Scientists have long been intrigued by a large potato-shaped asteroid, called 16 Psyche, which they suspect is rich in iron – so it could be very lucrative for future asteroid mining. The 173-kilometer object, which orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has two large crater-like areas, which researchers say may … Read more
Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider accidentally turned lead into gold while trying to recreate the Big Bang. Researchers working on the “Alice” experiment at Cern, Switzerland, have produced a rare precious metal as they try to recreate conditions from shortly after the universe began. Medieval alchemists had tried to turn lead into gold for … Read more
Try to bend a piece of glass, and it may break. But what if it were possible to create a different, stronger type of glass? Researchers at the University of Oregon conducted physics experiments and developed a mathematical solution to create what they call “perfect glass.” That is, glass is made of molecules packed as … Read more
Our preferences are ingrained traits that have developed over time. We are learning about our closest cousins to better understand ourselves. A recent article described how chimpanzees prefer crystals to ordinary rocks. But science has struggled to understand why, until now. By studying chimpanzees and monkeys, we reveal a few secrets about ourselves. What makes … Read more