Technology Smart coating hits rust where it hurts PLANES, trains and automobiles could one day last a whole lot longer thanks to a smart coating that stops rust in its tracks. The material reacts to damage by releasing a substance that blocks corrosion then reseals the breach. Today, metals are protected from rusting either by galvanising them with a thin layer of zinc, … News
Life Don't pit science against religion THE popular debate about intelligent design has, I am happy to say, discredited fundamentalists who want to censor science for religious reasons. It has also exposed pseudo-scientific organisations such as the Discovery Institute for what they are. Nevertheless, in pitching misguided evangelicals against the scientific community, it has had one negative effect: it has encouraged … Opinion
Physics Quantum weirdness on the end of your pencil INSIDE every pencil, there is a neutron star waiting to get out. To release it, just draw a line. The soft, silvery-grey form of pure carbon found in pencils consists of stacked-up sheets of interlinked carbon atoms. Separate these sheets to obtain gossamer films of carbon just one atom thick and you have a material … Features
Life The word: Thagomizer PALAEONTOLOGISTS don't get many chances to name new bones. Evolution uses the same bones over and over again, altering their shape and purpose but preserving their basic nature, so anatomists simply use the same old terms to describe them. A humerus is a humerus, whether it's in a chicken wing, a walrus flipper, the massive … Regulars
Feedback Deleted but still there THE British government, and especially the Home Office, is under fire for its allegedly lackadaisical handling of foreign criminals. A lack of joined-up thinking between departments is often blamed. Feedback recently received a press release from the government's Patent Office, telling of new initiatives to fight counterfeiting and piracy. It referred … Regulars