Quasicrystal quest: The unreal rock that nature made

It was a mineral so remarkable it shouldn't have existed. What on earth had made it?  How did a mystery mineral acquire remarkable properties not mimicked in the lab until 30 years ago? Finding out took one cosmologist to the ends of the Earth.
By the time Paul Steinhardt was sure the rock was what he thought it was, there was barely more than a grain of it left. He had to stick the remainder to the end of a glass rod so it wouldn't get lost.
It had taken long enough to get that far. But uncovering this unique rock's true story would take Steinhardt on a journey almost literally to the ends of the earth – and in some sense, beyond.
 

CREDITS:  http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329860.300-quasicrystal-quest-the-unreal-rock-that-nature-made.html?utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=SOC&utm_campaign=hoot&cmpid=SOC|NSNS|2013-GLOBAL-hoot