Oceans
This beach-cleaning robot is a Roomba for sand
An all-electric, beach-cleaning robot called BeBot can sift through sand to extract pieces of debris too small for traditional systems.
Rarely seen glass octopus caught on film
An underwater robot has recorded stunning footage of a glass octopus, an almost completely transparent cephalopod rarely caught on film.
Bomb detectors record rare pygmy blue whales singing
Underwater microphones used to listen for signs of nuclear bomb testing have captured the singing of a population of rare pygmy blue whales.
Radioactive plutonium from space found in Pacific Ocean
A rare form of plutonium has been discovered on Earth for the first time — and an exploding star appears to have helped it get here.
Transforming abandoned oil rigs into artificial reefs
Marine scientists are advocating for abandoned oil rigs to be preserved as artificial reefs to save endangered species.
Scientists brought to life 100-million-year-old bacteria
Researchers successfully resuscitated bacteria from the South Pacific Gyre that were buried under marine snow for 100 million years.
Underwater gliders could soon run off of the ocean’s changing temperatures
California company Seatrec wants to bring their temperature-harnessing generator technology to underwater gliders.
A massive iceberg is about to crash into an island of penguins
A massive iceberg is expected to hit South Georgia Island. To assess the impact of the collision, researchers are deploying a pair of robot submarines.
CRISPR could help save coral reefs from bleaching
Using CRISPR, scientists have identified a gene that could determine whether coral reefs are highly susceptible to bleaching or not.
Scientists found a coral reef bigger than a skyscraper, hidden in plain sight
Researchers used an underwater robot to explore a new coral reef near Australia. The coral reef is the first reef discovery in 120 years.