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  1. Planetary Science

    A Comet’s Long Tail Tickles Ulysses

    Stretching more than half a billion kilometers, the ion tail that Comet Hyakutake flaunted when it passed near the sun in 1996 is the longest ever recorded and suggests that otherwise invisible comets could be detected by searching for their tails.

    By Ron Cowen
  2. Math

    Hiding in DNA

    Spies might have to start boning up on molecular biology to pass along and decipher secret messages. During World War II, German spies used microdots to hide information in plain view. Consisting of a greatly reduced photograph of a typed page, a microdot could be pasted on top of a printed period at the end […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  3. Math

    Hiding in DNA

    Spies might have to start boning up on molecular biology to pass along and decipher secret messages.