Notebook
- Environment
Humans’ stuff vastly outweighs humans
The human-made technosphere weighs 30 trillion tons and surpasses the natural biosphere in mass and diversity, researchers estimate.
- Paleontology
Baby dinosaurs took three to six months to hatch
Growth lines on teeth indicate a surprisingly long incubation period.
- Planetary Science
Weird wave found in Venus’ wind-whipped atmosphere
A 10,000-kilometer-long gravity wave arched across the upper atmosphere of Venus. The feature may have been the largest of its kind in the solar system.
- Plants
Meat-eating pitcher plants raise deathtraps to an art
The carnivorous California pitcher plant ensnares its dinner using a medley of techniques.
- Paleontology
Tomatillo fossil is oldest nightshade plant
Two 52-million-year-old tomatillo fossils in Patagonia push the origin of nightshade plants back millions of years, to the time when dinosaurs roamed.
- Astronomy
Saturn’s 10th moon was the first satellite discovered in the modern space age
Fifty years ago, astronomers knew of 10 moons orbiting Saturn. Since then they’ve catalogued a diverse set of 62 satellites, with the help of the Cassini spacecraft.
- Animals
These acorn worms have a head for swimming
The larvae of one type of acorn worm are basically “swimming heads,” according to new genetic analyses.
- Archaeology
Ancient Egyptian pot burials were not just for the poor
In ancient Egypt, using pots for burial containers was a symbolic choice, not a last resort, archaeologists say.
- Genetics
50 years ago, alcohol use was linked to several gene variants
50 years later, scientists are still searching for genes that influence drinking.
- Planetary Science
Moon’s lava tubes could be colossal
Lava tubes inside the moon could remain structurally sound up to 5 kilometers across and offer prime real estate for lunar colonists.
- Health & Medicine
Birth defects occur in 1 in 10 pregnancies with first trimester Zika infection
About 6 percent of U.S. women infected with Zika virus have infants or fetuses with birth defects, according to preliminary CDC results. For women infected in the first trimester, the number is even higher: nearly 11 percent.
- Health & Medicine
Penicillin allergy? Think again.
Most people are either mislabeled with a penicillin allergy or get over it with time, and doctors don’t always think to check.
