Notebook

Earth

Sense of Wonder Contest

Rachel Carson aficionados will recognize The Sense of Wonder as the title of one of that environmentalist’s books. The Environmental Protection Agency is using that title to invite people young and old—literally and collaboratively—to explore that sense in poetry, essays, and photography. It’s inviting submissions from intergenerational teams “that best express the ‘Sense of Wonder’ […]

Humans

From the April 2, 1938, issue

The science of tall tales, a fluorine-spouting volcano under ice, and viruses show signs of life.

Humans

From the March 26, 1938, issue

Ambitious plans for two World Fairs, helium replaces hydrogen as flying gas, and slowing down a fabled insect speedster.

Humans

Sing a Song of Science

These children’s tunes, produced in the late ’50s and early ’60s have a certain nostalgic innocence. At least some are traditional tunes given new expository lyrics. They deal with astronomy (like the “Constellation Jig”), energy (“Ultra Violet and Infra Red”), experimentation (“Vibration”), weather (“Warm Fronts, Cold Fronts”), and nature (“What Is a Mammal?” and “How […]

Humans

From the March 19, 1938, issue

A unique, parabolic motion picture, an aircraft pioneer contemplates the future of flight, and a formula to link large and small.

Earth

Floral Cues to Climate Change

Phenology may not be a word that trips off your tongue, but it may be one you want to consider adding to your vocabulary. It has the same root as phenomena, and in fact deals with biological events linked to climate—such as bird migrations and plant germination. The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research has set […]

Humans

From the March 12, 1938, issue

An extinct cinder cone captured from above, a mystery gland's connection to male virility, and growing fodder indoors for winter feeding.

Agriculture

Switchgrass Science

A native prairie grass shows promise as a substitute for corn in the production of fuel ethanol—an additive to stretch fossil-fuel resources for transportation. University of Tennessee researchers have produced a video on the science and prospects of switchgrass ethanol that is available in a 26-minute version and an abbreviated form. For those who don’t […]

Humans

From the March 5, 1938, issue

Shoes that give silent testimony for safety measures, ten moons and counting for Saturn, and finding oil in impossible places.

Humans

One-Stop Shopping for Every Species

On Feb. 26, the Encyclopedia of Life went live. This site hopes to become the definitive place to find information on every living species—millions and millions of them. The first extensive sets of entries will include fish and members of the potato and tomato families. But more species will be added all the time—offering basic […]

Astronomy

Urgently Wanted—Star Counters

Through March 8, an organization known as GLOBE at Night is asking for help tallying celestial bodies in the constellation Orion. Designed as a teaching aid, this star-counting program aims to emphasize the loss-of-darkness throughout the globe, a problem which hinders ground-based astronomy. Students, families, and the general public can report their results online by […]

Humans

From the February 26, 1938, issue

Evidence of religious head-hunting in ancient Peru, the link between climate and body size, and chest pain tied to obesity.