Received this from a friend?
Sign up now to get every issue direct to your inbox each weekday

Shiba inus and miniature dachshunds are among the longest-lived dog breeds. Plus: the next SpaceX flight test is expected this month.

Like what you see? Subscribe today to gain unlimited access to all our subscriber only content.

Anmfoto/Getty Images

A dog’s life

Smaller dogs with long noses, like miniature dachshunds and shiba inus, live the longest, according to an analysis of over 580,000 dogs in the UK. After studying data from various sources, including vets, pet insurance companies and animal welfare charities, researchers found that small, long-nosed dogs of both sexes had the highest life expectancy, surviving 13.3 years on average. With an expected lifespan of just 9.1 and 9.6 years old, male and female medium-sized, flat-faced dogs had the worst outcomes, respectively. “Many flat-faced breeds, small or large, don’t do well, for example French bulldogs, St Bernards and presa canarios,” says Kirsten McMillan at Dogs Trust, a welfare charity in the UK. Read more

Starship launch

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its huge Starship rocket for the third time. But the exact launch date won’t be announced until the US government’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finishes investigating why the last launch – in November 2023 – failed to reach orbit. After some setbacks, SpaceX now has to build a new rocket and the FAA has to give them a licence to fly it. “We’re expecting that licence to come in February. So it’s looking like [flight] three will occur in February of this year,” SpaceX official Jessica Jensen said in a press conference last month. Read more

Get access to our expert coverage of the latest breakthroughs in science, including the search for a clean wonder-fuel that could speed our path to net zero. 

More headlines

• Something fishy: Weird mating strategy may have helped anglerfish evolve.

• Carbon capturing: Light-sensitive molecules could make the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere more efficient. 
• Hiding in plain sight: Camouflage inspired by leaves can conceal things in visible and infrared.

Getty Images

Now we have finally moved on from an interminable January, it is time to see what science fictional delights February has in store – and it’s a varied line-up this month, writes Alison Flood. Get ready for some enjoyably disastrous-sounding postapocalyptic novels from Daniel Polansky and Paul E. Hardisty and the latest novel from Jasper Fforde, the writer behind The Eyre Affair. Top of the list may be Meredith Mooring’s Redsight, starring a blind priestess who can manipulate space-time. Read more

In the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt: Ecuador

16 August 2024 | 11 days 

Explore Ecuador's stunning natural wonders, including the Amazon and Cloud Forest, and follow in the footsteps of ecologist Alexander von Humboldt.

Shyh-Chang Ng at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing on how pregnancy changes organ interactions throughout the body. 

This week on the podcast, the team discusses how contaminated hormone injections may have given five people Alzheimer's disease. Plus, hear the latest on Elon Musk's Neuralink and which dog breeds live longest.

Available on Spotify, Apple and more.

Alexandra Thompson

Assistant News Editor, New Scientist
Email me at newsletter@newscientist.com
Received this from a friend? Sign up here

For the latest science and technology news, in-depth articles and video, visit newscientist.com