Scientists have built the ‘material networks’ to map which elements can be mixed to form metallic glasses. This novel approach reveals hidden patterns in the past 60 years of research data, identifies an ‘innovation trap’ in traditional material design, and provides a powerful strategy to design these complex and valuable materials more intelligently.

An international project led by Hungarian researchers has successfully identified the remains of Duke Béla, the Ban of Macsó, a member of the Árpád and Rurik dynasties. The investigations have answered a century-old archaeological question.

Prof Carla Jaimes Betancourt, an anthropologist focusing on the Amazon, is a researcher at the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn and co-director of the BASA Museum housed at the university. Her research, promoting collaborative archaeology with local Indigenous People, focuses on the social complexity in the southwestern Amazon and processes of expansion and formation of ethnic groups in the South American lowland.

In a newly published Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology article, she and co-authors present the results of interdisciplinary and collaborative archaeological research conducted in the southwestern Amazon. In the following editorial, she highlights the rich cultural heritage found at the sites and the importance of protecting these landscapes where humans have thrived for thousands of years.