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Optical Tweezers

Unwind a chromosome to see how it’s put together? Sort cells with a light beam? Make a model of a molecular motor? All these and more—welcome to the world of optical tweezers, where cells and even individual molecules are manipulated with laser light. Read More »


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Laura Smoliar

Laura Smoliar became interested in physics at a young age – her mother was a physicist. “Sometimes I’d get to go to her lab,” Smoliar said. “It was a fun place. There were lots of toys.” Read More »


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Physics Buzz Blog

Black Hole Thursdays.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Astronomers have for the first time developed a technique to view rapidly spinning disks of gas found near black holes.Their observations allowed them to confirm the that the electromagnetic spectra of these accretion disks match what astronomers have long predicted, giving a boost of hard evidence to current quasar formation theory.The team of researchers gazed into the night on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, looking through the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. They were able to measure the spectrum of.. Read more »