Glass is a common material while glassy state refers to a state of matter exhibiting the properties of a solid but its molecules retain the disorder of a liquid. Understanding glassy state is important for life science.

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Two forms of silica (SiO2) illustrate the difference between amorphous and crystalline solids. In both states, a silicon atom is bound to four oxygen atoms; however, the arrangement of atoms is disordered in the glassy state and highly ordered in the crystalline state. (In these illustrations, the fourth oxygen atom has been omitted to represent the structure in two dimensions).

The ancient art of turning flat sheet into 3D structures (origami) has inspired the new technology of using light to induce sheets of polymer gel to fold into different complex shapes. The technology has medical implications.

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A neurosurgeon's spiritual journey of discovery - the book entitled "The scalpel and the soul" is a series of stories, each inspired by real patients and events encountered by the doctor.

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At the ancient pond...A frog plunges into...The sound of water. ---- lines by Basho Matsuo (1644-1694), Japanese haiku poet, translation from The Sound of Water by Sam Hamill

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