Nature Podcast

00:46 Tiny solar flyerResearchers have used a phenomenon known as thermal transpiration to create a solar-powered flying device that can stay aloft without any moving parts. The diminutive device, just one centimetre across, consists of two thin, perforated membranes that allow air to flow through the device, generating lift. Although only a proof-of-concept, the team hope that a scaled-up version of the device could be used to measure conditions in the mesosphere, a particularly hard-to-study part of the Earth’s atmosphere, or even on Mars.Research Article: Schafer et al.News and Views: Levitating platform could ride sunlight into the ‘ignorosphere’News: These tiny flyers levitate on the Sun's heat alone07:57 Research HighlightsA 3D scan of body art on a 2,000-year-old mummy reveals the techniques used by ancient tattooists — plus, the bacterial cause of a devastating sea-star disease.Research Highlight: Intricate origins of ice mummy’s ink revealedResearch Highlight: Mystery of bill