Obama inspired by students and their science fair projects

POLITICS AND POLICY: At the second annual White House science fair on 7 February, President Obama pledged new measures that will in the coming decade increase by 1 million the number of US degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math and train 100 000 new STEM teachers.

Criegee chemistry captured

PHYSICS UPDATE: An elusive but atmospherically important molecule yields to kinetic measurement for the first time.

Filmmaker is unwitting star of House shale-gas hearing

POLITICS AND POLICY: Lawmakers are critical of EPA finding that Wyoming gas well caused groundwater contamination.

Microlensing search for planets

PHYSICS UPDATE: The Milky Way seems to have more planets than stars

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A seismic story told by turbidites

DOWN TO EARTH: Sediment deposits off the coast of Washington and Oregon reveal periodic tsunami and earthquakes of similar magnitude to the ones that struck Japan's Tohoku region in March 2011.

A new x-ray light source for a new university

DAYSIDE: Like the rest of Japan's scientific enterprise in the 21st century, the country's newest university is ambitious and internationally minded.

A blind quantum computer’s laboratory debut

PHYSICS UPDATE: Quantum computing promises greater efficiency than classical computing. Quantum communication promises tamper-proof security. Combine the two and you get blind quantum computing.