Science: Bachelor's Cocktail

In a laboratory at Norway's Oslo University one day last week there was no humdrum of routine work. Instead the atmosphere was charged with excitement and apprehension. Surrounded by colleagues who stood ready to man pulmotors and apply stimulants if something went wrong, Professor Klaus Hansen (Toxicology & Pharmacology) gulped down a scientific cocktail which cost $25 and just filled two teaspoons. Reason for the spinal shivers was not the cost of the drink but the fact that it was 98% pure "heavy water."

Every molecule of pure "heavy water" contains hydrogen of the...

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