Researchers at Baylor University are working on adapting lithophanes—an ancient artistic medium—for modern efforts to make scientific images accessible and understandable via touch. Lithophanes, which are thin, detailed engravings made from translucent materials, are thought to have originated in China as early as the seventh century and rose in popularity in Europe in the 1800s. The new lithophanes from the Baylor researchers are the first known examples of their kind and are intended for use as tactile learning tools for blind and visually impaired individuals. The new lithophanes can enable sightless or low-vision individuals to visualize microscopic and nanoscopic structures—for instance, in the subjects of anatomy and chemistry—with a greater level of detail and retainability than previously possible—and even at the same "resolution" as that of sighted individuals. See also: Learning; Visual impairment

Using traditional welding methods, rocket engine nozzles and combustion chambers are some of the most difficult parts to fabricate, requiring up to a year to produce a single part. Now, however, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is using additive manufacturing technology, also known as 3D printing, to additively build those parts, layer upon layer. This technology differs completely from traditional manufacturing methods that manufacture destructively by taking away material until a final geometry is realized. 3D printing has allowed NASA to produce rocket engine nozzles with integrated cooling channels in 30 days by way of an additive process called blown powder directed energy deposition (BP-DED). See also: Nozzle; Rocket propulsion; 3D printing

3D printing, also known as stereo modeling or rapid prototyping, starts with a computer-aided design (CAD) [digital drawing] file of an object. The CAD file is then converted to a 3D printer file, which represents the object in layers and directs the printer to deposit layer upon layer of material to build an object from bottom to top. See also: Computer-aided design and manufacturing

Cosmochemists have discovered the oldest solid material known to exist on Earth. The material, stardust, consists of silicon carbide grains measuring around one micrometer in size. The grains date back approximately 7 billion years, or about 2.5 billion years before the Sun and solar system formed. Aged stars nearing the end of their life cycles originally forged the grains, which then were captured inside a meteorite that formed around 4.6 billion years ago, eventually crashing into Australia in 1969. Analyzing the dust will help scientists study previous stellar generations in our galaxy. See also: Milky Way Galaxy; Star; Sun

On July 20, 1969, the bulkily space-suited figure of astronaut Neil Armstrong descended the ladder of Apollo 11’s lunar lander, planted his boot in the Moon's gray dust, and declared: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." This first visit to Earth's natural satellite—the culmination of NASA's Apollo 11 mission—was a seminal moment in the history of human space exploration (Fig. 1). See also: Moon; Space flight

On April 29, 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported five earthquakes in Oklahoma of magnitude 2.5 or greater—that is, tremors strong enough to be felt. The most powerful of these was a M4.1 earthquake 21 km (13 mi) west of the city of Perry in north-central Oklahoma. Based on recent evidence reported by the USGS, these earthquakes were almost certainly induced by human activity as a consequence of the injection of wastewater from oil and gas production into deep disposal wells. See also: Earthquake; Oil and gas field exploitation; Well

On April 25, 2015 at 11:56 a.m local time, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck in the district of Lamjung, approximately 80 km northwest of Kathmandu, Nepal. The earthquake, now known as the Gorkha quake, occurred as the result of thrust faulting [15.0 km (9.3 mi) in depth] in the region where the India plate is sinking (subducting) beneath the Eurasia plate, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Damage to buildings was extensive and over 8700 people were killed. See also: Earthquake; Fault and fault structures; Subduction zones

A magnitude 5.1 nuclear test was detected 376 km (234 mi) NE of Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK) on January 6, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. local time (01:30 UTC), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The event was picked up at seismic stations around the world. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) said that the explosion occurred in roughly the same area as North Korea’s previous nuclear test on February 12, 2013. See also: Nuclear explosion; Nuclear testing; Seismographic instrumentation

The Ebola virus comprises a group of pathogenic agents that cause severe and deadly hemorrhagic fevers in humans and other primates. During 2014 and 2015, an Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa—predominantly, the countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone—killed more than 11,300 people; it was the worst outbreak of this disease in recorded human history. At that time, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), and massive efforts were undertaken to contain the spread of the deadly disease. By early 2016, the affected countries were declared free of Ebola virus transmission, and the epidemic was considered to have ended. However, since then, isolated outbreaks have occurred sporadically, mostly as a result of the virus persisting in survivors after recovery. Most troublesome, though, the Ebola virus was detected in August 2018 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Central Africa and has since expanded dramatically. It is now the second-largest Ebola outbreak on record. As of June 2019, more than 2000 Ebola cases have been detected, with more than 1350 resultant deaths. See also: Africa; Ebola virus; Ebola virus outbreak in 2014–2015; Exotic viral diseases; Infectious disease; Virus

The United Nations has proclaimed 2019 the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019). The same year also marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic table, containing 63 elements, in which the known elements were arranged horizontally by their atomic weight and vertically in groups of elements with similar "periodic" properties. The present periodic table, containing 118 elements, is completely filled. It includes element 101 named mendelevium (Md). According the United Nations, the purpose of this commemoration of the periodic table is, “to enhance global awareness of and education in the basic sciences.” A number of IYPT2019 special events have been planned. See also: Atomic mass; Mendelevium; Periodic table