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A 2-dimensional vision of the solar wind turbulence at the smallest scale seen yet, thanks to observations by Cluster satellites. The approximate location of the measurements is indicated on a graphic illustrating features of Earth’s magnetic environment. The inset shows conditions as would be seen facing the solar wind, with current sheets forming at the border of turbulent eddies. The trajectory of the Cluster spacecraft is marked on the inset by the black line and the color gradients represent the magnetic field strength intensity.

This illustration (not to scale) simulates the process by which an incoming complex wave can be identified and transmitted to a photodetector.

A preference for diving head first When a DNA strand is captured and pulled through a nanopore, it’s much more likely to start the journey at one of its ends (top left) rather than being grabbed somewhere in the middle and pulled through in a folded configuration.

This artist's concept envisions what hydrocarbon ice forming on a liquid hydrocarbon sea of Saturn's moon Titan might look like.

This image from the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity shows the patch of rock cleaned by the first use of the rover's Dust Removal Tool (DRT).

The sinuous rock feature in the lower center of this mosaic of images recorded by the NASA Mars rover Curiosity is called "Snake River." The images in the mosaic were taken by Curiosity's Navigation Camera during the 133rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Dec. 20, 2012).

Dynamic computer simulations of molecular systems depend on finite time steps, but these introduce apparent extra work that pushes the molecules around. Using models of water molecules in a box, researchers have learned to separate this shadow work from the protocol work explicitly modeled in the simulations.