Notebook

Physics

50 years ago, physicists found the speed of light

In the 1970s, scientists set a new maximum speed limit for light. Fifty years later, they continue putting light through its paces.

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, a ‘cure’ for intoxication showed promise

In 1972, vitamin and chemical injections reduced the amount of time that rats fed alcohol spent drunk. The science has yet to pan out for people.

Animals

A clam presumed extinct for 40,000 years has been found alive

The reappearance of living Cymatioa cooki clams places it among a group of back-from-the-dead creatures dubbed the Lazarus taxa.

Archaeology

50 years ago, Stonehenge’s purpose mystified scientists. It still does

In 1972, scientists thought Stonehenge may have been a calendar. Today, we still don’t know its purpose, but we have gained insight on its origin.

Earth

50 years ago, scientists found a new way to clean up oil spills

In the 1970s, researchers added chemicals to the list of oil spill cleanup methods. Soon, they may add microbes.

Earth

50 years ago, scientists dug into Pangaea’s past lives

In 1972, scientists wondered whether Pangaea was Earth’s only supercontinent. Fifty years later, we know it wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last.

Animals

After eons of isolation, these desert fish flub social cues

Pahrump poolfish flunked a fear test, but maybe they’re scared of other things.

Particle Physics

50 years ago, physicists got a whiff of what glues together protons

In 1972, particle smashups hinted at the gluon, which we now know not only holds together the innards of the proton, but also makes up more than a third of its mass.

Anthropology

How mythology could help demystify dog domestication

The path that dog myths took around the world closely parallels that of dog domestication, a new study finds.

Animals

How death’s-head hawkmoths manage to fly straight for miles in the dark

By tailing death’s-head hawkmoths in an airplane, scientists have found that the nocturnal insects appear to navigate using an internal compass.

Tech

50 years ago, genes eluded electron microscopes

In the 1970s, scientists dreamed of seeing genes under the microscope. Fifty years later, powerful new tools are helping to make that dream come true.

Health & Medicine

50 years ago, scientists hoped freezing donor organs would boost transplants

In the 1970s, biologists hoped to freeze organs so more could last long enough to be transplanted. Scientists are now starting to manage this feat.