Science
Fool's Gold Has Been Hiding Real Lithium This Whole Time
A West Virginia lab has found measurable lithium locked inside pyrite from Appalachian black shale, an unexpected source for the metal that runs the battery economy.
Casey Cooper·
Geology
Science
The Great Oxidation Event: When Life Nearly Destroyed Itself
2.4 billion years ago, cyanobacteria flooded Earth with a toxic gas called oxygen, triggering the planet's first mass extinction and making complex life possible.
Casey Cooper·
Nature
The Underground Cities Waiting on the Moon and Mars
Lava tubes beneath the lunar and Martian surfaces could be large enough to shelter entire settlements. Robots are already learning to explore them.
Casey Cooper·
Science
The Oldest Rocks on Earth: A Window to the Hadean
In a remote corner of northern Quebec lies a rocky outcrop that dates back 4.16 billion years, the only surviving fragment from Earth's violent, molten youth.
Casey Cooper·