Novel plastic disintegrates in a week in sunlight and oxygen

By making alterations to the plastic manufacturing process, scientists hope to produce forms of the ubiquitous material that can break down far more safely and quickly in the environment than current versions do. Researchers in China have now demonstrated a new example of this th … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

US Air Force releases new image of the B-21 Raider nuclear bomber

The US Air Force has released a new digital rendering of its B-21 Raider heavy strategic nuclear bomber, along with more information about the warplane. It's being built by Northrop Grumman as part of the Air Force's Long-Range Strike Bomber program to modernize one leg of the US … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Spring-loaded screw could be a cheaper form of soundproofing

Nobody likes hearing their neighbors' music, TV shows or loud conversations. Soundproof wall materials, however, can be quite thick and expensive. Swedish scientists have developed a thinner, less costly alternative, in the form of a spring-loaded sound-damping screw. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Landmark study shows one dose of psilocybin induces new neural connections

An extraordinary new study from a team of scientists at Yale University is reporting the first direct cellular demonstration of a single psilocybin dose inducing neural plasticity in a mammalian brain. The researchers show how the psychedelic prompts rapid growth of neural connec … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Mixed up membrane desalinates water with 99.99 percent efficiency

That ancient mariner was onto something when he said “water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink” – the vast majority of water on Earth is undrinkable. Desalination could be a vital technology to meet the world’s drinking water needs, and now Korean engineers have developed a … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

First 3D-printed office building completed in Dubai

3D printing technology promises to revolutionize architecture in the near-future, allowing designers to literally click-and-print complex buildings at a lower cost and faster speed than traditional construction methods allow. Another step forward in the field comes via Dubai, whe … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Over 40k previously unknown viruses found in the human gut microbiome

An impressive new study has cataloged thousands of distinct viral species living in the human gut. The vast majority are unknown to science and researchers suggest understanding the novel interactions between bacteria and viruses in our microbiome could help develop future therap … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Pathogenic gut bacteria linked to weight loss from low-calorie diet

A new study investigating how a low-calorie diet alters gut microbial populations is reporting unexpected results. The findings reveal a strange relationship between extreme caloric restriction and increased levels of a pathogenic bacteria linked to inflammatory bowel disease. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

“Graphene camera” images the electric field of a beating heart

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, (UC Berkeley) have demonstrated yet another use for the ever-versatile wonder material graphene, using it as the basis for an advanced sensor that can image electrical signals from living cells and tissue in real time. The tea … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Mass-produced floating nuclear reactors using molten salt fuel

Copenhagen startup Seaborg Technologies has raised an eight-figure sum of Euros to start building a fascinating new type of cheap, portable, flexible and super-safe nuclear reactor. The size of a shipping container, these Compact Molten Salt Reactors will be rapidly mass-manufact … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Extraordinary new material shows zero heat expansion from 4 to 1,400 K

Australian researchers have created what may be one of the most thermally stable materials ever discovered. This new zero thermal expansion (ZTE) material made of scandium, aluminum, tungsten and oxygen did not change in volume at temperatures ranging from 4 to 1400 Kelvin (-269 … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Particle seen switching between matter and antimatter at CERN

A subatomic particle has been found to switch between matter and antimatter, according to Oxford physicists analyzing data from the Large Hadron Collider. It turns out that an unfathomably tiny weight difference between two particles could have saved the universe from annihilatio … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Lilium's weird, energy-hungry “small fan” design could be a hidden ace

Small fans, all things considered, deliver thrust less efficiently than big ones. Lilium might have the best-looking aircraft in the eVTOL game, but it uses 36 tiny fans where competitors use 6-8 larger ones, and that's got the odd chin wagging: is Lilium shooting itself in the f … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

New tech cheaply produces lithium and H2, while desalinating seawater

With the rise of the lithium-based battery, demand for this soft, silvery-white metal – the lightest solid element in the periodic table – has exploded. With the race to zero carbon by 2050 gathering steam, forcing the electrification of transport, lithium will be an even more va … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Toshiba breaks quantum communication record with 600 km of optical fibers

A quantum internet could one day allow quantum computers to team up and tackle some gigantic problems. Now the world is a step closer to that reality, as researchers at Toshiba have demonstrated quantum communications sent over a record-breaking 600 km (373 miles) of optical fibe … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Two-faced carbon nanotube particles generate electricity in MIT device

Engineers at MIT have developed a device that generates electricity using a completely new mechanism. “Particles” made of carbon nanotubes are dunked in an organic solvent, which induces a current to potentially power small robots or drive chemical reactions. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Spike puts laser measurement hardware on the back of a smartphone (2013)

Traditionally, the technology that goes into laser hardware for surveying and 3D modeling has been the plaything of architects, surveyors and engineers. But now, with a view to expanding into the consumer market, Virginia-based IkeGPS wants to bring this functionality to the main … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Morphing computer chip repels hundreds of professional DARPA hackers

Engineers have designed a computer processor that thwarts hackers by randomly changing its microarchitecture every few milliseconds. Known as Morpheus, the puzzling processor has now aced its first major tests, repelling hundreds of professional hackers in a DARPA security challe … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Getting Covid-19 after vaccination is incredibly rare, CDC report finds

A promising new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found less than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 needing hospitalization out of more than 100 million fully vaccinated people. The CDC admits it is probably undercounting positive COVID-19 cases, howev … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Severe Covid-19 in men linked to low testosterone levels

A new study tracking testosterone levels in hospitalized COVID-19 patients has found a link between low levels of the hormone in men and severe disease outcomes. The research offers important clues as to why men seem to be at greater risk of death from coronavirus compared to wom … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Wireless smart bike tire pressure monitor

Checking your bike's tire pressure can be a fiddly process, which is why there are now valve stem attachments that let you check it with your smartphone. The just-announced PSIcle sensor makes things even easier, as it doesn't require a battery. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Einstein's handwritten “E= mc2” letter sells for $1.24M

Albert Einstein is the world’s most recognizable, best known and universally loved scientist. He embodies the essence of genius and although he passed away 66 years ago, he is still among the top earning dead celebrities, right up there with the world’s best known actors and rock … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Nasal spray gel directly delivers Parkinson's drugs to the brain

Getting drugs into the brain is no easy feat, but the nose is emerging as one of the most direct routes. Now, researchers in the UK have developed a hydrogel that can be administered as a nasal spray, lining the tissue and delivering a common Parkinson’s drug straight to the brai … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Milrem combat robots support live-fire exercise in Estonia

In a glimpse into the battlefield of the future, the Estonian Defence Force has carried out a live-fire exercise where two Milrem Robotics THeMIS combat robots provided troops with situational awareness, support fire, and casualty evacuation. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Landmark asthma vaccine looks to human trials

A new article in the journal Nature Communications is reporting successful results from preclinical tests for a unique asthma vaccine. The results indicate the vaccine generates antibodies against the inflammatory molecules known to cause severe asthma and the researchers are now … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Superfast-charging aluminum-ion batteries outpower lithium-ion

Australian company Graphene Manufacturing Group (GMG) has announced exciting performance test results for a new type of aluminum-ion battery that can charge 10X faster than today's lithium-ion units, while lasting much longer and needing no cooling. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

New evidence ultrasound pulses can treat high blood pressure

New results from a clinical trial testing a novel ultrasound therapy for hypertension show the experimental treatment can deliver clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure. The treatment is based on an old hypothesis that disrupting signals from overactive renal nerves c … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Mahle's cheap, highly efficient new EV motor uses no magnets

Magnets, typically using rare earth metals like neodymium, are found at the heart of most electric vehicle motors. It's nice to have a permanent source of powerful rare earth magnetism in your rotor, because using powered coils instead means you have to somehow transfer electrici … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Eviation prepares to fly Alice, its stunning luxury electric plane

Israeli/American company Eviation is preparing for the first test flights of its gorgeous Alice, an all-electric 11-seat luxury plane with an impressive 506-mile (814-km) range from a single charge of its huge 820-kWh battery pack. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Oblique wave detonation engine may unlock Mach 17 aircraft

UCF researchers say they've trapped a sustained explosive detonation, fixed in place, for the first time, channeling its enormous power into thrust in a new oblique wave detonation engine that could propel an aircraft up to 17 times the speed of sound, potentially beating the scr … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Popular weed killer impairs insect immune systems, raising malaria risk

Unexpected new findings from researchers at Johns Hopkins University are indicating the world’s most commonly used herbicide appears to weaken the immune systems of insects. One experiment with mosquitos known to spread malaria suggests the chemical can increase the insect’s susc … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

A CIA trap for Bin Laden led to vaccine hesitancy in Pakistan

A new study from a pair of European researchers has found a covert CIA plot to capture Osama Bin Laden in early 2011 led to significant drops in vaccination rates in Pakistan. The plot, using a fake vaccination campaign to capture children’s DNA samples in order to locate Bin Lad … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

European food safety panel reclassifies titanium dioxide food additive as unsafe

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reclassified food coloring E171 (titanium dioxide) after an expert panel concluded it “can no longer be considered safe as a food additive.” The announcement comes after years of research suggesting the additive may be unsafe. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Can a genetic test predict your response to psychedelic drugs?

With psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy on the cusp of broad clinical approval in the United States, there is a new pressing need to understand exactly which patients may be best suited to this novel treatment and which patients are most at risk of adverse reactions. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Early signs of dementia can be detected by tracking driving behaviors

A fascinating new study from a team of US researchers has used machine learning techniques to develop algorithms that can analyze naturalistic driving data and detect mild cognitive impairment and dementia in a driver. The work is still in the preliminary stages, however, the res … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

First Phase 3 trial data for MDMA therapy sets path for approval

The first results from Phase 3 trials testing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been announced. The extremely promising data are the first Phase 3 results to be revealed for any psychedelic-based therapy, paving the way for a landmark US F … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Jetoptera VTOL aircraft design features “bladeless fans on steroids”

One thing nearly all air taxi concepts share in common is fast-spinning propellers or ducted fans somewhere outside the aircraft's fuselage, pushing air to develop thrust whichever way they're pointed. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Human-monkey chimera embryos created in lab

In a breakthrough new study, scientists have created human-monkey chimera embryos for the first time. These chimeras pave the way for more accurate models of human biology and disease, which could open up a range of new medical benefits. But of course they also raise some complic … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Computer modelling suggests that T. rex was a slow walker

All walking animals have something in common – their preferred walking speed is largely determined by what's known as "resonance." Bearing this in mind, Dutch scientists have calculated what may have been the default walking speed of Tyrannosaurus rex. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Airbus pioneers a superconducting powertrain cooled by liquid hydrogen

Long-haul aviation, like everything else in the human world, needs to be totally decarbonized, and in the race to zero emissions for international airliners, liquid-hydrogen powertrains look like one of the only viable possibilities. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Study links poor diet to pro-inflammatory gut bacteria

New research from a team of Dutch scientists is offering novel insights into the relationship between diet, gut bacteria, and intestinal inflammation. The study, tracking nearly 1,500 people, found consistent associations between pro-inflammatory bacterial species and diets high … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Whitest paint ever created could have air-con like cooling effects

The materials we coat our buildings with can have a big influence on their ability to reflect heat from the Sun and overall energy efficiency. Engineers at Purdue University have been at the cutting edge of this field of research for some time, and have just produced the whitest … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

BPA-like chemicals likely causing “alarming” damage to brain cells

Controversy has shrouded the once-common plasticizer BPA since studies started to highlight its links to a whole range of adverse health effects in humans, but recent research has also shown that its substitutes mightn't be all that safe either. A new study has investigated how t … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Scientists pinpoint source of “impossible” EmDrive's thrust

In 2014, no less an authority than NASA proclaimed in peer-reviewed papers that it was getting mysterious thrust from the EmDrive, a strange, brassy trumpet of a thing that its creators claimed could produce thrust with no propellant. NASA's findings replicated 2009 experiments i … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Experimental or banned stimulants found in weight loss and sport supplements

A striking new study testing a number of over-the-counter weight loss and sports supplements has found they contain many combinations of stimulants that have either previously been prohibited by the FDA or never approved for human consumption. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

CERN is building containers for storing and transporting antimatter

In a move that would please the fictional Star Trek engineer Mr. Scott, CERN is working on ways to store and transport antimatter. Sorry, this isn't to power any starships secretly under construction, but as a way to better study antiprotons to learn more about them and the natur … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Gene discovery raises hopes of regenerative treatments for lost teeth

By investigating the genetic underpinnings behind tooth formation in early human development, a team of scientists in Japan has uncovered clues about how they might be regenerated in adults suffering from congenital conditions. The discovery hinges on a new understanding of the w … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Energy-harvesting card treats 5G networks as wireless power grids

A team from Georgia Tech has just announced a world-first: a 3D-printed rectifying antenna the size of a playing card that can harvest electromagnetic energy from 5G signals and use it to power devices, turning 5G networks into wireless power grids. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago