Notebook

Humans

From the August 14, 1937, issue

Trees inspire a new kind of architectural support, a university sophomore finds the first mosasaur fossil west of the Rockies, and an oilman scoffs at fears over increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide due to industrial activity.

Animals

Worm Lovelies

Polyclad flatworms are soft, juicy, and delicate coral-reef dwellers. To avoid predation, many have evolved brilliantly hued coloration. It’s a trait that often signals a critter is toxic, as many of these worms indeed are. Alas, their bright skins are likely not well appreciated by members of their own species, owing to very poor eyesight. […]

Agriculture

Living Rust

Mention rust, and most of us think of the oxidized metal that signals the aging and decay of cars, fences, and bolts on the backyard deck. However, many plants also suffer from rust—in this case, fungal diseases named for their characteristic reddish-orange color. With a particularly virulent example known as Ug99 (see Wheat Warning—New Rust […]

Humans

From the August 7, 1937, issue

Ancient gold and ivory treasures from Palestine arrive in Chicago, searching for Ice Age Americans in New Jersey, and a sampling of airborne microorganisms lost with the disappearance of Amelia Earhart's plane.

Humans

From the July 31, 1937, issue

Giant dragonflies from the Carboniferous period, a dust cloud obscuring stars near the sky's north pole, and a list of 13 inventions predicted to have great social significance.

Ecosystems

Biota Behaving Badly

Members of an established ecosystem develop a sense of balance, usually permitting at least limited biodiversity and a stable structure. When interlopers arrive that aren’t responsive to the same environmental checks and balances, they can overrun the ecosystem, eliminating some members and quickly dominating others. Such bullying immigrants are known as invasive species—and they can […]

Ecosystems

Bee All

With continuing concerns about the decline of honeybees in North America—and especially the newly recognized Colony Collapse Disorder—here’s a site to learn more about the important role these and other bees play in plant health and agriculture. This academic site links to plenty of related places on the Web that also address threats to not […]

Humans

From the July 24, 1937, issue

Records of floods are written in mud, predictions that locusts will invade areas once thought safe, and the Eiffel Tower hosts the world's most powerful television transmitter.

Humans

From the July 17, 1937, issue

Tung trees from China make their mark in the southeastern United States, early concerns about oil shortages, and a suggestion that telescopes might already be seeing almost to the edge of the universe.

Health & Medicine

Phytochemical Beauty

Our Food For Thought column recently published two offerings on health-related findings about genistein, a soybean constituent. Ever wonder what that chemical looks like? Or how about capsaicin—the spicy agent in hot chilies being explored as a painkiller, lycopene—the red pigment in watermelons that may protect our skin against harmful ultraviolet rays, or sulforaphane—a trace […]

Astronomy

Help Spot Galaxies

Although computer programs can be written to sort galaxies into general categories, they would inevitably throw out the unusual, the weird and the wonderful, astronomers say. Because the human brain is much better at recognizing patterns, astronomers launched a site this week recruiting the public to help identify spiral galaxies on sky photos. Instructions are […]

Humans

From the July 10, 1937, issue

Photographing the earliest developmental stages of opossum eggs, a 'heavy electron' in cosmic rays, and teaching chimpanzees to use sign language.