Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
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AnimalsPalm-size marsupials may face extinction from wild ‘house’ cats
After surviving Australian bushfires, the Kangaroo Island dunnart is losing ground as it's targeted by hungry predators.
By Asa Stahl -
PlantsThe first plants ever grown in moon dirt have sprouted
This tiny garden shows farming on the moon may be difficult, although not impossible.
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AnimalsLet’s learn about amphibians
Amphibians are named after the Greek word for “double life” because many transform from water dwellers to landlubbers as they grow up.
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AnimalsWatch how a western banded gecko takes down a scorpion
New high-speed video reveals how normally mild-mannered geckos can violently shake venomous prey into submission.
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AgricultureHere’s why cricket farmers may want to go green — literally
Crickets are great sources of protein, but they often kill each other in captivity. Green light could help solve the problem, two teens find.
By Anna Gibbs -
PlantsElectric shocks act like vaccines to protect plants from viruses
To protect crops against viruses in their home country of Taiwan, two teens invented a novel approach to fight blights.
By Anna Gibbs -
ChemistryLet’s learn about cellulose
The world’s most abundant natural polymer is finding all kinds of new uses, in everything from ice cream to construction.
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AnimalsLike bloodhounds, worms are sniffing out human cancers
Scents emitted by diseased cells may usher in a new era of safe, low-cost screening tests for cancer and other illnesses.
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EnvironmentNight lights make even the seas bright
Light from coastal cities and offshore development may shine deep enough to disrupt tiny critters living dozens of meters (yards) below the surface.
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AnimalsInfected caterpillars become zombies that climb to their deaths
By tampering with genes involved in vision, a virus can send caterpillars on a doomed quest for sunlight.
By Jake Buehler -
ChemistryPonds made to control floods can spew climate-warming gases, study finds
Younger stormwater ponds can release more carbon in gases than they absorb, a study finds. That could aggravate global warming.
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AnimalsScientists Say: Migration
Migration involves the movement of animals or people from one place to another.