New Atlas

Space Audio available

Close encounter with alien star could explain ’Oumuamua, debunk Planet Nine

Michael Irving May 29, 2019

New research suggests some asteroids could actually be alien, captured during close flybys with other star systems. These close encounters could also explain objects like Oumuamua and might even provide an alternative to the “Planet Nine” hypothesis.

An artist's impression of 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar asteroid

Drones Audio available

Adaptable drone folds while flying to get through gaps

Ben Coxworth December 12, 2018

Although quadcopter drones show promise as a means of exploring hazardous environments, they do have one drawback – they're wide, limiting their ability to squeeze through tight spaces. An experimental new drone addresses that problem, by folding into different shapes while in flight.

The foldable drone takes on an H-shaped propeller arm configuration, allowing it to fit through narrow ...

Space

Meteorites reveal Jupiter's troubled childhood

David Szondy August 29, 2018

Jupiter may be the largest planet in the solar system, but it experienced growing pains. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists, who say that Jupiter grew in three stages with a two-million-year gap during which it grew very slowly, affecting the development of the rest of the solar system.

Jupiter's southern hemisphere photographed by NASA's Juno probe

Drones

Drones learn to move through the city like bikes and cars

Nick Lavars January 23, 2018

Many of the applications for drones will see them fly high up in open airspace, but safely moving through denser urban areas at street level would be a handy capability, too. Researchers have come up with a control system for drones that enables them to autonomously navigate these busier settings

Researchers have developed a control algorithm for drones that sees them imitate the movement of bikes ...

Science

New species of orangutan discovered ... and it's already critically endangered

Michael Irving November 2, 2017

An international team of scientists has identified a new species of orangutan, living in an isolated part of North Sumatra. Dubbed Pongo Tapanuliensis, comprehensive studies of its genomes and skull confirmed it as a distinct species. And unfortunately, it’s already critically endangered.

Studying the skull of an adult male Tapanuli orangutan, the researchers noted several consistent differences in ...

Biology

Prehistoric lizard wasn't what we thought

Ben Coxworth June 30, 2017

Back in 2003, the fossilized remains of a supposedly aquatic prehistoric lizard known as Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi were discovered in Italy. Now, however, thanks to a marvellously-complete skeleton found in the Alps of eastern Switzerland, that's no longer thought to be the case.

The fossilized Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi skeleton

Biology

Female dragonflies fake death to avoid lusting males

Nick Lavars April 28, 2017

Rassim Khelifa was standing by a pond collecting insect eggs one day when he noticed something strange. A dragonfly being pursued by another took a dive and crashed to the ground, seemingly dead on the spot, before springing back to life and making a grand escape once the coast was clear.

Sexual death feigning, as it's called, is incredibly rare but not unsighted in the animal kingdom

Computers

Four new human rights proposed to protect us from mind reading and brain hacking

Michael Irving April 27, 2017

The human brain remains an enigma, but neuroscience is beginning to unravel its secrets. To help us navigate the murky waters of peering into the human mind, researchers from Switzerland have proposed four new human rights relating to limitations on how the brain should be read or manipulated.

Researchers have put forward four new potential human rights relating to neuroscience: the rights to cognitive ...

Biology

Male birds up their defensive game when females are watching

Nick Lavars February 23, 2017

Animal mobbing behavior is an interesting strategy used by the likes of small birds to team up and scare way would-be predators. But researchers have found that there is another motivation behind these cooperative swoops, a desire to impress by-standing females.

The researchers introduced a model of a pygmy owl, like the live one seen here, to ...

Environment

Sun found to guide squirrels to food stashes

Chris Wood September 14, 2016

Scientists are constantly studying every aspect of animal behavior, and there’s still a huge amount of it we don’t understand. Now, a team from UZH has unravelled the mystery of how ground squirrels remember where they’ve stashed their food, using, as it turns out, the position of the sun.

The squirrels were found to use the sun as a navigational aid when hiding and recovering ...