🌎 New Atlas stories of the week

by David Szondy

As US-based aerospace manufacturer Natilus secures US$28 million in additional financing, the company has revealed the latest supersized version of its Horizon blended-wing airliner that upgrades the basic design into a double-decker for cargo.

by Stefan Ionescu

The "world’s first serial-production electric hydrofoil ferry" – the Candela P-12 – has completed a record-breaking voyage from Gothenburg in Sweden to Oslo in Norway, clocking up 160 nautical miles over the epic three-day journey.

by Ben Coxworth

3D commuting, that's the dream. Soaring over stopped traffic in a lightweight, quiet, safe personal eVTOL aircraft. The Velocitor X-1 joins a growing list of such machines, and it's slated to enter production within a year.

by Aaron Turpen

If you’ve followed Mazda over the years, you know the 3 has always been the brand’s emotional core. For 2026, Mazda’s latest Mazda 3 Hatchback continues that tradition.

by Chelsea Haney

A new study challenges the idea MS is just one single disease presenting evidence it may actually follow two distinct biological pathways. It’s a shift that could reshape how clinicians think about diagnoses, disease progression and treatment strategy.

by C.C. Weiss

Bowlus' all-new Frontier Edition takes the brand's most powerful trailer to new aesthetic heights, warming up the interior of the riveted-aluminum fuselage with a rustic cabin inspired by the ranches and pioneer homesteads of the American West.

by Adam Williams

This charming tiny house is designed to resemble a miniature firehouse. Along with its novel appearance, it features a compact but well-designed interior that has lots of firefighter-related touches, including an antique fire pole.

by Michael Franco

The SBX backpack system from Safeback is designed to pull and deliver oxygen from snow if the wearer is buried by an avalanche, thus increasing their survival time. A group of intrepid volunteers has now proven how well the system works.

by C.C. Weiss

Not long ago, the Polaris RZR Pro R was the pinnacle of retail side-by-side domination. But now it's not even the flagship of the RZR family. The all-new RZR Pro R Ultra Edition attacks all means of unimproved earth via an industry-first suspension.

by Bronwyn Thompson

Shanghai robotics startup DroidUp has launched what it calls "a beautifully designed and expressive bionic robot" that is touted as "the world's first highly bionic robot that deeply integrates human aesthetics and advanced humanoid movement."

by David Szondy

There's a new contender for the US Navy's F/A-XX Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter program to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and it looks like something out of Batman's hangar thanks to a peculiar triple-fuselage design.

by Adam Williams

The Line is the most ambitious and eye-catching part of Saudi Arabia's incredible construction boom. However, the futuristic megacity is reportedly now undergoing a major rethink and looks likely to be significantly reduced in scope.

by Paul Ridden

AWOL Vision has launched a new projector designed to deliver 4K sharpness and definition when scaled large. The Aetherion UST tri-laser entertainment hub promises "a 200-inch Dolby Vision, triple-laser cinema for less than the cost of a premium TV."

by Jay Kakade

We generally associate the origins of mathematical thinking with the emergence of writing but a new study challenges this assumption looking at floral designs found on the pottery sherds across northern Mesopotamia, dating back 8000 years.

by Michael Franco

Researchers have discovered a certain kind of sugar that is only found on the surface of bacteria. Targeting it could lead to an entirely new class of immunotherapeutic drugs designed to target and eliminate at least one deadly, drug-resistant bug.

by Jay Kakade

For the first time, researchers have tracked how deer use photoluminescent markers as signposts on trees to communicate with one another. Their unique visual acuity allows them to see in ultraviolet wavelengths invisible to human eyes.

by David Szondy

SpaceX's Starlink communications satellite constellation is doing double duty as the company announces that it's moonlighting as the Stargaze Space Situational Awareness system that can track and manage traffic in low Earth orbit.