Noble gases have a reputation for being unreactive, inert elements, but more than 60 years ago Neil Bartlett demonstrated the first way to bond xenon. He created XePtF 6, an orange-yellow solid.

Last week a quartet of British climbers made it to the top of Mount Everest—and spent less than a week on the total round trip from London. That’s weeks fewer than it usually takes to acclimate to the ...