New Atlas

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New moon rising? Astronomers spot evidence of first exomoon

Michael Irving October 3, 2018

Although it’s basically a sure thing that exomoons are out there, astronomers haven’t been able to spot any – until now. Scientists using NASA’s Hubble and Kepler space telescopes have found evidence of a large moon orbiting a gas giant planet some 8,000 light-years away.

An artist's impression of the exomoon which may have been discovered orbiting the distant planet Kepler ...

Science

Polymer coating uses tiny bubbles to cool buildings

Ben Coxworth September 28, 2018

In many parts of the world, particularly developing nations, people paint buildings' roofs white in order to reflect sunlight and thus keep those buildings cooler. A new paint-like polymer could make that approach more effective than ever.

The bright-white coating gets put to the test

Medical

UV-emitting fibers could prevent catheter-caused infections

Ben Coxworth August 23, 2018

Medical devices such as catheters extend from within a patient's body out through an opening in their skin, and unfortunately those openings often become infected. Thanks to new research, however, ultraviolet optical fibers may eventually keep such infections from occurring.

One of the far-UVC-diffusing optical fibers used in the study

Medical

Getting a "fat transplant" turns the bad fat good

Michael Irving August 1, 2018

Converting bad fat to good could help us lose weight and avoid obesity-related illness. Now researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a transplant method, where white fat is removed from the body, cultivated in a lab for a few weeks, then reinserted into the body as brown fat.

Columbia researchers have developed a transplant method that turns bad fat into good fat

Good Thinking

FontCode hides letters within letters

Ben Coxworth May 11, 2018

While it's already possible to relay information via barcodes or QR codes, those codes are entirely visible when included in a document. Using Columbia University's FontCode system, however, users can hide messages within unrelated text via virtually-invisible changes to the displayed letters.

FontCode can even decipher messages from smartphone photos of text on computer screens

Environment

Rock-solid evidence shows how Earth's eccentric orbit affects climate change

Michael Irving May 9, 2018

Models have long suggested that Earth's orbit shifts from circular to elliptical and back again over hundreds of thousands of years, which plays a part in natural climate swings. Now, scientists have found the first physical evidence for the cycle, and traced it back to before the dinosaurs.

Researchers have found rock-solid evidence for a 405,000 year cycle in Earth's orbit, which affects climate ...

Space

Center of Milky Way found to be brimming with black holes

Nick Lavars April 5, 2018

Scientists have long searched for proof of the decades-old theory that black holes surround the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. By tweaking their approach just a little, astronomers have now turned up the first direct evidence that they do in fact exist.

Scientists have uncovered the first direct proof of black holes surrounding the supermassive black hole at ...

Good Thinking

RAD tech makes racing games blind-accessible

Ben Coxworth March 7, 2018

Although you may not realize it, there are car-racing video games that blind people can play. Brian A. Smith, however, thinks they leave something to be desired. That's why he created the RAD, an audio-based interface that he claims can be integrated into almost any racing game.

A blindfolded test subject tries out the RAD

Science

Human-safe ultraviolet light used to kill airborne viruses

Ben Coxworth February 9, 2018

For decades, it's been known that broad-spectrum UVC light kills viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, it also causes skin cancer and cataracts in people. Now, however, scientists have discovered that a narrow spectrum of UVC can eradicate airborne viruses without harming humans.

The technology has been tested on a flu virus

Energy

Columbia shows off bendy battery inspired by the human spine

James Holloway February 2, 2018

Flexible batteries may not be an entirely new idea, but here's a development with more backbone than most: engineers at Columbia have developed a flexible battery shaped much like a human spine. The battery is claimed to offer superior energy density to similar prototypes.

Columbia's prototype flexible battery powering an Android Wear smartwatch