In certain tracts of ocean, divers know to look for “underwater crop circles,” ornate symmetrical patterns temporarily carved into the sandy sea floor. But since 1995, when they were first ...

Chemists call this pattern “face-centered cubic packing.” But its optimal nature wasn’t proven mathematically until 1998. The proof, by Thomas Hales, required 250 pages of notes and ...

Just 15 poor attempts at crop circles have appeared in Wiltshire so far this year and have been met with derision by enthusiasts of the 'art' form. More than 50 had appeared by this stage last year.