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Those who would like to think of this new year as a clean slate had better remember last year's unsolved problems, many of them financial. But there are also new opportunities.
This year the pneumatic tyre will have been around for 100 years, while NASA reaches the age of 30. Those wishing to join the Anniversary Waltz should read on.
This week's issue looks at new laboratory products to make research safer, faster and easier, including a robotic arm, a see-through incubator and a pocket photometer.