Notebook
- Archaeology
The oldest known astrolabe was used on one of Vasco da Gama’s ships
A navigational device for taking altitudes at sea was found in a Portuguese shipwreck in the Arabian Sea and dates back to 1496.
- Animals
Meet India’s starry dwarf frog — a species with no close relatives
The newly identified starry dwarf frog represents a new species, genus and potentially even a new family.
- Life
Some shrimp make plasma with their claws. Now a 3-D printed claw can too
Scientists used a replica of a shrimp claw to re-create the extreme pressures and temperatures that the animals produce underwater.
- Health & Medicine
Pharmaceutical abuse sent more than 350,000 people to the ER in 2016
The misuse of pharmaceuticals sent an estimated 350,000 people to U.S. emergency departments in 2016.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, doctors lamented a dearth of organ donors
Fifty years ago, surgeons’ supply of heart donations was woefully low.
- Physics
Microwaved grapes make fireballs, and scientists now know why
Electromagnetic waves bounce back and forth inside a grape, creating plasma.
- Archaeology
A 2,000-year-old tattoo tool is the oldest in western North America
The artifact is made of two pigment-stained cactus spines, and has been sitting in storage since its discovery in 1972.
- Oceans
Oceans that are warming due to climate change yield fewer fish
Warming water due to climate change is diminishing sustainable fishery yields in the world’s oceans.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, people thought MSG caused ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’
In the 1960s, people blamed monosodium glutamate in Chinese food for making them sick, but the claim hasn't stood up to time or science.
- Artificial Intelligence
Why a data scientist warns against always trusting AI’s scientific discoveries
Artificial intelligence that helps make scientific discoveries needs to get better at admitting its uncertainty, Genevera Allen says.
- Animals
50 years ago, DDT pushed peregrine falcons to the edge of extinction
In 1969, peregrine falcons were at risk of extinction. But a ban on the pesticide DDT and new captive breeding programs allowed the raptors to recover.
- Animals
A rare, ancient case of bone cancer has been found in a turtle ancestor
A 240-million-year-old fossil reveals the oldest known case of bone cancer in an amniote, a group that includes mammals, birds and reptiles.
