A tool that uses light to manipulate matter inside living cells has begun to explain how proteins assemble into different liquid and gel-like solid states, a key to understanding many critical cellular operations.

The global ocean is the Earth’s heating and cooling system, pushing balmy tropical waters toward the poles and bringing back colder, nutrient-rich waters. But modeling this system is extremely complex, resulting in billions of data points. To tackle the complexity, researchers at three Princeton-area institutions have transformed complex modeling data into an easily understandable animated movie showing how ocean temperatures and saltiness change over time.