Notebook
- Physics
Raindrops kick up soil chemicals
The champagne-like fizz produced when a raindrop hits the ground may be responsible for the earthy aroma after a rainstorm.
- Health & Medicine
Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers
Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.
- Plants
Fairly bad pitcher traps triumph in the end
Carnivorous pitcher plant traps rarely catch much, but their lackadaisical hunting turns out not to be so lame after all.
- Astronomy
Giant rings encircle young exoplanet
Stretching 90 million kilometers from their center, 37 stripes of dust around exoplanet were probably crafted by moons.
- Neuroscience
Decoding sommeliers’ brains, one squirt of wine at a time
Researchers use a ‘gustometer’ to control wine portions in experiments comparing the brains of sommeliers and novices.
- Planetary Science
Decades-old idea brought to fruition: a mission to Mercury
In 1965, engineers proposed sending a spacecraft to Mercury with help from another planet’s gravity – a technique now used in many interplanetary missions.
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- Psychology
Emotions go unnamed for some with eating disorders
A portion of women with eating disorders have a separate problem recognizing their own emotions, a condition called alexithymia.
- Tech
Using Facebook ‘likes,’ computer pegs people’s personalities
Using limited data from Facebook, computers can outdo humans in assessing a user’s openness, neuroticism and other personality traits.
- Animals
Earth’s magnetic field guides sea turtles home
Over 19 years, geomagnetic fields changed slightly and so did loggerheads’ nesting sites.
- Humans
Babbling to babies is OK, despite previous warnings against it
Fifty years ago, a researcher advised banning baby talk, but results since then say otherwise.
- Animals
‘Bag of chips effect’ helps bats find a meal
Bats get a clue to where dinner is by listening to peers attacking prey.
