Notebook

  1. 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.

    By Meghan Rosen
  2. 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.

    By Erin Garcia de Jesús
  3. 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.

    By Susan Milius
  4. 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.