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The last ten years of observational work on molecular cloud structure,
from radio and infrared techniques, have essentially changed the face
of Star Formation research. For example, there is now several lines of
observational evidence calling for a connection between cloud
structure and the IMF. At the same time, dense cores, the precursors
of stars, seem to be thermally supported objects in rough pressure
equilibrium with the parental cloud in which they are embedded.
Suddenly, the star formation process per se seems a simple (but
chaotic) conversion engine executing a "script", and operating at
relatively low efficiency. Still, we are only scratching the surface.
Understanding the cores equals understanding most of star formation.
The future of the field will then be darkest as it will dig deeper
into the fine physical and chemical structure of dense cores, in an
attempt to understand their origin and evolution (with powerful tools
such as ALMA, Herschel, JWST, and ground-based ELTs). Operationally,
observers will need to concentrate on the starless and avoid the star
forming if they want to keep complexity at a manageable level. In this
contribution I will present the latest results from the Near-Infrared
Color Excess Method (NICER) on Ophiuchus and Lupus complexes
(including the new core mass spectra), discuss the future of the NICER
technique and its extension to extra-galactic molecular clouds, and
forecast what will be the theme of EPoS 2018.
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