Notebook
- Environment
50 years ago, American waterways were getting more protections
A 1970 bill that became the Clean Water Act helped to double the number of U.S. waterbodies clean enough for swimming and fishing. In January, the U.S. administration changed how waters were defined, effectively removing those protections for half the country’s wetlands.
- Life
Algae use flagella to trot, gallop and move with gaits all their own
Single-celled microalgae, with no brains, can coordinate their “limbs” into a trot or fancier gait.
- Science & Society
The U.S. has resisted the metric system for more than 50 years
Australia adopted the metric system 50 years ago. The United States tried by passing legislation for a voluntary conversion that was largely ignored.
- Climate
These women endured a winter in the high Arctic for citizen science
Two women have spent the winter on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard to collect data for climate scientists around the world.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists were trying to get a grip on Lassa fever
In 1970, scientists were on the trail of a deadly new virus. Fifty years later, a vaccine is just now being tested in people.
- Science & Society
New electrodes can better capture brain waves of people with natural hair
Electrodes weren’t designed for people with thick, curly hair. A redesign is needed, says engineer Pulkit Grover.
- Physics
Listening to soap bubbles pop reveals the physics behind the bursts
The quiet, high-pitched sound made by a popping soap bubble reveals the forces that occur during the bubble’s demise.
- Space
50 years ago, scientists were studying why the sun’s corona is so hot
In 1970, scientists were hoping to learn why the sun’s corona is so hot during an eclipse. Fifty years later, the corona’s magnetic field may hold some answers.
- Life
Microbiologists took 12 years to grow a microbe tied to complex life’s origins
Years of lab work resulted in growing a type of archaea that might help scientists understand one of evolution’s giant leaps toward complexity.
- Environment
50 years ago, protests and promises launched the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
50 years ago, the upcoming Trans-Alaska Pipeline prompted an economic boom amid outrage from environmental and Native American groups.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, scientists debated the necessity of a smallpox vaccine
In 1970, scientists debated the necessity of routine smallpox vaccinations as the disease declined. Fifty years later, the debate continues.
- Space
The sterile moon may still hold hints of how life began on Earth
50 years ago, scientists found no signs of life on the moon. Today, lunar mission regulations may be relaxed in light of that fact.
