There is a corner of Antarctica that looks like something out of a David Cronenberg movie. It’s located in the dry valleys of McMurdo, an immense frozen desert where, periodically, a jet of crimson liquid suddenly gushes from the dazzling white of the Taylor Glacier. They’re called the Blood Falls, and since their discovery in 1911 by geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor, they’ve fueled a century of scientific speculation.

Recently, a series of observations conducted since 2018 have clarified several mysteries, such as the nature of their reddish color and what keeps them liquid at almost –20 degrees Celsius. New research published this week in the journal Antarctic Science adds the final piece to the puzzle, clarifying what phenomena drive the falls to gush from underground.

The Science Behind the Blood Falls

At the time of their discovery, Taylor attributed the color to the presence of red microalgae. More than a century later, scientists have determined that the red is due to iron particles trapped in nanospheres along with other elements such as silicon, calcium, aluminum, and sodium. These were likely produced by ancient bacteria trapped underground in the area: Once in contact with air, the iron oxidizes, giving the mixture its characteristic rust color.

As for the presence of liquid water, it is actually a hypersaline brine, formed about 2 million years ago when the waters of the Antarctic Ocean receded from the valleys. The very high salinity of this brine prevents the water from freezing, thus allowing it to gush out periodically.

The New Discovery

With the temperature puzzle solved, the question remained as to what physically drove the fluid to erupt. The answer came from cross-referencing GPS data, thermal sensors, and high-resolution images collected in 2018 during an eruption. The analysis demonstrated that the Blood Falls are the result of pressure variations affecting the brine deposits beneath the glacier.

As Taylor Glacier slides downstream, the overlying ice mass compresses the subglacial channels, building up tremendous pressure. When the strain becomes unbearable, the ice gives way: Pressurized brine seeps into the crevices and is shot out in short bursts. Curiously, this release acts as a hydraulic brake, temporarily slowing the glacier’s march. With this discovery, the mysteries of the Blood Falls should finally have been solved, at least for now. The impact of global warming on this complex system in the coming decades remains unknown.

This story originally appeared on WIRED Italia and has been translated from Italian.

Laundry is a $100 billion business. It can also be a real time suck, what with all the washing, drying, and folding. Detergent company Tide has found great success with its Pods that let you pop detergent right into a washing machine without having to measure and pour liquid or powder. Now, the next evolution is an exhaustively engineered single-use detergent called Tide Evo Tiles—a dry, fibery, single-use tile that can dissolve in cold water. It looks a lot less tasty than the bright, colorful Tide Pods, so hopefully, fewer people will try to eat this one.

Tide Evo Tiles have been in product development for over a decade. After spending a year in test markets, Tide and its parent company, Procter & Gamble, announced last week that Evo Tiles are now rolling out more broadly across the US. Prices range from $5 to $20 per box, depending on the retailer, with the price roughly 50 cents per tile.

“This is really a feat of engineering,” says Marcello Puddu, senior director of research and development at Tide. “There is a lot of very complicated engineering and formulation work that has gone to create that one single sleek tile that looks relatively simple.”

The primary hope for Tide Evo is simplicity. Single-use detergent pods are lauded for being more accessible to people who may struggle with the motor skills required to pour liquid soap or powders. Evo Tiles have a small ridge around the edges that makes them easier to pull out of the box. Deploying them is easy—just plop them (one tile for regular loads, two for heavy) into the washer as close to where the water comes out as possible, then toss the fabrics on top.

After the tile breaks apart, the ingredients work together to create a very high pH level in the water that cleans the fabrics. (Because of the high pH, Tide Evo does not use lipase, an enzyme that breaks down stains and is a popular ingredient in other detergents.)

Evo Tiles look like white, diamond-shaped Uncrustables. Instead of a Tide Pod’s colorful liquid pouches, these tiles are made of dry layers of interwoven detergent fibers—about 10,000 of them, which Tide says is enough to stretch for 15 miles, if you were inclined to do such a thing. The result is a looping, webbed lattice of tiny fibers, woven together into six layers that stay in place while on the shelf but break down quickly when they get wet, allowing separate releases of stain and odor fighters, brighteners, and fresheners.

“The structure of an assembled product allows us to do that, because we can separate things that don’t like to be together,” Puddu says. “We can put an enzyme between two layers so the two don’t attack each other. You can’t really do that as easily in other matrices.”

The goal is to combine the benefits of Tide Pods and laundry sheets and make something that packs in enough detergent to sufficiently clean a load of wash while also being lightweight and able to dissolve quickly. And, as Tide is eager to point out, it also makes things more eco-friendly.

Tide Evo tiles are specifically designed to dissolve in cold water, the idea being that washing fabrics without having to heat up water helps save energy. Packaging is also part of Tide’s ecological efforts. Unlike the plastic boxes Pods tend to come in, Tide Evo tiles are packaged in a recyclable cardboard box that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Still, Tide Evo does use polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) plastics to help the fibrous structure hold together. These are the same kind of plastics used to form the casing around Tide Pods. PVA plastics have been the subject of much debate about whether the polymers used in detergent casing can create microplastics when dissolved. They likely do not, but the products are still created within the broader plastics ecosystem and can lead to clogging of waterways if not treated properly.

ISC2, the non-profit membership association for cyber security professionals, has launched a code of conduct to spread more ethical, principled practices across the global cyber security trade.

The ISC2 Professional Code of Conduct builds on the association’s existing Code of Ethics, and has been developed with input from ISC2 members from all over the world.

It sets out to codify professional obligations and responsibilities, and reaffirms the importance of ethical behaviour, and offers guidance in areas such as sound decision-making, establishing and fostering trust, and upholding their professional integrity.

All this is set against the context of the rapidly evolving digital world, as the security profession works out how to navigate ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence (AI), disinformation, and other threats. ISC2 said the code would help them navigate such challenges with confidence.

“Cyber security professionals have a profound responsibility not only to protect and secure individuals, organisations and systems around the world but also to uphold the integrity, accountability and trust that the profession depends on,” said ISC2 CEO Scott Beale.

“The Code provides a shared foundation for guiding ethical decision-making and professional conduct, especially as emerging technologies like AI reshape how organisations operate and how security decisions are made.

“Leveraging the collective input and decades of experience from ISC2 volunteers, the Code provides comprehensive guidance for everyone working in the cyber security field,” said Beale.

The code itself is organised around two core pillars – Ethics and Professional Conduct. The first of these sections covers topics such as integrity, client (or victim) confidentiality, respect for laws and regulations, and wider public safety and societal impact. The second section addresses areas such as accountability and responsibility, collaboration and teamwork, competence and continuous improvement, and reporting concerns and other issues.