A ductile steel shows its strength Many industrial applications require materials to have high strength while remaining pliable, or ductile. However, the microstructure that increases strength tends to reduce ductility. He et al. used a processing mechanism to create a “forest” of line defects in manganese steel. This deformed and partitioned steel was produced by cold-rolling and low-temperature annealing and contained a dislocation network that improved both strength and ductility. Science , this issue p. 1029