Materials Science
Lead becomes stronger than steel under extreme pressures
Lead is a soft metal, easily scratched with a fingernail. But that changes dramatically when the metal is compressed under high pressures.
All Topics
Chemistry
Earth
Climate
5 things to know about fighting climate change by planting trees
One group’s idea of planting vast swaths of trees to curb climate change exaggerates the proposal’s power to trap carbon, some argue.
Humans
Science & Society
A Dallas museum hosts rare hominid fossils from South Africa
Fossils of the South African hominids Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi are on display at the Perot Museum of Science and History in Dallas.
Life
Animals
Humpback whales in the South Atlantic have recovered from near-extinction
A new count shows the population off Brazil went from about 450 in the 1950s to some 25,000 today.
Math
Math
A new book shows how not to fall for dubious statistics
Skipped statistics in school and wonder what you missed? David Spiegelhalter’s ‘The Art of Statistics’ has got you covered.
Physics
Materials Science
Lead becomes stronger than steel under extreme pressures
Lead is a soft metal, easily scratched with a fingernail. But that changes dramatically when the metal is compressed under high pressures.
Science & Society
Science & Society
A Dallas museum hosts rare hominid fossils from South Africa
Fossils of the South African hominids Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi are on display at the Perot Museum of Science and History in Dallas.
Space
Space
Realigning magnetic fields may drive the sun’s spiky plasma tendrils
Solar spicules emerge near counterpointing magnetic fields, hinting that self-adjusting magnetism creates these filaments, which may heat the corona.
Tech
Tech
A tiny switch could redirect light between computer chips in mere nanoseconds
Microscopic switches that ferry information using light, not electric current, could help create better, faster electronics.
