Picture a jeweler at work. Magnifier in hand, he examines a stone, studying the way light dances off it. He’s trying to determine whether it’s a diamond or merely cut glass, of engagement-ring quality ...

Last year, in July, Reine Protacio’s experiments suddenly stopped working. Every scientist encounters baffling results from time to time; you chalk it up to error, repeat the experiment, and hope for ...

It’s not often you see a white-coated scientist, test-tube in hand, carrying out experiments in the middle of a big international boat show. But work never stops aboard the stealthy-gray Damen-built ...