Notebook
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, researchers treated chronic pain with electricity
In 1971, doctors eased chronic pain by sending electrical impulses to the spinal cord. Fifty years later, improved techniques help paralyzed people walk.
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50 years ago, U.S. commercial whaling was coming to an end
Commercial whaling has brought many whale species to the brink of extinction. But after bans, some show signs of recovery.
- Health & Medicine
A music therapist seeks to tap into long-lost memories
Alaine Reschke-Hernández is partnering with neuroscientists to figure out how music improves Alzheimer’s patients’ lives.
- Health & Medicine
Redefining ‘flesh-colored’ bandages makes medicine more inclusive
Peach-colored bandages label dark-skinned patients as outside the norm, says med student Linda Oyesiku. Brown bandages expand who gets to be normal.
- Physics
50 years ago, scientists were on a quest for quarks
In the 1970s, physicists confirmed particles called quarks existed. Fifty years later, many kinds of quarks in many combinations have been discovered.
- Animals
50 years ago, scientists made the case for a landlubbing Brontosaurus
In 1971, a scientist argued for a landbound Brontosaurus instead of a swampy swimmer. Recent evidence comes from studies of its ancient environment.
- Math
How one physicist is unraveling the mathematics of knitting
Understanding how knots influence textile properties could lead to bespoke materials.
- Physics
50 years ago, scientists poked holes in the existence of polywater
In 1971, scientists were casting doubt on an anomalous form of water. Fifty years later, water’s odd properties are still mysterious.
- Plants
Rats with poisonous hairdos live surprisingly sociable private lives
Deadly, swaggering rodents purr and snuggle when they’re with mates and young.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, urea showed promise as a sickle-cell treatment
In 1970, scientists found the first treatment for sickle-cell disease. 50 years later, they’re trying to cure it with CRISPR.
- Planetary Science
50 years ago, scientists caught their first glimpse of amino acids from outer space
In 1970, scientists detected amino acids in a meteorite. Fifty years later, a variety of chemical ingredients for life have been found in other space rocks.
- Animals
A face mask may turn up a male wrinkle-faced bat’s sex appeal
The first-ever scientific observations of a wrinkle-faced bat’s courtship shows that, when flirting, the males raise their white furry face coverings.
