Issue 1867

Of kleptons and kerplunk (Tales of the Unsung Wilderness)

Of kleptons and kerplunk (Tales of the Unsung Wilderness)

If you were a fish in Permian Brazil, Prionosuchus was your most formidable foe. This gargantuan, vaguely crocodilian creature belonging to a group known as temnospondyls is thought to have ruled the waters of its time.[1] These impressive animals are no longer with us, but their successors (direct or

By Shreyas Kuchibhotla
President Xi Jinping leaves Imperial College on a state visit in 2015

Chen Jining: the Imperial graduate tipped to be in the race for Xi's successor

Following major elections across the West and several transfers of power, China's leadership post-Xi Jinping is a topic gaining greater prominence. Now 71 and in the middle of his third five-year term in power, the topic of his successor has become more prescient as he heads towards a

By Mohammad Majlisi
Winter background of ice crystals, icy background

Plastic ice seen with elastic-neutron scattering

While on Earth we mostly encounter the hexagonal, crystalline ice (like ice cubes, glaciers, snow), there are at least 20 other known ice phases, many of which have merely been theorised to exist in particular temperature and pressure conditions. One of those is plastic ice, which differs from "conventional&

By Filippos Kaloudis