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Reviving the fortunes of South African science after years of political isolation is proving an uphill task. The needs are enormous, while funding remains as tight as ever. Nevertheless many researchers remain optimistic.
Cleaning up the legacy of US nuclear weapons production is now the largest environmental project in the world. But science is finding it difficult to contribute to closing the circle opened by the Manhattan Project.
Although athletic records continue to be broken, constraints on human physiology inevitably imply overall limits to achievement. Approaching these limits may change the nature of the Olympic Games.