New Atlas

Gizmag is now New Atlas:  Why we changed our name SPACE Year-long Mars mission simulation comes to an end A team of scientists have re-entered normal life on Earth after spending a year simulating life on Mars. The Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) research project set out to study the psychological effects of isolated, confined space missions on astronauts.   Read more MUSIC Review: In for the long haul with Sennheiser's high-end wireless travel headphones Last month, Sennheiser revealed a successor to the highly-regarded PXC 450 noise-canceling travel headphones. The company promises PXC 550 users high quality sound, proprietary active noise cancellation and long-haul battery life. We've spent a few weeks roaming around to find out if they deliver.   Read more SCIENCE Life on Earth may have arrived very early on the cosmic timeline A new theoretical study from Oxford and Harvard suggests that life on Earth may have arrived early, cosmically speaking. So that advanced civilization that pop culture tells us is going to travel the stars and spread wisdom through the galaxy could be us.   Read more MOBILE TECHNOLOGY Say cheese! Apple anti-theft patent hints at recording video, fingerprints of iPhone thieves Though tools are available to remotely lock, clear data and track a stolen smartphone, Apple appears to be looking into ways to identify thieves. A patent awarded to the company last week outlines a system that would collect data on an iPhone thief and forward it to the owner or the authorities.   Read more AUTOMOTIVE Seaside drive: The 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in pictures It's time for a stroll down memory lane – or more specifically, a stroll along the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach to take in some of the world's finest autos​ at this years' Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance​.   Read more COMPUTERS Apple 1 prototype fetches $815,000 in charity auction This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of Apple, and one dedicated couple has celebrated the milestone by forking over US$815,000 at auction for an original Apple 1 – the company's first commercial product and one of the world's first personal computers.   Read more ENVIRONMENT New research examines how air pollution is melting Earth’s Third Pole Researchers have found that the disappearance of glacial ice in third-largest region of ice on the planet -the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya-Hindu Kush mountains - is being sped up due to air pollution.   Read more SPACE Juno skims Jupiter's pole in first orbital flyby NASA's Juno orbiter has made its first and nearest orbital flyby of Jupiter, snapping the closest close-up ever​ of giant planet's north pole. NASA expects to release some of the images it captured over the next two weeks.​   Read more HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS A tale of ice and fire: Time travel in Iceland ​Driving along the "Ring Road" that encircles the Iceland, it's easy to feel as though you've traveled back in time and are witnessing the Earth as it was when it was just getting started. In many ways that's actually the case​ and New Atlas checked out some of the science behind the sites.   Read more SPACE Spitzer goes "Beyond" for final mission Beyond is the name given to the final 30-month mission extension of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope​. Starting in October, the veteran instrument will carry out new observations in astronomy, cosmology, and the search for planets beyond the Solar System.   Read more ELECTRONICS Braidio lets small mobile devices wirelessly "offload" power requirements to larger ones A new radio technology dubbed "Braidio" has the potential to dramatically extend the battery life of mobile devices by many hundreds of times by allowing them to automatically share battery power loads with other devices when wirelessly communicating.   Read more MARINE Toy-filled sports utility yacht (the SUY?) floats more fun on the high seas A more active conceptualization of the yacht, the Oceanemo SUY is specially designed around carrying all breeds of toys - from simple PWCs to helicopters, hovercraft, submarines and supercars. It's engineered from the ground up to have fun ... and loads of it.​   Read more HOME ENTERTAINMENT Hands-on: Rebellion headphones serve up spatial 3D sound In a bid to add a new dimension to your music, video and gaming listening experiences, Cape Audio has just launched an Indiegogo campaign for its flagship Rebellion 3D headphones. They're packed with modern tech designed to create realistic 3D soundscapes.   Read more SCIENCE Newly discovered "micro-lion" fossil reveals entirely new extinct species A new species of "micro-lion" belonging to the extinct marsupial Thylacoleonidae lion family has been discovered in Australia.  Read more SPACE SpaceX's Dragon scuttles back to Earth with space-mice and science onboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with more than a ton of scientific cargo aboard, with heart cells and space mice hidden amongst its latest haul. ​   Read more URBAN TRANSPORT Convertible velomobile looks hot, but is made to stay cool While fully-enclosed velomobiles offer excellent foul-weather protection, they can get too hot when it's warm outside. That's why the Cabriovelo was created. It's a convertible velomobile, which stores its own folding roof and sides when they're not in use. ​   Read more MOBILE TECHNOLOGY School yourself: 6 apps to get students and families through the academic year The start of a new school year is a hectic time, but app developers have busy students’ and families’ backs. Here, we’ve rounded up top mobile apps for education, productivity, and household management that help students and parents keep it all together.  Read more SPORTS Teen's woodpecker-inspired system aims to reduce football concussions When one Texas high school player suffered a concussion, he was inspired to develop a more protective helmet and shoulder pads, inspired by nature. ​  Read more OUTDOORS Artificial wave-filled lagoon would bring more surf to Perth  There are a number of places you might choose if you want to go surfing in Perth, Australia, but Alfred Cove, on the Swan River, probably isn't one of them. It might be soon, though, courtesy of plans for an artificial surfing lagoon aimed at improving the options for surfing around the city.   Read more SPACE Juno set for a (relatively) close brush with the clouds of Jupiter ​​NASA's Juno spacecraft is set for a close encounter with one of the most visually striking, and enigmatic bodies in our solar system – the planet Jupiter.  Read more MOBILE TECHNOLOGY Hey Siri, study says speech recognition software blitzes humans at texting A new study has indicted that speech-to-text systems can not only pump out text messages much faster than we can, but do so with better accuracy, suggesting perhaps it might not hurt to speak up when arranging our weekend plans.  Read more SCIENCE Engineering 'lego-like' proteins to create color ultrasounds Caltech researchers have come up with a method for improving ultrasound imaging, providing a means of peering deeper into the body to visualize individual cells and molecules in distinct colors.   Read more MEDICAL Protective packaging could hold the key to an effective insulin pill Researchers at Niagara University in the US are working on a pill for diabetics that employs a new method of encapsulating the insulin so that it reaches the bloodstream.   Read more SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR NEW ATLAS READERS Rock Out with the FresheTech Splash Bluetooth Speaker, Now 59% Off Nothing makes a shower or bath experience complete like your favorite podcast or playlist. With this waterproof speaker, you can hit play, skip songs, adjust the volume, and more. Just suction cup it to any surface and you'll always have your tunes within arm's reach.  Read more