Notebook
- Astronomy
50 years ago, scientists wanted to build solar panels on the moon
In 1969, scientists proposed building solar panels on the moon to convert the sun’s energy into electricity that can be used on Earth.
- Health & Medicine
A cognitive neuroscientist warns that the U.S. justice system harms teen brains
The U.S. justice system holds adolescents to adult standards, and puts young people in situations that harm their development, a researcher argues.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists tried to transplant part of a human eye
In 1969, a doctor tried and failed to restore a 54-year-old man’s vision. Fifty years later, scientists are still struggling to make eye transplants work.
- Life
1 million species are under threat. Here are 5 ways we speed up extinctions
One million of the world’s plant and animal species are now under threat of extinction, a new report finds.
- Paleontology
A tiny mystery dinosaur from New Mexico is officially T. rex’s cousin
A newly identified dinosaur species called Suskityrannus hazelae fills a gap in tyrannosaur lineage.
- Physics
How scientists traced a uranium cube to Nazi Germany’s nuclear reactor program
New research suggests that the Nazis had enough uranium to make a working nuclear reactor.
- Physics
Here’s what causes the aurora-like glow known as STEVE
Amateur astronomer images and satellite data are revealing what causes the strange atmospheric glow called STEVE.
- Chemistry
50 years ago, scientists fought over element 104’s discovery
A conflict known as the Transfermium Wars marked a contentious struggle over the search for new elements beginning in the 1960s.
- Animals
A scientist used chalk in a box to show that bats use sunsets to migrate
A new device for investigating bat migration suggests that the flying mammals orient themselves by the setting sun.
- Animals
Parenting chores cut into how much these bird dads fool around
Frantic parenting demands after eggs hatch curtail male black coucals’ philandering excursions the most, a study finds.
- Astronomy
Meet one of the first scientists to see the historic black hole image
Kazunori Akiyama was one of the first scientists to see the black hole snapshot.
- Health & Medicine
Chickens stand sentinel against mosquito-borne disease in Florida
To learn where mosquitoes are transmitting certain viruses, Florida officials deploy chickens and test them for antibodies to the pathogens.
