HS-ETS1-3
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about graphene
Scientists have been trying to understand and harness this material’s superpowers since its discovery in 2004.
- Physics
Neutrons are unveiling hidden secrets of fossils and artifacts
Images made with these particles have revealed details of dinosaur bones, mummies and more.
- Tech
Synthetic biology aims to tackle disease and give cells superpowers
DNA machines and protein-mimicking nanotech could replace broken machinery in cells or even lead to made-from-scratch synthetic life.
- Tech
Offshore wind farms could do far more than just make clean power
Offshore wind farms cost more than onshore ones. But their ability to make ‘green’ hydrogen and capture carbon dioxide could help this wind power pay off.
- Environment
New ultrathin materials can pull climate-warming CO2 from the air
To slow global warming, we’ll need help from CO2-trapping materials. Enter MXenes. They’re strong and reactive — and they love to eat up CO2.
- Ecosystems
Restoring giant underwater forests, one blade at a time
Giant kelp are at risk due to climate change and human activities. In New Zealand, a community effort is rebuilding these underwater algal forests.
- Tech
Particles from tree waste could prevent fogged lenses, windshields
A new coating made from a renewable resource — water-loving nanoparticles made from wood — could keep glass surfaces fog-free.
- Tech
Bits of trees can make and store energy for us to use
This cellulose and lignin, two major building blocks of trees, could lead to greener electronics.
- Tech
Bionic plants and electric algae may usher in a greener future
Some can aid the climate by removing pollutants. Others would just avoid dirtying the environment in the first place.
- Tech
How to prevent the robot replication apocalypse
Today’s bot-building robots aren’t set on world domination. But scientists and philosophers want to keep future tech in check.
- Science & Society
These teens are using science to make the world a better place
Finalists in the 2023 Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge are doing projects that aim to help others.
- Earth
Analyze This: Tropical forests have gotten patchier
Although many of the world's forests have gotten less fragmented since 2000, tropical forests have gotten more chopped up, putting animals at risk.
