All Stories by Maria Temming
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ChemistryScientists Say: Silicon
The chemical element silicon is used to make everything from bricks to cookware to electronics.
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Health & MedicineLet’s learn about snot
For humans, snot plays a key role in fighting off diseases. Other animals have found different uses for the slimy stuff.
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SpaceScientists Say: Solar wind
This is a powerful gust of charged particles that flows out from the sun through the solar system.
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AnimalsLet’s learn about chimpanzees and bonobos
Humankind’s closest cousins in the animal kingdom may look similar, but in terms of behavior, they’re polar opposites.
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Materials ScienceThis glitter gets its color from plants, not a synthetic plastic
In the new material, tiny arrangements of cellulose reflect light in specific ways to create vibrant hues in an environmentally friendly glitter.
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LifeScientists Say: Adaptation
This word refers to a feature of a living thing that helps it better survive in its environment — or the process of that feature evolving in a population.
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EarthScientists Say: Savanna
Savannas exist where there is more rainfall than in a desert, but less than in a forest.
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SpaceLet’s learn about the hunt for alien life
Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.
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LifeScientists Say: Experiment
An experiment is a set of procedures to learn about the world — and an important part of the scientific process.
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EarthScientists Say: Avalanche
The word avalanche usually refers to a huge snowslide down a mountain, but it can also be used to describe any large mass of material tumbling downhill.
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PlantsLet’s learn about meat-eating plants
Carnivorous plants use a variety of strategies to lure in and capture their prey, from sticky traps to jawlike leaves.
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ClimateScientists Say: El Niño and La Niña
El Niño and La Niña are part of a climate cycle that results in major weather changes every few years.