All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Animals
Scientists Say: Quoll
This small marsupial is about the size of a housecat. It lives in Australia and New Guinea, where it is under threat from toxic toads.
- Oceans
Scientists identify plankton from space
Plankton are often too tiny for our eyes to see. But when huge numbers bloom at once, they now can be ID’d from space, a new study shows.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Radioactive
Some atoms have unstable centers. They periodically give off energy. This activity has a special description.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Osmosis
When two solutions are separated by a membrane where only the liquid can cross, the liquid will move from the side with a low concentration of dissolved materials to the side with a higher concentration. This movement has a special name.
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Flaming rainbows: Pretty, but dangerous
Students love to see colorful fires in chemistry class. But a popular flaming-salts demo has resulted in some horrible injuries. Several groups warn of its dangers and propose a far safer version.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Dioxide
Carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and zirconium dioxide all have something in common. They are all molecules with two oxygens bound to some other element.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Neurotransmitters
When brain cells need to communicate, they use chemicals as messengers. These molecules have a special name.
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Float candy on a sea of salt
tir salt into water and make a candy bar float. Sure, it’s fun — but you can also make it research. You just need a big bag of candy and some measurements to turn this demo into an experiment with density.
- Brain
Lessons from failure: Why we try, try again
We all suffer failures. But we don’t always try again. Focusing on what they can be learned might help people keep going, brain imaging data now show.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Organic
These days you might think organic refers just to food. But it has a completely different meaning in chemistry.
- Brain
Males and females respond to head hits differently
Men and women are playing sports equally — and getting concussions in comparable numbers. But how their brains respond may differ greatly.
- Math
Scientists Say: Quartile
A quartile might sound like a fourth. But that’s not quite what it is.
