🌎 New Atlas stories of the week

by C.C. Weiss

Looking at the Delica D:5 refresh Mitsubishi previewed a couple months ago, we wouldn't have pegged it as "the strongest ever." But that's how Mitsubishi bills it now. The tiny van and camping darling gains extra performance to match a revised look.

by Utkarsh Sood

For anyone who ever wanted to own an insane track bike producing a whopping 220 horses courtesy of a dual-rotary 690cc engine, you're in luck. An exclusive Crighton CR700W – one of only 25 that were ever made – is on sale … and it could be yours!

by David Szondy

Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero's Generation 6 eVTOL aircraft has completed its historic maiden flight. On December 16, 2025 at 12:26 pm PST, the autonomous passenger carrier lifted off from the Wisk flight test facility at Hollister, California.

by Michael Franco

Making the wings on passenger jets thinner and longer can go a long way toward reducing drag and making them more efficient, but they vibrate like crazy. Engineers at NASA and Boeing are now tackling the problem.

by Bronwyn Thompson

If you're after a free, simple boost for pushing through challenges, try swearing your way to your goals. A new study has uncovered the surprising psychological effect that cursing in the heat of the moment has – for the swearer, at least.

by Michael Franco

Researchers have homed in on a single gut microbe that acts to prevent fat gain, even with a high-fat diet. The discovery adds to the booming science of finding ways to enlist the microbes that already live in our bodies to help us improve our health.

by Bronwyn Thompson

The use of blood-flow restriction cuffs that "hack" your physiology to speed up strength and muscle gains has been growing in popularity. However, researchers have now found that they come with a big downside during use – especially the older you get.

by Jay Kakade

Tattoos have gained widespread popularity but according to a new study they may not be harmless decorations. Tattoo ink doesn’t just stay in the skin; it travels and accumulates in the lymph nodes, potentially causing lifelong changes to the immune system.

by Ben Coxworth

Snowmobiles are an effective means of moving across the snow and ice, but for many tasks they're … well, they're more of a vehicle than you need. The Snowdog is a simpler alternative, and it's now available in an electric model known as the SnowdogX.

by Adam Williams

Many of the tiny houses we see nowadays can actually be surprisingly expensive and spacious, with some even suitable for raising a family. However, the Ambra delivers a genuinely small, affordable home for up to two people.

by C.C. Weiss

Developed for the Shiver Offroad rally raid team that will be competing for a Dakar crown in just a few weeks, the Shiver x Expandable 6x6 motorhome is an intensely rare combination of rally-supporting grit, off-grid autonomy and spacious living.

by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

A carabiner's great to have on hand when you're hiking or camping in the woods for securing items together. Pivot X goes several steps further by cramming in a bunch of useful tools into The Clip's sturdy frame – including a knife and a flashlight.

by Adam Williams

What happens when wind turbines reach the end of their lifespan? Often, their blades end up in landfills, but one architect has come up with a clever idea: using the retired rotor blades as a building material.

by Stefan Ionescu

EngineAI's T800 humanoid robot, backed by 1-billion yuan in funding, boasts acrobatic combat skills, human-like agility, modular batteries, and advanced AI. Mass production begins in 2026, aiming to revolutionize industrial applications worldwide.

by David Szondy

The end of the Age of the Battleship appears to have been called prematurely as the Trump administration, as part of its Golden Fleet US Navy reform, says it is reviving the giant battlewagons in the form of 35,000-tonne Trump-class battleships.

by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

This upcoming product looks like a remarkable little travel accessory for busy businesspeople. The lunchbox-sized Launbot uses heat and air pressure to quickly dry your laundry indoors, and get rid of wrinkles on them too.

by Ben Coxworth

Nobody likes potholes, nor do they like the environmental damage associated with the petroleum utilized in traditional asphalt bitumen. That's why scientists are now looking at replacing the latter with a binder derived from algae.

by Abhimanyu Ghoshal

Your next favorite true crime podcast might have some new forensics jargon to make sense of. Researchers in Australia have developed a new way to identify humans – similar to how we do with DNA – that could come in handy while investigating crimes.

by Chelsea Haney

Step aside, Van Gogh. New research shows that several orb-weaving species create giant web-mounted “doppelgängers” convincing enough to confuse potential predators. It’s a clever form of deception that nudges the line between instinct and ingenuity.

by David Szondy

According to NASA, Saturn's moon Titan may be the most fantastically large slushie of all time. Based on a reexamination of data from the Cassini probe collected in 2012, the moon's long-suspected global ocean may actually be a slurry of ice and rock.