New Atlas

Environment Audio available

Carbon reservoirs in the ocean floor may have ended the last ice age – and could bubble up again

Michael Irving February 14, 2019

A study has found a huge new potential source of carbon emissions: reservoirs of gases trapped at the seafloor, which could be released as the oceans warm up. And the team suggests that these gases belched up from the deep thousands of years ago and put an end to the last ice age.

Researchers have found that deep sea gas reservoirs could be a huge source of carbon dioxide ...

Space

How satellites are helping scientists more accurately predict drought and wildfire risk

Nick Lavars January 28, 2019

Advanced scientific instruments in orbit around the planet have given us the ability to track its stocks of groundwater resources, which researchers are now figuring out how to tap into to build more accurate predictions of drought and the risks that it brings months in advance.

Satellite data combined with new modeling has given scientists the ability to more accurately predict drought

Science Audio available

Earthquake vibrations suggest Earth's inner core is solid but squishy

Michael Irving October 21, 2018

It’s long been thought that the Earth's inner core is a solid ball of iron, but direct evidence is hard to come by. Now, researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) have detected a type of seismic wave passing through the core that only propagates through solid objects.

By measuring seismic waves passing through the center of the Earth, researchers have concluded that the ...

Space Audio available

Two-way ion thruster could blow space junk out of orbit

David Szondy September 30, 2018

A team of researchers has come up with plasma beam that can push space debris out of orbit. Mounted on a satellite, the two-way facing beam is produced by a bespoke ion thruster that uses its discharge to decelerate debris so it can burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.

An artist's (highly exaggerated) conception of space debris

Medical

"Completely different" designer molecule could keep us one step ahead of drug-resistant malaria

Nick Lavars July 23, 2018

Scientists have designed a new molecule they say could keep us ahead of the game when it come to drug-resistant malaria parasites, taking the best parts of a human protein to form a potent weapon that takes out the parasite before it gets any bright ideas.

Such is its prevalence, malaria kills a person every 90 seconds

Science

"World's oldest colors" found in billion-year old fossils

Michael Irving July 9, 2018

Scientists have uncovered what they’re calling the oldest colors on Earth. Dating back more than a billion years, the bright pink pigments are the remains of some of the earliest microscopic organisms that once inhabited an ancient ocean, and their discovery helps fill a gap in the fossil record.

A vial of the pink compounds, which at 1.1 billion years old, represent the oldest intact ...

Space

Fastest-growing supermassive black hole eats a sun every two days

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Astronomers at Australian National University have spotted a black hole so bright that were it in our home galaxy, it would outshine all the stars in the sky. This supermassive monster also happens to be the fastest-growing black hole ever seen, devouring the equivalent of the Sun every two days.

Astronomers have spotted the fastest-growing – and one of the brightest – supermassive black holes

Science

How was the Portland Vase made? New evidence challenges long held theories

David Szondy October 29, 2017

One of the prize possessions of the British Museum, the Portland Vase is a work of art so stunning it can stop even the most casual museum browser like a brick wall. But how exactly was this intricately carved vase made?

Reclining woman scene on the Portland Vase

Physics

Neutron star smashup produces gravitational waves and light in unprecedented stellar show

Michael Irving October 16, 2017

A team of scientists has announced the fifth detection of gravitational waves, but there’s a groundbreaking difference this time: the ripples were caused by the collision of two neutron stars, meaning the event was accompanied by light, radio, and other electromagnetic signals for the first time.

For the first time, astronomers from around the world have detected gravitational waves caused by two ...

Materials

New nanomaterial might make for radiation-reflecting spacesuits

Michael Irving July 4, 2017

Radiation exposure leaves astronauts with an increased risk of cancer and other diseases. Now a team from Australian National University has developed a new nanomaterial that could protect space travelers with a thin film that dynamically reflects harmful radiation.

Researchers Andrey Miroshnichenko (left) and Mohsen Rahmani (right) demonstrate the new nanomaterial