A new tractor-beam design tilts the angle of light within a laser beam to switch from pushing (left) to pulling (right) an object. Gray arrows show the angle of this tilt.
Credit: Sang-Hyuk Lee, Yohai Roichman and David G. Grier, "Optical solenoid beams," Opt. Express 18, 6988-6993 (2010)
Eruption early in human prehistory may have been more whimper than bang
Greed may breed financial fitness, but evolution allows unselfishness to survive
Fine-tuning of technique used in other animals could enable personalized medicine
Simulation suggests long-term effect on sea level not as dire as some predictions
Coverage of the 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting
The Year in Science 2012
Three-part series on the scientific struggle to explain the conscious self
Tables of contents, columns and FAQs on SN Prime for iPad
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