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.

  1. Tech

    Wind power is looking up — to the clouds

    Placing wind turbines high in the sky could let them harvest power from the faster, more reliable winds found at altitude.

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  2. Food can make an appetizing science fair project

    Many students think they need a laboratory or special equipment for a winning research project. But finalists at the Broadcom MASTERS competition showed food-based research may require little more than your home kitchen

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Ebola treatments and vaccines could be near

    Using experimental medicines against Ebola might help to slow or end an outbreak in Africa that has defied efforts to control it.

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  4. Space

    What to wear on Mars

    NASA released details of the new, more flexible apparel being designed for long-distance travelers — such as those bound for another planet.

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  5. Tech

    Digital displays get flexible

    Flexible and unbreakable digital displays could soon be for sale, thanks to a new organic transistor made from plastic.

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  6. Earth

    Don’t let the bedbugs bite

    A trio of teens has found a nontoxic way to stop bedbugs dead in their tracks. The method relies on a mesh of fibers that a bug can step into easily — but never leave.

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  7. Tech

    The road less worn

    Two teens have found a new use for old tires. By grinding them up and adding them to asphalt, the old rubber can create stronger, longer-lived roads. And the bonus: The process recycles tires that might otherwise have been burned, creating pollution.

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  8. Chemistry

    Urine may make Mars travel possible

    On Earth, urine is a waste. En route to Mars, it could be a precious renewable commodity: the source of drinking water and energy.

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  9. Physics

    Sending student science to space

    Two teachers describe how they worked with the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program to get middle-school scientists excited about research and space.

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  10. Physics

    Filter lets in only the right light

    Scientists have built a light filter that only permits light coming from one desired angle to pass through. Built from alternating layers of transparent materials, it could help minimize the glare in telescopes and cameras or boost the efficiency of solar cells.

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  11. Physics

    Laser tweezers grab nano bits

    An optical fiber, a bit of gold and a laser make up a new type of tweezers. Scientists may soon use it to pick up and move around individual viruses or proteins.

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  12. Tech

    Branching out for safer water

    Clean drinking water could be only a tree branch away, a new study finds.

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