Notebook
- Paleontology
New dinosaur sported a curious set of chompers
Matheronodon provincialis, a newly described dinosaur, munched on tough plants with big scissors for teeth.
- Life
A new material may one day keep mussels off piers and boat hulls
Mussels don’t stick to a new lubricant-infused silicone material.
- Tech
50 years ago, engineers tried catching commercial planes in nets
Fifty years ago, aviation experts tried helping commercial aircraft come to a stop during landing by catching them in massive nets. The idea crash-landed for commercial flights, but it’s still used in the military.
- Astronomy
Here’s what space toilets can teach us about finding signs of alien life
Lessons learned from flushing space toilets can help researchers plan life-hunting missions to icy moons.
- Animals
Surgeon aims to diagnose deformities of extinct saber-toothed cats
Using CT scans, one orthopedic surgeon is on a quest to diagnose deformities in long-dead saber-toothed cats.
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- Astronomy
50 years ago, a spacecraft discovered oxygen in moon rocks
In 1967, scientists dreamed of lunar processing plants to turn moon rocks into oxygen.
- Health & Medicine
Six in seven contact lens wearers take unnecessary risks with their eyes
A lot of contact wearers are not practicing healthy habits with their lenses, a national survey finds.
- Astronomy
How a meteor shower helped solve the case of the vanishing comet
A missing comet has been linked to a long-lost meteor shower, helping astronomers recover both.
- Paleontology
This giant marsupial was a seasonal migrant
A new analysis suggests that Diprotodon optatum, a giant plant-eating marsupial that went extinct about 40,000 years ago, migrated long distances, much like today’s zebras and wildebeests.
- Health & Medicine
About 1 in 5 teens has had a concussion
Almost 20 percent of U.S. teens have had at least one diagnosed concussion in the past, an analysis of a 2016 national survey finds.
- Psychology
Confusion lingers over health-related pros and cons of marijuana
50 years ago, the effects of chronic marijuana smoking on mental health were hazy. They still are.
