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From swarming robots to star dust in our bones: 2020 research stories worth a second look

With no shortage of news to cover in 2020 — a global pandemic, protests around racial justice and a contentious presidential election — you might have missed some of the insightful research, breakthroughs and discoveries Northwestern University scholars across disciplines made in 2020. 

This year, Northwestern experts found a new way to clean up oil spills, uncovered the limits of free market capitalism in a society with significant inequality and revealed that inside every human is a small amount of star dust. 

Below are some of our biggest discoveries of the year in the areas of elections and misinformation; artificial intelligence; energy and sustainability; equity and opportunity; and events in the universe.

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2020 research stories worth a second look