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Diamonds created in minutes at room temperature

face_with_colon_three circa 2020.


A new study finds diamonds can actually form at room temperature, under the right pressure.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Diamonds are highly coveted the world over, forming naturally in the Earth’s mantle under extreme temperature and pressure over billions of years. Now, a team of scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University have reported a means of making the gemstones at room temperature within a matter of minutes.

Zombie cells central to the quest for active, vital old age

In an unfinished part of his basement, 95-year-old Richard Soller zips around a makeshift track encircling boxes full of medals he’s won for track and field and long-distance running.

Without a hint of breathlessness, he says: “I can put in miles down here.”

Steps away is an expensive leather recliner he bought when he retired from Procter & Gamble with visions of relaxing into old age. He proudly proclaims he’s never used it; he’s been too busy training for competitions, such as the National Senior Games.

Decrypted text: Anyone who rebels from Puzur-Sušinak should “be destroyed.”

Researchers claim to have deciphered Linear Elamite, a mysterious ancient writing system used between 2,300 B.C. and 1,800 B.C. The study alleges success in decoding Linear Elamite, despite the fact that only about 40 known examples of the script remain today, according to a paper published in the journal Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie.

Over 300 Linear Elamite signs represent different sounds, such as a crescent-shaped sign that sounds like “pa,” the research team wrote in the paper.


ZA publishes articles and reviews in all areas of Assyriology, including Near Eastern archaeology and art history. The main geographical areas covered are Mesopotamia, Northern Syria, Anatolia, Ancient Armenia, and Elam from the fourth to first millennia BC. All articles are peer-reviewed.

Cultured meat is now being mass-produced In Israel

Israeli startup Future Meat Technologies has opened what it says is the first industrial-scale cultured meat production facility — a move designed to finally get lab-grown meat onto consumers’ plates.

“Our goal is to make cultured meat affordable for everyone,” CSO Yaakov Nahmias said in a press release, “while ensuring we produce delicious food that is both healthy and sustainable, helping to secure the future of coming generations.”

Why it matters: Demand for meat is higher than ever before, but the traditional means of producing it — by raising and slaughtering animals — is bad for the environment and arguably unethical.

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