Are 'Fairy Circles' Just the 'Ghosts' of Termite Nests?

The discovery of fairy circles in Australia earlier this year has hardly put to rest the controversy over how these mysterious structures form. While some have argued that the geometric patterns are the work of termites, others have postulated that the circles form naturally as vegetation self-organizes in competition for scarce water and other nutrients. Previously, these patches had been observed only in southeastern Africa, mostly Namibia, but in March, a group of researchers announced that t