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SCIENCE IN THE NEWS WEEKLY

Insulator Blamed for Illinois Reactor Shutdown

Officials believe they may have traced the cause of an Illinois nuclear reactor shutdown to a piece of equipment at a switchyard.

In other technology news, physicists have made a small x-ray laser that works much more like the conventional laser you might carry around in your pocket.

An elephant at Amsterdam's Artis Zoo has become the first of her species in Europe to be fitted with a contact lens.

And, finally, among the gadgets unveiled at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a pair of smartphones able to exchange data using light. These prototypes from Casio, a Japanese firm, transmit digital signals by varying the intensity of the light given off from their screens.