Notebook
- Life
This biochemist brews a wild beer
Wild beer studies are teaching scientists and brewers about the tropical fruit smell and sour taste of success.
- Animals
3-D scans of fossils suggest new fish family tree
Analysis of specimens from China implies ray-finned fishes evolved later than previously thought.
- Animals
A researcher reveals the shocking truth about electric eels
A biologist records the electrical current traveling through his arm during an electric eel’s defensive leap attack.
- Environment
Air pollution takes a toll on solar energy
Dust and other tiny air pollutants can reduce solar energy output by as much as 25 percent in parts of the world.
- Tech
50 years ago, West Germany embraced nuclear power
In 1967, Germany gave nuclear power a try. Today, the country is trading nukes for renewables.
- Climate
Rising temperatures threaten heat-tolerant aardvarks
Aardvarks may get a roundabout hit from climate change — less food.
- Planetary Science
Moons of Uranus face future collision
By studying variations in the rings of Uranus, researchers have determined the mass and density of the planet’s moon Cressida.
- Animals
This sea snake looks like a banana and hunts like a Slinky
A newly identified sea snake subspecies is known to live in a single gulf off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
- Physics
Scientists create the most cubic form of ice crystals yet
Ice has taken on a strange structure, with its water molecules arranged in nearly perfect cubes.
- Tech
50 years ago, NASA whipped up astronaut waste into rocket fuel
In 1967, scientists found a way to turn human waste into rocket fuel.
- Tech
Meet the Bobcat Nanowagon, the world’s smallest monster truck
Chemists are scratching their heads over the wreckage of minuscule monster trucks.
- Paleontology
This ancient sea worm sported a crowd of ‘claws’ around its mouth
A newly discovered species of arrow worm that lived over half a billion years ago had about twice as many head spines as its modern kin.
