Issues
Search and Discovery
High-Redshift Supernovae Reveal an Epoch When Cosmic Expansion Was Slowing Down
The Hubble Space Telescope has provided a harvest of supernovae that exploded when the universe was less than half its present linear size.
Bending Nature’s Rules to Pattern Nanostructures on Sticky Surfaces
Researchers form patterned nanowires by adapting a versatile technique used to self-assemble clusters on surfaces.
Is Sedna’s Strange Orbit the Shape of Things to Come?
A newly discovered distant minor planet may provide clues about the Sun’s early environment.
Lampreys Rely on a Molecular Switch to Detect UV Light
By applying a combination of biochemical and biophysical techniques, researchers have identified a UV-sensitive photoreceptor in the pineal gland of the Japanese river lamprey.
Letters
Issues and Events
Colwell Reflects on Six Years at NSF Helm
Colwell is proud of her accomplishments and passionate about her science, and she has a friendly relationship with both Republicans and Democrats.
Scholars Probe Nanotechnology’s Promise and Its Potential Problems
With a revolution in everything from toys to tumors on the horizon, scientists in the nanotechnology arena are working to gain the public’s trust.
Articles
Reversing Light With Negative Refraction
Materials engineered to have negative permittivity and permeability demonstrate exotic behavior, from a negative refractive index to subwavelength focusing.
Gravitational Lenses
The bending of light reveals information about dark energy, dark matter, and black holes.
A Conversation About Solid-State Physics
Hans Bethe reminisces about the first applications of quantum mechanics to the theory of solids in the late 1920s and early 1930s.