The microbes didn't use the hydrazine to launch themselves into orbit, but as an intermediate step in a larger process.

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Some might add shale gas to that list as an intermediate step on the way to true low-carbon technologies.

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Continental's highly automated vehicle, however, is an intermediate step toward autonomous driving.

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On the Start screen, dynamically updated "live tiles" show users real-time content directly, breaking the mold of static icons that serve as an intermediate step on the way to an application.

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The researchers caught an intermediate step in the process by which hydrogen is removed from tryptamine, namely the point at which a proton disappears from a carbon atom as the carbon-hydrogen bond breaks.

ECONOMIST: Biochemistry: Evolving enzymes | The