Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Environment
Explainer: How and why fires burn
A fire’s colorful flame results from a chemical reaction known as combustion.
- Health & Medicine
Intel STS finalist finds new flu fighters
Intel Science Talent Search finalist Eric Chen used a computer simulation to narrow down chemical targets to fight influenza. The drugs that he identified could be the next big weapons against flu.
- Animals
Passing diseases from bee to bee
A study finds that the viruses and parasites that plague honeybees can infect bumblebees too, sickening another important pollinator.
- Earth
Intel STS finalist brings earthworms to the big time
Earthworms and charcoal help plants resist infections, according to research by Anne Merrill, a finalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search.
- Animals
‘Crazy’ ant fight
By neutralizing the poison produced by fire ants, ‘crazy’ ants can survive heated battles. And that may help explain why crazy ants are edging out fire ants in parts of the southern United States.
- Earth
Mining metals amidst seafloor animals
Miners may need to get their feet — and everything else — wet as they carefully seek out loads of copper and other valuable natural resources.
- Microbes
Arctic thaw is spreading wildlife diseases
Polar animals are encountering new, killer parasites as melting ice unlocks their access to new hosts.
- Animals
First living fish leaves ‘endangered’ list
Twenty-one years ago, a minnow facing a high risk of extinction was placed on the U.S. Endangered Species List. With help from scientists, the fish appears to have largely recovered. It’s the first ‘listed’ fish to do so.
- Animals
A weekend for the birds
February 14 to 17 is this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count. It offers an opportunity to not only learn about the birds in your neighborhood but also contribute to science.
- Life
Caught in the act
Scientists observe some evolutionary speed demons as they adapt over the course of just a few years to new environmental conditions.
- Earth
Explainer: Antarctica, land of lakes
There are many, although they tend to be buried under rivers of ice.
- Animals
Explainer: Animals’ role in human disease
Wildlife, livestock and pets are the source of most germs that can sicken people
