The technique uses a weak acid to dissolve silicate minerals. That frees not only the lithium but also other useful materials, including alumina and silica.

“At scale, we believe this will be the lowest-cost way of sourcing lithium in the world,” says Yet-Ming Chiang, an MIT professor who co-authored a study of the process published yesterday in Science .

Startup Rock Zero is already working to commercialize the research. Read the full story on a new way to unlock the world’s lithium .

—Casey Crownhart

The deadly Ebola outbreak is proving difficult to control

The alert was raised on May 5. Four health-care workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had died from an unknown illness within four days. Tests in Kinshasa revealed the culprit: the Bundibugyo virus, one of the causes of Ebola.

A couple of weeks ago, an outbreak of hantavirus erupted aboard a cruise ship. Three people died, but the outbreak was kept under control.…