A.D. 1728 | Tooth worm, part II: French dentist Pierre Fauchard publishes work that helps dispel the tooth worm myth, at least among dentists. The myth persists in popular lore, however, until the 20th century.
A.D. 1847 | Filling the gap: Edwin Truman introduces a natural latex called gutta-percha, made from trees found in Southeast Asia, for use in root canal fillings. Previously, dentists had used anything from silver to lead to asbestos.
A.D. 1965 | Laser power: Researchers find that treatme ...read more
An automated combine harvests crops. (Credit: Hands-Free Hectare)
Is there anything more quintessentially American than a farmer in the heartland, toiling away on their land? But this vision of agrarian life will fade into the dusty shelves of sentimental nostalgia, because agriculture is poised to become an industry ruled by robot laborers. Companies like Hands Free Hectare (HFHa) are leading the way.
After a year of work, the HFHa project successfully harvested a crop of spring barley, grown ...read more
Saturn’s moon Enceladus. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
When aliens arrive in the movies, they typically come from distant galaxies. Extraterrestrial life, however, could exist right here in our own solar system, nestled in briny oceans under the surface of icy worlds close to home.
Multiple moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn have proven to hold, or once held, liquid oceans. Of these, Saturn’s moon Enceladus has emerged as the most promising candidate for li ...read more
A new study shows that one million birds have been influenced by NYC’s annual “Tribute in Light,” which memorializes 9/11 victims. Scientists say the study shows the larger impact of light pollution. (Image by Abc36/Wikimedia Commons)
For one night every year, 88 Manhattan searchlights beam two columns of light toward the heavens. These “phantom towers,” known as the Tribute in Light, are an annual reminder of the thousands who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks.
...read more
Vilso Cembranel tends to the moon tree he saved from the brink of death. (Credit: Andrew Jenner)
On a warm, windy August day in 1981, a crowd gathered at the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa for the final event of the soybean fair that’s held every other year in the small city in southern Brazil.
Schools had let out so local students could attend, along with curious fairgoers and a collection of bigwigs whose rank rose all the way up to João Figueiredo, then the president of Brazil. Spee ...read more
Lancaster University researcher Christopher Clarke selects a channel to watch by using his mug as a remote control. He moves his drink left or right until to find what he wants to watch. (Credit: Lancaster University)
Take a look at the objects around you. Using a new gesture control technology, any one of those items—even your pets—could control your television. The remote will never be lost again!
Researchers from England’s Lancaster University have developed a new technolog ...read more
Fishermen working with a cooperative dolphin to enhance their catch. Photo Credit: Carolina Stratico
When the mullet migrate northward, the fishermen in Laguna, Brazil are waiting. They rise early and take their places in line, waist-deep in the water, tarrafa—a kind of circular throwing net—in hand. Without a word, the dolphins arrive, herding schools of mullet towards the fisher line. The fishers say that the dolphins are an essential part of their fishing; they wait to ...read more
