Feature

  1. Computing

    Pictures Only a Computer Could Love

    New, unconventional lenses shape scenes into pictures for computers, not people, so that computer-equipped microscopes, cameras, and other optical devices can see more with less.

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  2. Humans

    When Biologists Get Bombed

    Or shot at by soldiers. This isn't textbook conservation science.

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  3. Agriculture

    Detoxifying Desert’s Manna

    Farmers need no longer fear the sweet pea's dryland cousin.

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  4. Tech

    Refueling Rockets

    Hybrid-rocket fuels—part solid, part liquid—have been around for a half-century, and they may just now be taking off.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    More than a Kick

    Nicotine ramps up activity throughout the body, making the drug a suspect in many tobacco-related ailments.

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  6. Blood Work

    Knowing the identity of every protein in the liquid portion of blood could offer new ways to detect—or even treat and prevent—many diseases.

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  7. Tech

    On the Rebound

    When electronically reversed in time, acoustic echoes can zero in on a spot in space, focusing sound energy so that it may zap tumors, detect submarines, or transmit private and secure information.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    When Drinking Helps

    Sometimes a nip of alcohol can indeed prove therapeutic, though usually not until middle age.

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  9. Ecosystems

    Spring Forward

    Scientists who study biological responses to seasonal and climatic changes have noted that the annual cycles for many organisms are beginning earlier on average, as global temperatures rise.

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  10. Pass the Genes, Please

    Gene swapping muddles the history of microbes.

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  11. Tech

    The Little Engines That Couldn’t

    Tired of grinding their gears, micromachine researchers turn to surface science.

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  12. Earth

    A Safe Solution

    A home-based technique for treating microbe-contaminated water with chlorine solution could save millions of lives in countries that are currently unable to provide residents with safe drinking water.

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