New Scientist Space - Space Headlines

Our favourite sad songs seem to become less enjoyable when we try to take the emotion out of them

The skin microbiome may be a bigger cause of post-operative wound infections than bacteria contaminating hospital equipment

Research-level mathematics might seem an unlikely proving ground for artificial intelligence, but recent developments suggest it offers a route to automated human-like reasoning

My column about the spiritual side of science has seen many of you sharing your own awe-inspiring experiences, says David Robson

The prolific Adrian Tchaikovsky has two terrific sci-fi offerings out this year, one the story of a scientist turned prisoner shipped to a faraway planet, the other a light-hearted tale of robotic murder, says Emily H. Wilson

Since 2012, Mary Jo Hoffman has taken one snap a day of the natural objects around her. She explains what lies behind two of them - and what the "art of noticing" has brought to her life

From the Book of Revelation to extinction fiction, we just love end times. A new guide by Dorian Lynskey is full of gems

Inequality is a major obstacle to sustainability. The super-rich are an environmental horror story that we can't ignore, says Graham Lawton

Feedback finds that despite close investigation, more research is needed to "better quantify tail wagging in general"

Nutrition must be as essential as maths or science at our educational institutions to solve the US obesity crisis, says Aman Majmudar

It's tough turning neuroimmunology into a gripping read, but Monty Lyman's excellent book provides a delightful overview of the connection between the brain, immune system and gut microbiome

To capture the clearest and most direct images of a “Wigner crystal”, a structure made entirely of electrons, researchers used a special kind of microscope and two pieces of graphene unusually free of imperfections

An enzyme in a cyanobacterium can take the unusual form a triangle containing ever-smaller triangular gaps, making a fractal pattern

Artificial intelligence is taking on some of the hardest problems in pure maths, arguably demonstrating sophisticated reasoning and creativity – and a big step forward for AI

Inflamed gum tissue may allow bacteria in the mouth to enter the bloodstream, which could affect the heart

Avi Wigderson has won the 2023 Turing award for his work on understanding how randomness can shape and improve computer algorithms

Adding more masts could reduce the overall energy use of phone networks by two-thirds and boost handset battery life by 50 per cent

Nobel prizewinning theoretical physicist Peter Higgs has died aged 94. He proposed the particle that gives other particles mass – now named the Higgs boson and discovered by the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2012

An oral vaccine in the form of a pineapple-flavoured spray prevented recurrent urinary tract infections in 53.9 per cent of clinical trial participants

An excavation on an island in the Coral Sea shows that Indigenous Australians were producing ceramics long before the arrival of Europeans