One possible reason that Stradivarius violins sound so exquisite is that they are made from low-density wood, hewn from trees that struggled to grow during the 鈥渓ittle ice age鈥� around 1650. By treating spruce and sycamore with a fungus that causes decay, researchers have produced lighter wood with similar resonant properties to Antonio Stradivari鈥檚 instruments (New Phytologist, ).
Rigid pressurised suits are fine for floating about in space, but they make walking laborious and difficult. With its return to the moon in mind, NASA has commissioned a range of spacesuits made up of bendy, lightweight separates with different functions 鈥� allowing astronauts on its planned Constellation missions to tiptoe through the craters with a simple change of apparel ().
