Brief Points, June 2006

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The world's first optical telescope dedicated to finding extraterrestrial intelligence opened April 11 in Harvard, Mass. The 72-inch-wide mirror is designed to glimpse any otherworldly laser flash lasting at least one nanosecond.

The Planetary Society announcement, April 11

Flower power: the diversification of ants 100 million years ago depended on the coincidental emergence of flowering plants, which presented ants with new ecological opportunities.

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Science, April 7

Jesus may well have walked on water—in its frozen state. The Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret in modern Israel) could have chilled enough for parts of it to ice over during protracted cold spells 1,500 to 2,500 years ago.

Journal of Paleolimnology, April

When hit with the right laser frequency, gold particles 50 nanometers wide can heat up enough to meltice over an area 1,000 times as big. The technology may offer a precise way to burn targets such as tumor cells.

Nano Letters, April 12

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