What: Perfect single-crystal diamonds of more than two carats
(the average engagement ring is less than a carat) churned out in a day. Scientists create the gemstones using a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which grows diamond crystals one carbon atom at a time.

On October 26, a Soyuz rocket will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmo-
drome in Kazakhstan, catapulting a VW Bug–size spacecraft toward Venus. If all goes as planned, Venus Express, which was built by the European Space Agency, will pull into orbit around the cloud-covered planet on April 4, 2006, becoming its first visitor since 1990. The reward upon arrival: searing heat,
hurricane-force winds and little, if any, water.

But planetary scientist Sean Solomon of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
is confident that Venus is worth the trip.