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We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.

  1. Computing

    Scientists Get a 2nd Life

    The virtual world of Second Life offers new ways to do and learn about real science.

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  2. Tech

    Down with the transistor

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

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  3. Humans

    A Proposed NSF for Innovation

    Researchers with the Brookings Institution have just published a blueprint for tackling what they perceive as a brewing innovation crisis. They propose that Uncle Sam create a federal agency to focus squarely on helping home-grown companies increase their innovation, productivity and profitability.

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  4. Tech

    Power from heat

    A more efficient material that converts heat into electricity could make a new kind of solar panel possible.

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  5. Tech

    Virtual Addicts

    Logging on may become more than a choice for some young people.

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  6. Tech

    Holding up

    New software pinpoints the weak spots in Michelangelo's David.

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  7. Tech

    Finding mass graves from on high

    Aerial surveys that scan the ground at many wavelengths, some visible and some not, may offer a way to quickly and easily detect mass grave sites.

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  8. Tech

    Diamond detectors

    The quantum states of single diamond impurities work as magnetic sensors that could enable nuclear magnetic resonance to detect single atoms.

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  9. Earth

    Water-Hogging Electric Vehicles

    Electric cars may save on gasoline, but some can place an indirect drain on other resources.

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  10. Tech

    Nanocrystal

    Researchers have used DNA as Velcro to create the first materials that spontaneously assemble into regular 3-D patterns.

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  11. Tech

    Smells like DNA

    By reshuffling the chemical letters of the genetic code, scientists have made short strands of DNA that can distinguish several different smells, such as explosives and food preservatives.

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  12. Tech

    Retro RAM

    A prototype memory chip stores data bits using carbon nanotubes as mechanical switches.

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