Well, "near" is a relative term. We may note that molecules can exist only in a state "near" absolute zero, i.e. temperatures much less than the surface of the sun. The physicist relishes this sliding scale, which appears in all things.
"The average kinetic energy of the water protons directly obtained from the neutron experiment is a measure of their motion at almost absolute zero temperature and is about 30 percent less than it is in bulk liquid or solid water," Kolesnikov said.
I suppose "almost", as used in the UPI article, is more scientifically precise than "near".
I would just like to know what this new physical state of matter is like without personally approaching absolute zero.
By the way, I don't believe in plasma.