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SAN FRANCISCO—The competition to make the next generation of compact-disc readers continues to burn white hot. At a meeting of the Materials Research Society held here last month, a team of scientists reported creating a new type of chip-based laser that generates the shortest wavelength light yet—ultraviolet (UV). If the experimental laser could be turned into a practical device, its short wavelengths would allow it to read CDs and CD-ROMs packed with far more information than today's versions can hold.