Notebook
- 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.
- Neuroscience
Our brains sculpt each other. So why do we study them in isolation?
Studying individual brains may not be the way to figure out the human mind, a social neuroscientist argues.
- Life
50 years ago, scientists were unlocking the secrets of bacteria-infecting viruses
In 1969, a bacteria-infecting virus held promise for unlocking the secrets of viral replication. Fifty years later, the virus is a versatile tool for scientists.
- Health & Medicine
A single-dose antidote may help prevent fentanyl overdoses
Packing overdose medication into nanoparticles could help it better counteract dangerous synthetic opioids.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, drug abuse was higher among physicians than the public
In 1969, physicians abused drugs at a higher rate than the general public — that’s still true today.
- Archaeology
The oldest known astrolabe was used on one of Vasco da Gama’s ships
A navigational device for taking altitudes at sea was found in a Portuguese shipwreck in the Arabian Sea and dates back to 1496.
- Animals
Meet India’s starry dwarf frog — a species with no close relatives
The newly identified starry dwarf frog represents a new species, genus and potentially even a new family.
- Life
Some shrimp make plasma with their claws. Now a 3-D printed claw can too
Scientists used a replica of a shrimp claw to re-create the extreme pressures and temperatures that the animals produce underwater.
