrow's nest was spotted in the mouth of an ancient stone face
Categories: Astronomy
Why criticisms of the proposed Anthropocene epoch miss the point
A proposal to define the Anthropocene as a geological epoch was rejected this March, but humanity's impact on Earth is real, whether formalised or not, says Jan Zalasiewicz
Categories: Astronomy
Why eggs should be front and centre in the story of evolution
From large and shell-covered to tiny and jelly-like, the developmental story of eggs offers a way to rethink the story of life, says Jules Howard in his new book Infinite Life
Categories: Astronomy
It's time to clean up 'forever chemicals' and companies should pay
Artificial compounds found in things like food packaging can be a risk to our health. We can clean them up, but who will foot the vast bill?
Categories: Astronomy
Who were the enigmatic Sea Peoples blamed for the Bronze Age collapse?
Around 3000 years ago, several empires and kingdoms in the Mediterranean collapsed, with a group of sea-faring warriors implicated as the culprit. But new evidence shows that many of our ideas about this turbulent time need completely rethinking
Categories: Astronomy
Global capacity to directly suck CO2 from air has just quadrupled
A new plant in Iceland operated by the firm Climeworks can remove up to 36,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per year, more than quadrupling existing global capabilities
Categories: Astronomy
DeepMind AI can predict how drugs interact with proteins
The latest version of the AlphaFold AI can help biologists predict how proteins interact with each other and other molecules, which is a boon to pharmaceutical research
Categories: Astronomy
Psychedelic toxins from toads could treat depression and anxiety
A compound emitted by the Colorado river toad may reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in a similar way to LSD and psilocybin, according to a study in mice
Categories: Astronomy
The 'forever chemicals' toxic to your health - and how to avoid them
From your popcorn bag to your waterproof jacket, forever chemicals are all around us. We're finally starting to understand what they are doing to our health - and how to get rid of them
Categories: Astronomy
Ultrasonic coffee-maker produces the perfect cold brew in minutes
Cold-brewing coffee can reduce its bitter taste, but it normally takes up to 24 hours as the grounds slowly steep. A new method that involves pummelling the grounds with ultrasound can drastically speed up the process
Categories: Astronomy
Fusion reactors could create ingredients for a nuclear weapon in weeks
Concern over the risks of enabling nuclear weapons development is usually focused on nuclear fission reactors, but the potential harm from more advanced fusion reactors has been underappreciated
Categories: Astronomy
Can genetically modifying a rare marsupial save it from extinction?
Researchers are aiming to make the northern quoll resistant to the toxic cane toads wiping it out in Australia, but little progress has been made
Categories: Astronomy
Hottest April on record is the 11th record-breaking month in a row
Global temperatures in April 2024 were 1.6°C higher than the average for April during the pre-industrial era
Categories: Astronomy
Longest-living cat breeds revealed by life expectancy study
Birman and Burmese cats typically live for more than 14 years while sphynxes live less than half as long on average, finds a study of pet cats in the UK
Categories: Astronomy
Renewables supply 30 per cent of global electricity for the first time
The rapid growth of solar power led to a record-breaking year for clean energy generation in 2023, and the year is expected to mark the start of a long-term decline in fossil fuels
Categories: Astronomy
Sperm whale clicks could be the closest thing to a human language yet
Analysis of thousands of exchanges between the intelligent cetaceans suggests they combine short click patterns – similar to letters of the alphabet - into longer sequences
Categories: Astronomy