Reusable “Microballoons” could give satellites a run for their money

When it comes to taking high-res aerial photographs, we generally look to satellites, drones or full-size aircraft. Colorado-based Urban Sky's new Microballoon system, however, is claimed to deliver higher-resolution images at a much lower cost. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Longest flexible fiber battery design could stretch a kilometer

Energy storage devices that bend, flex and can be worked into fabrics could have a big part to play in the future of wearable electronics, and MIT engineers have just produced one with some unique properties. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is only a few hundred microns thic … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Largest offshore wind farm generates its first power

The switch has been flicked on a wind farm off the shore of the UK of unprecedented scale, with Danish energy firm Orsted announcing that Hornsea 2 has produced its first power. It is expected to become fully operational next year as the world's biggest offshore wind farm, and pr … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Could hydrogen airships return as fast, cheap, green cargo transports?

California startup H2 Clipper wants to bring back hydrogen-filled airships, claiming they can unlock completely green intercontinental cargo operations carrying 8-10 times the payload of any cargo plane over 6,000 miles, at a quarter of the price. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Paper-thin piano demonstrates the power of printed electronics and NFC

Anyone who uses a smartphone will likely be familiar with NFC technology, which is used for such things as contactless payments, data sharing between devices and secure logins. To demonstrate the versatility of the technology when combined with printed circuitry, Prelonic has cre … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Botto, the decentralized AI/human artist, makes its first million

Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Harvard scientists observe new state of matter, a quantum spin liquid

An exotic state of matter originally hypothesized almost 50 years ago has been observed for the first time. Created by Harvard researchers, this material called quantum spin liquid could eventually help improve quantum computers. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Pfizer vs. Moderna: Harvard study compares the two mRNA Covid vaccines

A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is the first to pit Moderna and Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against each other in an efficacy face-off. The novel research compared health records from nearly half a million US veterans and found both vaccine … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Green ammonia electrolysis breakthrough could finally kill Haber-Bosch

Scientists at Australia's Monash University claim to have made a critical breakthrough in green ammonia production that could displace the extremely dirty Haber-Bosch process, with the potential to eliminate nearly two percent of global greenhouse emissions. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Blood or saliva THC levels found to be poor sign of driving impairment

A new meta-study, led by researchers from the University of Sydney’s Lambert Initiative, has concluded blood or saliva THC concentrations are not effective ways to measure cannabis-induced driving impairment. The findings suggest the need for more nuanced impairment tests to be d … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

Time crystals created in Google's quantum processor

Time crystals sound like something a video game character would be trying to collect, but this bizarre phase of matter is very real – and now one of them has been created in Google’s quantum processor, Sycamore. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

James Webb Space Telescope cleared for launch on December 22

After years of setbacks, the James Webb Space Telescope will finally launch next month. NASA has given the green light to begin fueling the observatory for launch, after engineering teams found no sign of damage from an incident last week. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

The Biro, the invention that changed the writing game

In 1945, a new invention that had helped to win the Second World War went on sale in the United States and Britain. First seen as an expensive novelty, it soon went on to become not only a part of our everyday lives, but one that revolutionized how we communicate. This was the Bi … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 2 years ago

First Electric Autonomous Cargo Ship Takes to the Water

A future-focused ship designed as the world's first all-electric, autonomous cargo vessel has debuted in Norway, where it is intended to replace 40,000 diesel-powered truck journeys every year. The Yara Birkeland made a short, crewed trip to the capital of Oslo as part of its unv … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

“Ghost particles” detected in the Large Hadron Collider for first time

Physicists have detected “ghost particles” in the Large Hadron Collider for the first time. An experiment called FASER picked up telltale signals of neutrinos being produced in particle collisions, which can help scientists better understand key physics. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Mouse study shows microplastics infiltrate blood brain barrier

Much of the millions of metric tons of plastic waste that washes into the sea each year is broken down into tiny fragments by the forces of the ocean, and researchers are beginning to piece together what this means for organisms that consume them. Scientists in Korea have turned … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Brief exposure to near-infrared light improves deteriorating vision

As we age, our eyesight naturally declines but a new study has found exposing our retinas to short bursts of deep red light can help deteriorating vision. The research shows just three minutes of exposure to 670-nanometer (long wavelength) deep red light in the morning can improv … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Zeva's 160-MPH electric UFO: An air taxi experience like no other

Zeva is deadly serious about bringing this tail-sitting eVTOL flying saucer to market as a one-person air taxi, and if you can get over the idea of soaring above the city head-first, face-down and Superman-style, it's got some interesting advantages. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Test subjects show surprising ability to play piano with a third thumb

Could an existing piano player adapt to playing the instrument with an extra, robotic thumb? A new study suggests that the answer is yes, and interestingly enough, even people who are new to the piano are equally adept at using the added appendage. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

The Intel 4004, the first computer on a chip, turns 50

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Intel's 4004 processor, the first commercially available microprocessor built on a single chip. Originally designed for a Japanese desk calculator, it helped spark the personal computer revolution. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Ambitious supertall tower turns skyscraper design on its head

British/Ghanian architect Sir David Adjaye's firm has revealed plans for a very ambitious new skyscraper for New York City. Named Affirmation Tower, it's slated to become one of the Western Hemisphere's tallest buildings and will feature a striking cantilevering design that looks … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Environment Elon Musk's $100M Carbon Removal xPrize announces first winners

The largest XPrize competition ever conducted has given out its first prize money, with 23 student teams receiving cash injections to further their carbon removal technologies. Among the winners are a mix of forward-thinking projects that take aim at the problem of mounting carbo … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Reaction Engines assembles partners for its ammonia aviation project

The UK's Reaction Engines has announced a joint venture to create compact, lightweight ammonia reactors it says can be used to decarbonize difficult sectors like shipping and off-grid energy generation – and surprisingly, also aviation. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Mobile H2O generator pulls drinking water from air for off-grid nomads

For over a decade, Israeli atmospheric water generator (AWG) company Watergen has been one of the players working to refine and grow air-to-water technology that can efficiently pull water vapor out of the air and collect it as fresh, filtered drinking water. Its previous work ha … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Gold nanoclusters make old antibiotics effective against superbugs again

Drug resistance is an increasing problem in bacterial infections, but a new study may have uncovered a way to reinvigorate old antibiotics. Scientists have wrapped gold nanoparticles in molecules that seek out bacteria and disrupt their cell membranes, allowing existing drugs to … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

SpinLaunch's rocket-free kinetic launch system conducts first test flight

For more than half a century we've been sending vehicles and humans into space with the help of rockets, but what if there was another way? Startup SpinLaunch has been exploring such possibilities through the development of what it calls the world's first kinetic space launch sys … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Dozens of new natural antibiotics found in the human body

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to become a major health threat in the coming decades, but now it turns out that new antibiotics might have been inside us all along. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used a “search” algorithm to find dozens of potential antim … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Brightest X-rays usher in medical imaging revolution

A groundbreaking new imaging technique, utilizing X-rays generated by a cutting-edge particle accelerator, is offering 3D images of whole organs in unprecedented detail. Demonstrating the technology researchers imaged the lung of a deceased COVID-19 patient, revealing novel insig … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Super-efficient linear compressor could vastly reduce air con power use

Compressor efficiency might not sound like the most exciting topic in the world, but consider this: the hotter the world gets – and the wealthier its developing countries become – the more air conditioners will come online. According to the IEA, fans and air con already represent … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Unique Aussie box-wing eVTOL promises radical efficiency and range

Australian company AMSL Aero is preparing to start flight tests on what it claims will be the world's most efficient eVTOL design, and one of the most affordable. This box-wing beauty, the Vertiia, will travel up to 1,000 km (620 miles) on a tank of hydrogen, carrying five people … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

“World's largest” 3D-printed neighborhood to be built in Texas

It's fair to say that Icon is dominating the 3D-printed construction space at the moment – both here on Earth and even potentially on Mars. Following its completion of four homes in Austin, Texas, the firm has now teamed up with homebuilder Lennar to create a remarkably ambitious … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Quantum gas free fall experiment creates coldest temperature ever recorded

Physicists in Germany have produced the coldest temperature ever recorded – a chilly 38 trillionths of a degree above absolute zero. The strange experiment involved dropping a quantum gas, and switching a magnetic field on and off to bring its atoms to an almost complete standsti … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Dutch Super Sub is fast enough to run with “cruising” dolphins

U-Boat Worx has released an electric sports submarine with the speed and zippy handling to run alongside large marine life. The bubble-cabin Super Sub, originally a custom commission, is nearly three times as fast as the average luxury submersible. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

“Solar house on wheels” completes epic European road trip

Last month, students from the Solar Team at TU Eindhoven announced plans to roll from the Netherlands to southern Spain in a solar-powered campervan. After a shaky start, the Stella Vita arrived in Tarifa on Friday afternoon. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Lockheed Martin plans to build Starlab commercial space station by 2027

Lockheed Martin, Nanoracks, and Voyager Space have entered into a partnership to launch a permanently crewed commercial space station by 2027. Called Starlab, the semi-inflatable platform will be available to the US government and private industry. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

How well does your body respond to exercise? It’s in your genes

A systematic review of more than 20 studies has quantified the role genes play in how effectively our bodies respond to different kinds of exercise. The study found genes influence outcomes more prominently in muscle training exercises and propose in the future it could be possib … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Radiant aims to replace diesel generators with small nuclear reactors

California company Radiant has secured funding to develop a compact, portable, "low-cost" one-megawatt nuclear micro-reactor that fits in a shipping container, powers about 1,000 homes and uses a helium coolant instead of water. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Rolls-Royce to Re-Engine US B-52 Bomber Fleet

Rolls-Royce North America has been tapped to supply the replacement jet engines for the venerable Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress nuclear heavy bomber. Beating out GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney, the company will provide its F-130 turbofan engine to power the giant aircraft for … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Encasing algae triples the efficiency of artificial photosynthesis

Recreating the process of photosynthesis, whereby plants naturally convert sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into chemical energy to power their existence, is a key objective in renewable energy research, and a new study out of the Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (N … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Extraordinary AI motorcycle HUD highlights hazards and cornering lines

The head-up display for motorcyclists: it's the great white whale of the technology world. Over the years, we've seen at least a dozen different attempts to put information into the eyeline of the motorcycle rider, saving us from the horrible dangers of looking down at a speedome … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Monthly cycles of faux fasting prevent obesity in unhealthy mice

Scientists continue to explore the connection between fasting and the consequences for human health, both good and bad, and part of this research includes diets that merely mimic its effects. A new study has shown how short spurts of these so-called fasting-mimicking diets can br … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Robust long-term data storage technology uses tiny drops of dye

We tend to think of digital storage as being fairly permanent, but the reality is the data you've stored on that hard drive, flash drive or CD-ROM likely won't survive more than 20 to 40 years. With that in mind, Harvard researchers have created what they say is much longer-term … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Ocean Cleanup's supersized system proves its worth with “massive” haul

Back in August, the Ocean Cleanup Project returned to the waters of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a redesigned trash-collecting system that was its largest yet. This upsized approach appears to be paying some dividends, with System 002's final phase of testing hailed a suc … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Purifying hydrogel tablet makes river water drinkable within an hour

Access to clean water is a major unmet need in many parts of the world. Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new hydrogel tablet that could help, with a prototype able to disinfect a liter of river water in one hour. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Tetra demonstrates its buy 'n' fly single-seat eVTOL in California

Japan's Tetra Aviation plans to start delivering single-seat electric VTOL lift and cruise aircraft to customers by the end of 2022, and it has now released video footage of its Mk-5 aircraft making test flights in California. | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Dawn of the 900-kW EV ultra-charger, and a battery that can handle it

How fast does an EV charger have to be to completely eliminate range anxiety – and can our power grids cope with ultra-chargers drawing 0.9 megawatts at full blast? It seems we're going to find out. Hong Kong company Desten is hitting the road to demo a remarkable EV battery and … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

Flash-heating efficiently recycles precious metals from e-waste

Electronic waste (or e-waste) is not only a major pollutant in landfill, but huge amounts of useful resources are being thrown away. Engineers at Rice University have now shown that precious metals and rare earth minerals can be recovered by flash-heating ground-up electronics wi … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago

CBGA, the “mother of all cannabinoids”, reduces seizures better than CBD

New Australian research is systematically investigating the anticonvulsant effects of a number of rare compounds in cannabis. A new study is reporting cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), informally known as the “mother of all cannabinoids,” may be more effective at reducing seizures than … | Continue reading


@newatlas.com | 3 years ago