What We Are Reading Today: ‘Insect Architecture’

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Updated 09 September 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Insect Architecture’

Authors: Tom Jackson And Michael S. Engel

“Insect Architecture” takes you inside the amazing structures that insects build, from the paper galleries of yellow jacket wasps to elaborate termite mounds complete with royal chambers and air-conditioning systems.

Each chapter focuses on a group of insect architects, describing the materials and methods they use while exploring the structures themselves in detail.

Blending spectacular illustrations with illuminating case studies of representative species from around the world, this is the ultimate guide to insect artistry and innovation.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Magnetic Reconnection’ by Masaaki Yamada

Updated 11 December 2025
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Magnetic Reconnection’ by Masaaki Yamada

Plasmas comprise more than 99 percent of the visible universe; and, wherever plasmas are, magnetic reconnection occurs. In this common yet incompletely understood physical process, oppositely directed magnetic fields in a plasma meet, break, and then reconnect, converting the huge amounts of energy stored in magnetic fields into kinetic and thermal energy. In “Magnetic Reconnection,” Masaaki Yamada offers an illuminating synthesis of modern research and advances on this important topic.