Topological effects might be hiding inside perfectly ordinary materials, waiting to reveal bizarre new particles or bolster quantum computing.
Africa and Asia are absorbing more refugees than the European Union. Misleading reports about the magnitude of flows into Europe and the U.S. are creating unjustified fears about refugees, thereby undermining efforts to manage the massive humanitarian problems.
A survey of Mensa members finds that high I.Q. is associated with mental and physical issues, especially mood and anxiety disorders.
The National Institutes of Health has lifted its funding ban on research that manipulates pathogens to make them more deadly. But grant applications will undergo greater scrutiny than in the past.
A jumble of thousands of cubic dice, agitated by an oscillating rotation, can rapidly become completely ordered, a result that is hard to produce with more conventional shaking (includes video that demonstrates the packing process).