Notebook

Humans

From the October 9, 1937, issue

Aging ships' hulls rejuvenated by welding, public health workers target five major diseases, and Plato celebrated as the first "round-Earther".

Humans

It’s About Time

What’s a year? Why do we measure it in days and weeks? How do calendars differ? What’s the earliest known date? (Hint: It’s the year Egyptians invented the calendar.) Learn answers to these and other timely questions at Calendars from the Sky, a site developed in part with support from the National Institute for Standards […]

Humans

From the October 2, 1937, issue

The mystery and magnificence of volcanoes, how bees dance to tell their hive-mates which flowers to visit, and the year's polio cases begin to decline.

Health & Medicine

Yummy Bugs

Do you enjoy chocolate? You can make it more nutritious by bugging it—with crickets, for example. Or how about ant-fortified tacos? This site introduces Westerners to the idea that many commonly encountered insects are edible. Indeed, most are lower in fat—and higher in protein—than beef, lamb, pork, or chicken. The site’s author argues that “insects […]

Humans

From the September 25, 1937, issue

Insulin's molecular structure revealed, a new supernova observed less than a fortnight after an earlier one, and a hypothesis for how X rays kill cancer cells.

Animals

Not Your Ordinary Amphibians

They resemble mondo worms or perhaps eels and snakes. But caecilians (seh sil yenz) are actually legless amphibians, and along with deep sea fishes are among the least well known vertebrates on the planet. Some run to a meter or more in length. Although information on these elusive animals and photos of them are hard […]

Humans

From the September 18, 1937, issue

Wiping out insects not a good idea, a novel compound for preventing deadly blood clots, and firecrackers making fireflies flash faster.

Earth

Toxipedia

Ever wonder whether some chemical in a bathroom cleanser, herbicidal spray, or paint is toxic? Just how poisonous is that chemical described in last week’s Science News? Toxicologists are developing one-stop shopping for such information at Toxipedia. Like Wikipedia, it allows the public—experts, advocates, or policymakers—to post information. Unlike Wikipedia, there is a rating system […]

Humans

From the September 11, 1937, issue

A sad story of feathered romance, observation of the 16th supernova in recorded history, and an underwater earthquake down under.

Chemistry

Kitchen Chemistry

Play with your food. That’s encouraged at this Countertop Chemistry site. Its kitchen-based teaching projects have been compiled by the Science House, an educational outreach program of North Carolina State University. Go to: http://www.science-house.org/learn/CountertopChem/

Humans

From the September 4, 1937, issue

Growling grizzlies star at Yellowstone, radioactive dating puts Earth's age at less than 3 billion years, and a suggestion that overanxious parents can turn their children into stutterers.

Earth

How Green Are Your Travels?

This website offers a rough gauge of the carbon-dioxide emissions associated with flying around the country. Just plug in a starting point and destination and it gives you a round-trip estimate of the greenhouse-gas “footprint” of your travel. The goal is to encourage visitors to buy carbon-offsets to cover the greenhouse-gas cost of their treks. […]