Notebook
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It’s a Small World
The apparently fictitious “Institute for the Promotion of the Less than One Millimeter” offers a visual smorgasbord of microbiological images. Wim van Egmond describes his “Micropolitan Museum” as portraits of what he can scoop up with a pipette or tweezers. He’s got marine and freshwater collections, a botanical garden, and an insectarium. The latter two […]
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My DNA Project
Having trouble cracking the code that geneticists use to describe new molecular advances in health and medicine? Well, researchers at the University of Massachusetts have developed a program aimed at helping the public acquire the tools—including vocabulary, and background information—necessary to “become comfortable with genome issues, and to learn how to take advantage of the […]
- Humans
From the December 11, 1937, issue
A sturdy new building for a mountaintop weather station, proving the authenticity of a treasure, and tracking cosmic rays underground.
- Humans
From the December 4, 1937, issue
The perfect beauty of frost rime, the sun's surprising influence on earth, and digging up evidence of ancient domestic cats.
- Earth
Water Vapor by Any Other Name
One can learn a lot by studying clouds—or just relax and soak in their beauty. Subscribers to both schools can find plenty of fodder in the British Cloud Appreciation Society’s gallery of nearly 3,200 photos. They’re organized by meteorological type, optical effects, and even by what a cloud might resemble—like “Casper the Ghost, spotted over […]
- Humans
From the November 27, 1937, issue
A smashing new particle accelerator comes to the nation's capital, a new subatomic particle reveals its weight, and pollen in a Wisconsin bog tells of past climate change.
- Humans
Support for Evolution
Alliance for Science seeks to unite prominent scientists and other influential opponents of creationism “to educate the public about the different but complementary roles of science and religion; to improve the teaching of science in our public schools; and to restore the excitement about science and discovery.” One new enterprise it’s sponsoring: an essay contest […]
- Humans
From the November 20, 1937, issue
An American Nobel laureate in physics, the need for research in the chemistry of petroleum, and a new way to send photographs by telegraph.
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Poles Apart, but Viewed Together
We’re well into the International Polar Year, which actually runs for 2 years. The program, which is coordinating teams doing Arctic and Antarctic research, will allow the public to periodically check in on developments. For instance, people will be able to follow polar animals as they fly around the Antarctic, swim through the oceans, or […]
- Humans
From the November 13, 1937, issue
Reconstructions of European dwellings from 2 and 4 millennia ago, an asteroid traveling at record-breaking speed, and a headlight that tilts as the car goes up or down a hill.
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Climate of Debate
Want to get working climate scientists’ take on new and developing climate science? This site—developed for the interested public and journalists—aims “to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion here is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or […]
- Humans
From the November 6, 1937, issue
Giant electrical generators take shape in Pittsburgh, astronomers puzzle over unusual stellar spectra, and a dinosaur ancestor from Texas visits Harvard.
