Notebook

  1. Climate

    These women endured a winter in the high Arctic for citizen science

    Two women have spent the winter on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to collect data for climate scientists around the world.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists were trying to get a grip on Lassa fever

    In 1970, scientists were on the trail of a deadly new virus. Fifty years later, a vaccine is just now being tested in people.

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  3. Science & Society

    New electrodes can better capture brain waves of people with natural hair

    Electrodes weren’t designed for people with thick, curly hair. A redesign is needed, says engineer Pulkit Grover.

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  4. Physics

    Listening to soap bubbles pop reveals the physics behind the bursts

    The quiet, high-pitched sound made by a popping soap bubble reveals the forces that occur during the bubble’s demise.

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  5. Space

    50 years ago, scientists were studying why the sun’s corona is so hot

    In 1970, scientists were hoping to learn why the sun’s corona is so hot during an eclipse. Fifty years later, the corona’s magnetic field may hold some answers.

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  6. Life

    Microbiologists took 12 years to grow a microbe tied to complex life’s origins

    Years of lab work resulted in growing a type of archaea that might help scientists understand one of evolution’s giant leaps toward complexity.

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  7. Environment

    50 years ago, protests and promises launched the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

    50 years ago, the upcoming Trans-Alaska Pipeline prompted an economic boom amid outrage from environmental and Native American groups.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, scientists debated the necessity of a smallpox vaccine

    In 1970, scientists debated the necessity of routine smallpox vaccinations as the disease declined. Fifty years later, the debate continues.

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  9. Space

    The sterile moon may still hold hints of how life began on Earth

    50 years ago, scientists found no signs of life on the moon. Today, lunar mission regulations may be relaxed in light of that fact.

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  10. Earth

    Debate over signs of early life inspires dueling teams to go to Greenland — together

    The remote site — which may or may not contain evidence of the most ancient life on Earth — could help scientists plan how to study such signs on Mars.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    A bioethicist says scientists owe clinical trial volunteers support

    Researchers should be aware that many insurance policies do not cover experimental procedures, including side effects that may happen afterward.

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  12. Space

    50 years ago, scientists didn’t know where heavy elements came from

    Five decades ago, scientists suspected ordinary supernovas created heavy elements. Now we know they don’t, but merging neutron stars do.

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