New Atlas

Science Audio available

Ancient pee helps archaeologists track the rise of farming

Michael Irving April 17, 2019

One of the most important transitions in human history was when we stopped hunting and gathering for food and settled down to become farmers. Now, to reconstruct the history of one particular archaeological site in Turkey, scientists have examined the salts left behind from human and animal pee.

The Aşıklı Höyük site in Turkey, where researchers have studied urine salts to estimate human and ...

Biology Audio available

Brain function partially restored in pigs – four hours after death

Michael Irving April 17, 2019

In a breakthrough study, researchers have managed to restore some brain function in pigs, including synaptic activity, as long as 4 hours after death. They used a system that pumps preserving chemicals through the brain’s circulatory system, but of course the finding raises some ethical questions.

Researchers have managed to restore some brain function in pigs as long as four hours after ...

Science Audio available

Amphibious, four-legged whale fossil might be a missing link

Michael Irving April 4, 2019

Whales weren’t always the giants of the sea that we know today – their ancestors plodded around on land before taking to a more aquatic lifestyle. Now a team of palaeontologists has uncovered the fossil bones of a strange new “missing link” whale species, which had four legs and was amphibious.

An artist's rendition of Peregocetus pacificus, a newly described species of amphibious, four-limbed whale

Biology Audio available

Scientists witness lizard lay eggs and give live birth in same litter

Michael Irving April 2, 2019

Normally, animals reproduce by either laying eggs or giving birth to live young, but an Australian species of lizard can apparently do both in the same pregnancy. Scientists witnessed a three-toed skink lay three eggs before giving birth to a live baby, which has never been observed before.

Scientists have witnessed a female three-toed skink laying eggs and giving live birth in the same ...

Science Audio available

Fossil fats suggest animal life got started later than previously thought

Michael Irving March 6, 2019

In the world of palaeontology, new discoveries usually proclaim things are older than we previously thought. But new research out of the Max Planck Institute has found that animals probably arose later than is currently believed.

Rhizaria algae is now believed to be responsible for fossil fat molecules that have confused scientists ...

Biology Audio available

Fish pass self-awareness test for the first time, raising questions about animal consciousness

Michael Irving February 7, 2019

Humans can recognize their own face in the mirror, and so can apes, monkeys, dolphins, elephants, and some birds. Now a fish species has passed the mirror test for the first time, which may suggest that the animals are smarter than we give them credit for.

A new study shows that fish seem to be able to recognize their own reflection, which ...

Biology Audio available

Hermit crabs evolved long members to copulate from the comfort of home

Nick Lavars January 21, 2019

In a new paper titled “Private parts for private property,” a curious Dartmouth College biologist describes an evolutionary phenomenon through which a famously staunch home-owner of the crustacean world is able to protect its living quarters.

New research suggests that the longer hermit crabs spend modifying their shells, the longer their penises ...

Robotics Audio available

Robotic fossil shows off the swagger of ancient animals

Michael Irving January 16, 2019

It can be hard to picture a living creature from dusty bones and old footprints, but now that might require a little less imagination. Researchers at EPFL and the Humboldt University of Berlin have built a robot to figure out just how a 300-million year-old ancestor of ours might have moved around.

The OroBOT is a robotic version of a 300-million-year-old animal called Orobates pabsti that was designed ...

Science Audio available

Octopuses on ecstasy and the mummy juice conspiracy: The weirdest science stories of 2018

Rich Haridy December 27, 2018

Science is amazing, but sometimes scientists do get a little niche in their studies. Here is a list of the weirdest science stories we came across this year, from twerking robots to bizarre snail-to-snail memory transference and a fountain-of-youth sarcophagus conspiracy that sums up 2018.

New Atlas looks back at some of the weirder stories from the world of science in ...

Biology Audio available

Rare species of Dracula ant snaps up record for world's fastest animal movement

Michael Irving December 12, 2018

Mystrium camillae, a rare species of Dracula ant found in Southeast Asia and Australia, has now snapped up the crown for fastest animal movement on record, clicking its mandibles at blistering speeds that can stun prey.

A rare species of Dracula ant, known as Mystrium camillae, has snapped up the record for ...