After Empty Promises, Will String Theory Find New Uses?

Science magazine reports:
For decades, string theory promised a "theory of everything" that described all particles and forces as tiny vibrating strings. Physicists hoped it could also solve one of the field's deepest problems: reconciling quantum mechanics with gravity. But as string theory grew increasingly elaborate — and experimentally unreachable — many physicists lost hope.
Now, some researchers are revisiting the theory from first principles. In a paper in press at Physical Re