Notebook

Anthropology

50 years ago, X-rays revealed what ancient Egyptians kept under wraps

In the 1970s, scientists used X-rays to unravel mummy secrets. Now, advances in technology are providing unprecedented views of ancient Egyptians.

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, scientists found a link between aspirin use and pregnancy complications

Scientists are still learning about the risks and benefits of taking aspirin at each stage of pregnancy.

Animals

Some birds learn to recognize calls while still in their eggs

For over a decade, behavioral ecologist Diane Colombelli-Négrel and colleagues have been studying how birds perceive sounds before hatching.

Environment

50 years ago, chemical pollutants were linked to odd animal behavior

Fifty years after studies hinted that pollution interferes with how aquatic creatures communicate, scientists are still unraveling its myriad effects.

Planetary Science

50 years ago, astronomers were chipping away at Pluto’s mass

Prior to the discovery of Pluto’s moon Charon, astronomers struggled to pin down the dwarf planet’s mass.

Physics

50 years ago, physicists thought they found the W boson. They hadn’t

Fifty years after a false-alarm discovery, physicists have caught the W boson and are using it to unravel mysteries of particle physics.

Chemistry

50 years ago, scientists developed self-destructing plastic

In the 1970s, scientists developed plastic that could quickly break down when exposed to light. But that didn’t solve the world’s pollution problems.

Animals

A hammerhead shark baby boom near Florida hints at a historic nursery

Finding an endangered shark nursery in a vast ocean is like finding a needle in a haystack. But that’s just what scientists did near Miami.

Animals

How some lizards breathe underwater

Researchers have figured out how some anole lizards can stay underwater for as long as 18 minutes.

Microbes

Missing Antarctic microbes raise thorny questions about the search for aliens

Scientists couldn’t find microbial life in soils from Antarctica, hinting at a limit for habitability on Earth and other worlds.

Science & Society

How science overlooks Asian Americans

Existing scientific datasets fail to capture details on Asian Americans, making it hard to assess the group’s overall well-being.

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, scientists found a virus lurking in human cancer cells

In 1971, scientists were building a case for viruses as a cause of cancer. Fifty years later, cancer-preventing vaccines are now a reality.