An astronomers’ meeting turns into a haiku competition
Pick your own winner

IN 2001 Allan Treiman, a researcher at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, in Houston, was working on the one-sentence summary that the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) requires of presenting authors when inspiration struck. To communicate the essence of a paper entitled “The ALTA II Spectrometer: a Tool for Teaching About Light and Remote Sensing”, he wrote down:
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Abstract art”
Science & technology
March 24th 2018
From the March 24th 2018 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the edition
How to form good habits, and break bad ones: trick your brain
Small rewards and a change of scenery can help

AI models could help negotiators secure peace deals
Some are being developed to help end the war in Ukraine

Scientists are getting to grips with ice
Climate change is making water freeze in unexpected ways
Microplastics have not yet earned their bad reputation
There are worrying signs. But more thorough studies of their health effects are coming
Electric vehicles also cause air pollution
Though fume-free, their brake pads and tyres disintegrate over time
AI models are helping dirty industries go green
Mining companies and steelmakers are feeling the benefits