New Scientist Space - Space Headlines
Haunting photos bring fictional female explorers to life
Tonje Bøe Birkeland's photographs imagine the exploits of fictional female scientists and adventurers from the past
Categories: Astronomy
Cool solutions could head off the climate-damaging rush for air con
Demand for air conditioning will only grow as temperatures rise, sending energy consumption soaring. But there are some interesting ways to deal with the issue, finds Graham Lawton
Categories: Astronomy
Hot news: abandoned bird's nest 'still there', reports professor
Feedback, as ever bringing you the most up-to-date news from the floors of the National Roman Museum, can reveal that an abandoned nest has not been removed from the mouth of a statue, according to a visitor
Categories: Astronomy
New Quiet Place movie adds to irrational fears over marauding aliens
Sci-fi depictions of extraterrestrial invasions can heighten anxiety about our efforts to make first contact, says METI president Douglas Vakoch
Categories: Astronomy
The best science non-fiction books of 2024 so far
Want to save our seas? Make exotic cocktails? Ponder life's meaning? Whatever your plans this July, Simon Ings rounds up the year's best non-fiction so far
Categories: Astronomy
The benefits of anti-ageing medicines will outweigh the downsides
We shouldn't fear life-extending medical advances based on unintended consequences. If we can make lives longer and healthier, potential problems are a price worth paying
Categories: Astronomy
Google's claim of quantum supremacy has been completely smashed
Google's Sycamore quantum computer was the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy – solving calculations that would be unfeasible on a classical computer – but now ordinary machines have pulled ahead again
Categories: Astronomy
Giant salamander-like predator roamed Namibia 280 million years ago
A fossil found in the Namib desert has been described as a 2.5-metre long predator that resembled a giant salamander
Categories: Astronomy
50,000-year-old picture of a pig is the oldest known narrative art
A new radiometric dating technique reveals that cave paintings on Sulawesi, Indonesia, are even older than previously thought, pushing back the earliest evidence of storytelling
Categories: Astronomy
Ancient Denisovans hunted snow leopards on the Tibetan plateau
Thousands of bones found in a Tibetan cave have been analysed to learn how mysterious ancient humans known as Denisovans lived
Categories: Astronomy
New anti-ageing vaccines promise to prevent diseases like Alzheimer's
It may soon be possible to vaccinate ourselves against the diseases of old age, keeping our body and brain healthier for longer
Categories: Astronomy
More than 100 shark species may face major population declines by 2100
The egg hatch rate of one shark species may plummet by up to 90 per cent by the end of the century, suggesting that other egg-laying sharks are at risk
Categories: Astronomy
Multiple nations enact mysterious export controls on quantum computers
Identical wording placing limits on the export of quantum computers has appeared in regulations across the globe. There doesn't seem to be any scientific reason for the controls, and all can be traced to secret international discussions
Categories: Astronomy
Computer viruses can spread by using ChatGPT to write sneaky emails
Large language models can be abused by malware to help them avoid detection and propagate by crafting realistic replies to emails
Categories: Astronomy
Iron Age skeletons found under bridge may have been hit by a tsunami
Twenty people may have died 2000 years ago when an Iron Age bridge suddenly collapsed following a tsunami or flood, but scientists also cannot rule out that they were sacrificed
Categories: Astronomy
Thousands of US dams may be unprepared for extreme rain
Many dams in the US were designed decades ago using estimates of precipitation based on outdated science – and that makes them more vulnerable to warming-driven extreme weather
Categories: Astronomy
Tiny chip could enable super-secure quantum Wi-Fi
A 1.8-millimetre-wide silicon chip with over 1000 components could help quantum devices communicate without the need for wires or specialised fridges
Categories: Astronomy
The temperature of your face could help diagnose medical conditions
Small changes to the temperature of your cheeks, nose and around your eyes could let an AI estimate how old you are and flag issues like diabetes and high blood pressure
Categories: Astronomy
Ants amputate their nestmates’ limbs to save them from infection
Ants are one of the few animals that tend to the injuries of their peers, and now it seems they are also the first non-humans known to perform life-saving amputations
Categories: Astronomy
How ghost cities in the Amazon are rewriting the story of civilisation
Remote sensing, including lidar, reveals that the Amazon was once home to millions of people. The emerging picture of how they lived challenges ideas of human cultural evolution
Categories: Astronomy