You may have noticed that our front page now features the International Space Station. So what better subject for our first article in 2018 to be about the history of this engineering feat? But the ISS itself is not as remarkable as the 150-year journey for a permanent human settlement of space.

We now begin with a story written back in 1869...

IFSA is proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming 2018 Malaysia Technology Expo. We are working with our partner Protemp Group to bring into light the latest in industrial and commercial applications of everything from the biomelocular sciences to robotics.

Visit MTE 2018 for further information.

By now you should be familiar with the quantum mechanics concept of superposition - where an elementary particle can occupy multiple places at one time; a flip side to this have been a staple of science fiction - occupying multiple periods. Brandon Crilly's Moments is one of those stories, but it makes you think of all those precious moments and missed opportunities.

Although the story is brief, it's depth can be felt by anyone wishing to turn back the clock for a second chance...

If you have a sibling, you can probably note down some differences between yourselves, one of you have your father's eyes, while the other have you mother's. If you then compare yourself with your first cousins, the differences maybe more pronounced.

Now, how far do we have to go back the family tree to be completely unrecognizable? And how did this came about?

Solids are strange stuff. Although all of them consists of interlocking particles, some of them are malleable, while others are not. Some of them are naturally transparent, and others opaque. Some will readily dissolve in a liquid, while other are stubbornly stay as they are.

In this article, we explore the reasons why solids are as they are...weird.