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  1. Physics

    Squirming through space-time

    In the exotic realm of curved space, the topography of space itself might provide a propulsion assist—albeit a tiny one.

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  2. Earth

    More Arctic clouds may lessen warming

    Nearly 2 decades of satellite observations suggest that an increase in Arctic cloudiness at certain times of the year may partially counteract the effects of global warming in the region.

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  3. Math

    Disorder in the Deck

    Card players sometimes get lazy, shuffling a deck fewer times than necessary to randomize the cards. Indeed, persistently sloppy shuffling can have a significant impact on play–an effect that experts (and gamblers) can exploit to their advantage. However, the problem lay not in the computer but with human expectations. Subsequent research showed that hands in […]

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  4. Math

    Disorder in the Deck

    Card players sometimes get lazy, shuffling a deck fewer times than necessary to randomize the cards. Indeed, persistently sloppy shuffling can have a significant impact on play–an effect that experts (and gamblers) can exploit to their advantage. However, the problem lay not in the computer but with human expectations. Subsequent research showed that hands in […]

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Plot thickens for blood pressure drugs

    A new study counters a recent report that diuretics taken for high blood pressure protect against heart problems better than newer, more expensive drugs.

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  6. Math

    Staying in Step

    Late in the winter of 1665, an ailing Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) was confined to his room for a few days. The Dutch physicist whiled away the hours of his confinement by closely observing and pondering the odd behavior of two pendulum clocks he had recently constructed. Huygens had obtained a patent on the first pendulum […]

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  7. Discovery of bitter-taste gene is sweet

    Scientists have found that variations in a gene explain why people differ in their ability to taste bitterness.

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  8. Physics

    In orbit, water makes the stretch

    An astronaut-at-play stumbled upon an unexpected behavior of water in near-zero gravity: The formation of durable films—some as wide as saucers—that would instantly break here on Earth.

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  9. Math

    Planes of Budapest

    Nearly every Sunday during the winter of 1933 in Budapest, a small group of students would meet somewhere in the city at a park or cafe to discuss mathematics. The gathering typically included Paul Erdös (1913–1996), who was attending the University of Budapest, György (George) Szekeres, a recent chemical engineering graduate of the Technical University […]

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  10. Math

    Plato’s Molecule

    In his dialogue Timaeus, the Greek philosopher Plato (427–347 B.C.) carefully laid out his reasoning for ascribing certain geometric shapes to the minuscule particles that constituted the four elements of matter. In his view, these elements–fire, air, water, and earth–were all aggregates of tiny solids, each one having the shape of one of the regular […]

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  11. Math

    Plato’s Molecule

    In his dialogue Timaeus, the Greek philosopher Plato (427–347 B.C.) carefully laid out his reasoning for ascribing certain geometric shapes to the minuscule particles that constituted the four elements of matter. In his view, these elements–fire, air, water, and earth–were all aggregates of tiny solids, each one having the shape of one of the regular […]

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  12. 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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