Health & Medicine
The sweet truth about carbohydrates
Many carbohydrates are important sources of energy, while others offer little benefit. Learn why not all carbs are the same and how our bodies use them.
HS-LS1-6
Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for how carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from sugar molecules may combine with other elements to form amino acids and/or other large carbon-based molecules.
More Stories in HS-LS1-6
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What are ultraprocessed foods?
Packed with chemical additives, these foods have become a major part of our diets. Scientists have begun to worry about how ultraprocessed foods may impact health.
- Health & Medicine
You need to eat protein — but the right mix really matters
All proteins are not equal, research is showing. So while most Americans get plenty of protein, they might not be eating the most nutritious blend.
- Health & Medicine
What are vitamins?
Humans need 13 different vitamins to stay healthy. Most come from the food we eat. Others are made in our bodies.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Vitamin
Our bodies can’t make enough of these tiny but mighty worker molecules. That’s what makes them a dietary essential.
- Earth
Let’s learn about the carbon cycle
The total amount of carbon on Earth doesn’t change. But what form those carbon atoms take is constantly changing.
- Climate
Meet Chonkus, a mutant microbe that could help fight climate change
A hulking marine cyanobacterium, Chonkus has traits that appears to make it especially good for storing away carbon on the ocean floor.
- Animals
Putting vampire bats on treadmills revealed an energy-burning quirk
A mini gym for bats shows that vampire bats burn amino acids, rather than the carbs or fats other mammals rely on during exercise.
- Climate
An ancient log shows how burying wood can fight climate change
A blanket of clay soil helped the wood hold onto the carbon it had absorbed — for thousands of years.
- Animals
How to make ‘worms’ more nutritious — and easier to swallow
Extracting protein from insect larvae could lead to a healthful food ingredient — and you never have to bite into crunchy legs or squishy bodies.
