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.

Coats Digital, the software arm of Coats Group, is delighted to announce that its industry-leading time-cost benchmarking solution, GSDCost, has won the Software Innovation Award at this year’s Global Digital Excellence Awards 2025.

Following its Silver Award win at the UK Digital Excellence Awards in the Standout Platform/ Technology/Tool category earlier in the year, this global recognition highlights Coats Digital’s ongoing mission to accelerate the digital transformation of the fashion supply chain. The company’s flagship SaaS platform, GSDCost, continues to redefine how brands and manufacturers plan production, set costs, and maintain ethical and efficient operations across complex supply chains.

Coats Digital’s GSDCost won the Software Innovation Award at the Global Digital Excellence Awards 2025, recognising its impact on digitalising fashion supply chains.
Judges praised GSDCost for combining scientific benchmarking, fair wage compliance, and SaaS scalability.
Coats Digital also unveiled GSDQuest, an AI-powered evolution for automated garment costing and ethical production planning.

The Global Digital Excellence Awards 2025 took place on 16th October as a virtual event organised by Don’t Panic Events. This prestigious programme recognises exceptional digital websites, campaigns, tools, and teams from around the world. The awards celebrate creative thinking, innovative use of data, technical excellence, pioneering research tools, and technologies that drive growth and efficiency. Judged by a panel of industry experts, the process is rigorous and transparent. The Global Digital Excellence Awards are part of the wider Digital Excellence Awards series, which also includes the UK Digital Excellence Awards.

Kunal Kapur, Managing Director, Coats Digital, said: “Winning the Software Innovation Award at the Global Digital Excellence Awards is a tremendous honour to the creativity, dedication, and expertise of our team. GSDCost tackles some of the fashion industry’s most complex challenges — from inconsistent costing and planning to embedding ethical standards across global supply chains. Being acknowledged on a global stage validates the impact our platform is already having and motivates us to continue driving innovation and transformation across the industry.”

Comment from Award Judges: “GSDCost is a powerful example of software driving both operational and social responsibility. This tool addresses a global industry challenge with clarity and purpose, combining scientific benchmarking, fair wage compliance and SaaS scalability. Backed by strong case studies and real-world results, it demonstrates true innovation in a sector long overdue for transformation.”

Building on the success of GSDCost, Coats Digital is investing in next-generation technology with the launch of GSDQuest, an AI-powered evolution of the platform. GSDQuest automates complex garment costing processes, generating highly accurate Bills of Labour in seconds from garment images and tech packs. This enables brands, manufacturers, and suppliers of all sizes to plan production faster, make data-driven decisions, and maintain ethical compliance across their supply chains. By combining the proven scientific methodology of GSDCost with AI-driven efficiency, GSDQuest represents the future of intelligent, transparent, and scalable garment costing.

Adrian Elliott, CEO Apparel & Group Commercial Officer, Coats Group, added: “We are absolutely delighted with this prestigious accolade for software innovation. At Coats Digital, we are committed to shaping the future of the fashion supply chain through strategic investment in next-generation technology.  GSDCost has already helped brands and manufacturers work more efficiently, plan capacity with confidence, and uphold ethical standards. With the launch of GSDQuest, we are extending these capabilities with AI-driven intelligence, enabling faster, more accurate decision-making, improved collaboration across the supply chain, and equipping businesses to respond more effectively to an increasingly complex and dynamic industry.”

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (MS)