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For years, film student Bill Parker had a nagging idea for a short movie: He'd show those letters from the "Star Wars" opening scroll raining down on Earth and exploding.

But the visual effects necessary to make his short film weren't available or affordable to him. Until now.

Using a couple of computer programs, including one that packages computerized explosions, the 20-year-old from Warrenville, Ill., produced his fan movie in December. The video went viral, getting 460,000 hits on YouTube.

From Nature:

Nature is pleased to name physicist Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and the US Secretary of Energy, as its Newsmaker of the Year.

From Nature:

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