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Reports on the number alpha, also known as the fine-structure constant, used by cosmologists. Statement that alpha is not as constant as it would seem by a team of astronomers led by John K. Webb of the University of New South Wales in Australia; Description of the number; How it has changed; Importance of alpha.

Reports that an international team of astrophysicists has discovered that the basic laws of nature may be changing slightly as the universe ages. How the researchers, led by Dr. John K. Webb of the University of New South Wales, studied the behavior of metallic atoms in distant gas clouds and observed unusual patterns of light absorption; Implications of these patterns, which could not be explained without assuming a change in the fine structure constant.