Viewpoint Confined liquid controversies near closure ?

Water excites intense controversy among researchers. Its crucial role in the natural and biological world is unquestioned but much of the agreement stops [1] when it comes to details. In particular, how water behaves at interfaces is a central mystery. Some interfaces are hydrophobic [2], but here we are interested in polar surfaces, which attract water. This situation is common in the natural world, from earth and rock formations to buildings and highways, and also in the biological world, especially in living cells. When water is restricted to a thin layer at the molecular level, one refers to it as being confined. One of the most baffling aspects about confined water is whether it behaves in a special, even unique, manner or similarly to other confined fluids.