Crossword Clue:

A substance in the superconducting state

AnswerCrossword Clue
MTAN.E.A. offshoot in the Pine Tree State
TENNESSEETANWhat a Volunteer State NFLer can get in the sun?
RICEATNOTREDAMEEarly chapter in the bio of a former U.S. secretary of state?
IRANThe State Department denies a "secret" Gore deal in which Russian arms were sent here
ALASKAState celebrating its 50th anniversary in January 2009 (and a hint to the three theme entries)
PROTEINSubstance in the diet.
NACLSubstance in the sea's H2O
HORMONEChemical substance in the body.
ENAMELHardest substance in the human body
TALCUMSubstance in the Nash poem "Reflection on Babies"
VENINToxic substance in the venom of poisonous snakes
SNAILAnimal whose teeth are the strongest substance in the natural world
VOOMSubstance under Little Cat Z's hat in "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back"
HAIRTONICSubstance applied to Elmer Fudd's scalp in the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Rabbit of Seville"
DDTSubstance whose primary use earned its discoverer the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physiology - but is now banned