Physics

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  1. Chemistry

    Slippery when dry

    Surfaces that mimic the back of an African beetle can collect water from fog.

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  2. Physics

    Catching the cell in action

    A light microscope with high resolution may enable scientists to view the 3-D structures within living cells.

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  3. Chemistry

    Phlegmatic molecules

    Time-lapse snapshots of molecules show that they change shapes less often than theory predicted.

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  4. Materials Science

    Like the Nobel, Only Norwegian

    Two weeks from now, an astrophysicist, neuroscientist, and nanoscience researcher will each be named to receive $1 million Kavli Prizes.

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  5. Space

    Neutron tie-dye

    Neutrons can produce 3-D scans of a magnetic field, even inside a solid.

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  6. Physics

    John Wheeler (1911-2008)

    SN Editor in Chief Tom Siegfried remembers the late physicist John Wheeler, who coined the term "black hole" in 1967, with excerpts from conversations the two had engaged in over the past two decades.

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  7. Math

    Less is more

    Researchers have shown that a grip that’s too tight can be counterproductive, especially on a microscopic object — but the findings could apply to fields ranging from ecology to sociology.

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  8. Physics

    Gödel, Escher, Chopin

    Musical theorists see inuitive links between musical chords and geometries.

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  9. Climate

    Air Pollution Can Be So Cool — ing

    Fossil-fuel pollution has been offsetting global warming to the tune of about 30 percent per year. Cleaning up that pollution, a must, threatens to accelerate warming unless humanity changes its fuel-use strategy.

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  10. Tech

    Down with the transistor

    A new type of electronic component could shrink computer chips and make them more powerful.

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  11. Materials Science

    Squid beaks are hardly soft

    Water softens squid beaks toward their base, so they don't cut into the squid's own soft tissue.

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  12. Materials Science

    Quantum Cocoon

    Diamond can hold quantum information even at room temperature, which makes it a candidate material for future quantum computers.

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