Issues

Most proposed extensions of particle theory’s standard model predict that the electron has an electric dipole moment just big enough to measure with new molecular-beam techniques.

From the data’s statistical properties, researchers can determine that the background has been gravitationally distorted without their knowing where the distorting foreground structures are.

Even in a complex electromagnetic environment, the spin of a single point defect in diamond can be used as a sensitive magnetometer.

Perturbing biomolecules and then watching them relax may be the kind and gentle way to determine their free-energy landscapes.

The paperwork accompanying ARRA-funded research grants adds costs for universities but provides more comprehensive metrics to gauge the benefits of basic research.

At stake is US leadership in the particle-physics intensity frontier.

Researchers are exploring ways to utilize the sensors and software inside cell phones and mobile tablets.

Recycling offers radio astronomers a cheap ticket to expand interferometers, train students, and boost science in developing countries.

Robotics, new materials, and improved energy efficiency are among the elements of a multiagency effort. But lawmakers bent on cutting spending will have to okay the new funding.

Our understanding of fundamental particles has developed in ways that were unimaginable 100 years ago, when the atomic nucleus was first glimpsed.

Seismic images of Earth’s interior offer evidence that hot columns of buoyant rock from deep in the mantle are the source of the volcanism at Yellowstone and similar hot spots. Yet mysteries remain.

For half a century, selected artists have been invited to express their visions of NASA’s undertakings. A new exhibit shares those visions with the public.

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Astronomical observations cover more than 95% of the history of galactic evolution. The considerable activity we have seen reveals the ways in which galaxies form and evolve.