New Atlas

Biology Audio available

Mental compass: New evidence suggests humans can sense Earth's magnetic field

Michael Irving March 18, 2019

Magnetoreception, or the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field, pops up throughout the animal kingdom, but it’s generally thought to be something humans missed out on. But new research has found changes in human brain wave activity that seems to be in response to a changing magnetic field.

A new study has found evidence that humans can detect changes in the geomagnetic field

Space Audio available

New clues emerge in the hunt for Planet Nine

Michael Irving February 27, 2019

In the last few years, evidence suggests there’s an unknown rocky world lurking on the fringes of the solar system. The astronomers who originally proposed the Planet Nine hypothesis have now published two more papers analyzing the case, highlighting a few new clues.

An artist's impression of the hypothetical Planet Nine

Space Audio available

Revolutionary new telescope picks up 13 fast radio burst signals, including one repeater

Michael Irving January 9, 2019

The CHIME telescope has picked up 13 unexplained radio signals coming from beyond the Milky Way. These fast radio bursts are part of one of the strangest mysteries of modern astronomy, but the new detections could help unlock their source, thanks to a rare one that seems to be repeating.

The revolutionary radio telescope CHIME has now detected 13 new fast radio burst signals, including a ...

Biology Audio available

Swappable DNA tiles makes for world's smallest tic-tac-toe game

Michael Irving December 20, 2018

DNA is the building material of life, but recent work shows it can also be used to make art or even store data. Now, a team at Caltech has used DNA to make the world’s smallest game of tic-tac-toe, and the technique could have applications in designing reconfigurable nanomachines.

An artist's render of how the DNA tic-tac-toe game played out

Energy

Fluoride-based battery challenges lithium for stability and stamina

Michael Irving December 6, 2018

A new study shows how fluoride might be put to work in better batteries. Researchers at Caltech, JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Honda Research Institute have developed fluoride-based batteries that could potentially last much longer than existing lithium-ion-based devices.

A fluoride ion (pink) floating in a liquid BTFE electrolyte

Digital Cameras

World's fastest camera shoots 10 trillion frames a second

Michael Irving October 11, 2018

The world’s fastest camera, developed by researchers at Caltech and INRS, captures the world at a mind-boggling 10 trillion frames per second – fast enough to probe the nanoscale interactions between light and matter.

The world's fastest camera can shoot at 10 trillion frames per second

Biology Audio available

Fruit flies found to navigate using celestial markers

Anthony Wood September 2, 2018

According to a new study, the humble, and arguably disgusting fruit fly shares a surprising characteristic with early human explorers – the ability to navigate vast swathes of land using the Sun as a landmark.

The common fruit fly may navigate using an inbuilt celestial compass

Medical

How combining ultrasound, gene therapy and drugs switches neurons on and off

Michael Irving July 10, 2018

Caltech researchers have developed a three-part technique for activating neurons that’s far less invasive than surgery, combining ultrasound waves, gene therapy and drugs that has been able to affect memory formation in mice.

Caltech researchers have developed a technique that combines ultrasound waves, gene therapy and drugs to switch ...

Robotics

Motorless swimming robot powers ahead as the temperature rises

Michael Irving May 15, 2018

Engineers at Caltech and ETH Zurich have created a swimming robot that’s powered by material deformation. That means that it’s made using materials that change shape in response to temperature swings, and that deformation pushes the device through water.

An artist's impression of the robot that propels itself through water without motors or batteries – ...

Science

Butterfly wings inspire a better eye implant

Ben Coxworth April 30, 2018

The transparent sections of the glasswing butterfly's wings barely reflect any light, which is why we've previously heard about them inspiring glare-free device screens. Now, their antireflective quality has led to an improvement in a glaucoma-monitoring eye implant.