🌎 New Atlas stories of the week

by Stefan Ionescu

La Tour F, a 76‑story skyscraper in Abidjan, will soon be Africa’s tallest tower at 421 m. Designed by Pierre Fakhoury, it combines government offices, public access, and green certification, symbolizing modern efficiency and cultural identity.

by C.C. Weiss

Addax unleashed its Jeep-badged micro-camping trailer at SEMA 2022. The rugged tiny trailer has run through a full V3 update to pack in more adventure readiness than ever. It's an electrified steel core ready to explode into a multi-sport base camp.

by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

If you're always too cold at the office or run hot in general, Sony might have something for you. Its Reon Pocket Pro Plus promises to raise or lower your skin temperature by several degrees and make your day a bit more bearable.

by Adam Williams

Clever space-saving layouts are all well and good, but not everyone wants to climb ladders and crawl into loft bedrooms. The Surya tiny house instead opts for a spacious single-floor interior well-suited to comfortable long-term living.

by Mike McRae

Never considering myself much of a writer in my youth, I entered the Young Queensland Writers’ Award with a throwaway short story I’d whipped up on a whim. That work of fiction just came true in Las Vegas.

by Sonali Roy

Prebiotic sodas are marketed as gut-friendly alternatives to sugary soft drinks. Now, a small study suggests one may also produce lower short-term glucose spikes than Coca-Cola, but the study comes with some noteworthy limitations.

by Bronwyn Thompson

Many of us probably don't get a lot of time to put pen to paper these days, but a new study suggests we should be paying more attention to how we write – because changes in a couple of key areas could be early red flags of cognitive decline.

by The Conversation

New research suggests that blood biomarkers in combination with self-reported memory concerns could offer an early clue to how Alzheimer’s disease develops across the life course, meaning midlife could be a critical window for promoting brain health.

by Chelsea Haney

A disabled kea has invented a bizarre jousting technique that helped turn him into the undefeated alpha male of his circus. While parrots are known for their smarts, this level of individual benefit shows some real ingenuity and resourcefulness.

by Mike McRae

A recent analysis reveals that a perplexing reversal in the outer core, more than 1,400 miles beneath the surface, began in 2010, and is now weakening once again. The findings point to events afoot deep within the very heart of our planet.

by Bronwyn Thompson

There are more than 800 species of carnivorous plants, and despite their diverse designs, the one thing they have in common is that they are built to trap and kill all prey. Or so we've believed – until scientists discovered how this meat-eater works.

by Sonali Roy

Domesticated from a now-extinct ox species around 10,500 years ago, cows have become a major source of protein, dairy, and leather worldwide. A study has now shown that cows can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar faces.