For the last decade, metamorphic geologist Tim Johnson at Curtin University in Australia has pondered the first billion years of Earth’s roughly 4.5 billion-year existence. His work takes him to the ...

(upbeat music) - Magic is creating the illusion that you can defy the laws of nature. (upbeat mysterious music) (energetic music) (energetic music continues) - [Audience] Wow, how did he do that?

PACIFIC CITY, Ore. — Scott Burns, professor emeritus in geology at Portland State University, thought he had seen it all — until he saw a couple of photos of an extremely rare sand formation on the ...