Science & technology

Waste not, want not

Most electric-car batteries could soon be made by recycling old ones

Mining for raw materials may peak by the mid-2030s

Geology

Earth may once have had a planetary ring

It would have collapsed 450m years ago

Long-standing mystery

How bush pigs saved Madagascar’s baobabs

Non-native species are not always harmful

Hot stuff

Geothermal energy could outperform nuclear power

Tricks from the oil industry have produced a hot-rocks breakthrough

Tests of time

The world’s first nuclear clock is on the horizon

It would be 1,000 times more accurate than today’s atomic timekeepers

White gold

Baby formulas now share some ingredients with breast milk

They may one day replicate its benefits

The motherlode

Breast milk’s benefits are not limited to babies

Some of its myriad components are being tested as treatments for cancer and other diseases

Radiation-belt remediation

Particles that damage satellites can be flushed out of orbit

All it takes is very long radio waves

See-through mice

A common food dye can make skin transparent

The discovery allows scientists to see inside live animals

Too darn hot

Fewer babies are born in the months following hot days

The effect is small but consistent

Cold comfort

New tech can make air-conditioning less harmful to the planet

The key is energy efficiency

Waste management

The noisome economics of dung beetles

They are worth millions a year to cattle ranchers