The world’s hardest natural material also has the most enthralling sparkle – these two properties mean that tiny diamonds are giving us dramatic new ways of interacting with the human body.

Researchers are building a diamond-based device that can remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and transform it into valuable chemicals, including fuel. 

Engineers are using laser pulses that last 10 trillionths of a second and self-learning cooling systems to craft new diamond tools that are more durable and efficient than ever before.

New experiments that crush material between two diamonds to simulate the extraordinarily high temperatures and pressures found in the earth's interior are providing answers to the age-old questions of what our planet is made of, and where its ingredients came from.