On this week’s news update:

Buried Treasure
A diver discovers buried treasure... 

Euclid Telescope
…the Euclid Telescope takes its first pictures…

Fossil Robot
…and a robot inspired by a prehistoric fossil.

First up…

A diver off the coast of Italy has stumbled across buried treasure! Over 30,000 ancient coins were found hidden underwater in the seabed. The coins are thought to be from the 4th Century Roman Empire. Archaeologists, who are scientists that study things from the past, are excited to find so many coins in such excellent condition.

Experts believe this rare discovery is one of the most important finds in recent history. On some of the coins, images of Roman Emperors can be seen clearly, giving us a glimpse of these former leaders. Archaeologists hope the coins might point to a nearby shipwreck carrying other treasures which could uncover even more about the past.

Up next…

Euclid 

In July, the Euclid Telescope blasted off on a six-year mission to chart and photograph space. The images from Euclid will help scientists understand the structure of the universe by creating a 3D map of billions of galaxies.

Now Euclid has taken its first pictures. Scientists hope these images will help them answer some of the many questions they have about the universe and its beginnings. While scientists continue their research, we can all look forward to seeing more spectacular images from Euclid.

And Finally…

bioinspired robots

When designing bioinspired robots, engineers take inspiration from nature and natural forms of movement. For example, this robotic arm resembles the structure and movement of a human arm.

Rhombot

While this robot’s crawl is based on the movement of a very familiar insect. Now, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have looked back through history for inspiration. Meet Rhombot:

Pleurocystitid

This miniature soft robot is inspired by a 450 million year-old fossil of the Pleurocystitid. The robot was created in collaboration with a team of Paleontologists, who are scientists that study ancient life.

Rhombot’s creators are keen to make robots that enable them to understand how the movement of prehistoric animals evolved over time. By understanding how animal movement developed, scientists hope to use this knowledge to design robots with better and more adaptable motion. They hope that by looking back millions of years they will be able to find solutions to present-day problems that typical robotics design struggles to overcome.

That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!