Notebook
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- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, a promising agent pulled
DMSO was promised to cure everything from headache to the common cold. But human testing stopped in 1965.
- Animals
When tarantulas grow blue hair
Azure coloring is surprisingly common in the spiders, though they themselves are colorblind.
- Physics
Aircraft industry could take tips from penguins
Tiny grooves and an oily sheath prevent water droplets from freezing on the feathers of some penguins.
- Astronomy
This white dwarf is hotter than the rest
A new record holder for hottest white dwarf sizzles at about 250,000˚ Celsius.
- Health & Medicine
Cow bites and spacecraft injuries enliven new medical diagnostic codes
The 10th edition of International Classification of Diseases went into effect in 2015, and it included some interesting additions.
- Climate
Report card shows which states are best prepared for climate change
A preparedness report card shows that some states aren’t ready for the extreme heat, droughts, wildfires and flooding that may come with climate change.
- Genetics
Roosters run afoul of genetic rules
Moms aren’t always the only ones that pass mitochondrial DNA to offspring, a study of chickens finds.
- Climate
Fireworks brighten the sky but dampen the view
Fireworks and other pyrotechnics severely reduce visibility during celebrations such as New Year’s Eve and Guy Fawkes Day, researchers report.
- Physics
Uncovering the science of sand dune ‘booms’
Mechanical engineer and geophysicist Nathalie Vriend explores noises in the desert that are triggered by sand sliding down dunes.
- Science & Society
Links between scrapie and MS less likely
Five decades later, scientists still puzzle over what causes multiple sclerosis.
- Earth
Humankind’s water use greater than thought
Humans’ global water footprint increases when accounting for water losses from water management practices.
