New Atlas

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13.5 billion year old star was born just after the Big Bang - and it’s in our neighborhood

Michael Irving November 4, 2018

Astronomers have identified one of the oldest stars ever found, which appears to be just one generation removed from the beginning of the universe itself. Being relatively close to Earth, the find could mean our galactic neighborhood is much older than previously thought.

Ultra metal-poor stars such as HD 140283 (pictured) are among the oldest known stars still surviving, ...

Materials

New desalination membrane produces both drinking water and lithium

Michael Irving February 11, 2018

Seawater is a complex cocktail of useful minerals, but it’s hard to separate the ones we need. Now a team of scientists from Australia and the US has developed a new water desalination technique that can not only make seawater fresh enough to drink, but recover lithium ions for use in batteries.

A scanning electron microscope image of metal-organic frameworks, crystals that can separate lithium from seawater

Medical

Overlooked antibiotic re-enlisted in fight against drug-resistant superbugs

Michael Irving January 28, 2018

To prevent a future plagued with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Australian scientists have looked to the past, digging up a long forgotten antibiotic candidate and finding that it’s effective against some of the most dangerous “superbugs.”

Australian researchers have enlisted a long-overlooked antibiotic in the fight against drug-resistant "superbugs"

Medical

Electronic gut-checking capsule tested on humans

Ben Coxworth April 25, 2017

A couple of years ago, scientists developed a swallowable electronic capsule that measures concentrations of intestinal gases, and transmits that data to a smartphone. It's now been tested on humans for the first time.

The capsule makes real-time "gas reports" from within the gut

VR

Drones and virtual reality combine to recreate mysterious archaeological site

Nick Lavars October 19, 2016

With the help of drones, Australian archaeologists are creating a virtual replica of the Plain of Jars, an ancient site littered with mysterious stone jars in Laos, so that inquisitive minds can strap on headsets and explore the site from afar.

The Plain of Jars was chosen as a testbed for the technology due to a pending ...

Space

Oldest micrometeorites ever found hold clues to Earth's ancient atmosphere

Michael Franco May 12, 2016

Nearly three billion years ago the surface of our planet contained less than 0.001 percent of today's oxygen. While this has been known for a while, we've never been quite sure what the Earth's upper atmosphere looked like at the time. Fossilized cosmic dust has helped scientist sort it all out.

One of 60 pieces of cosmic dust, or micrometeorites, analyzed by the team

Science

Researchers turn to tick spit to shut down our immune systems

Michael Franco March 29, 2016

Researchers may soon be employing a substance in tick saliva to help people battle damaging, and potentially deadly, autoimmune diseases.

A traditional foe could become a friend to those with a rare blood disorder

Medical

Snake venom shapes as antidote for Alzheimer’s

Nick Lavars March 20, 2016

A viper's venom would usually be something to steer clear of if you're at all concerned with your health, but new research suggests it may in fact boost the well being of those with an incurable disease.

A molecule in the venom of a Bothrops asper pit viper has been found to stimulate ...

Health & Wellbeing

New blood pressure tech says ciao to arm cuffs

Ben Coxworth January 26, 2016

Generally, if a doctor wants to know a patient's blood pressure, they have to use an arm cuff. Not only can this be uncomfortable, but it also only indicates what the blood pressure is at the time of the test. That's why scientists are developing a cuffless blood pressure estimation system.

The cuffless system offers a more patient-friendly alternative to this

Medical

Low-cost bioactive paper detects blood types in under a minute

Nick Lavars December 6, 2015

A new, bioactive piece of paper promises to make blood type testing more readily available with the ability to analyze just a few drops of blood and identify somebody's blood group in as little as one minute.

Manolios tells us that the device costs less than a dollar