HS-LS2-3
Construct and revise an explanation based on evidence for the cycling of matter and flow of energy in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
- Animals
Whales get a second life as deep-sea buffets
When a whale dies and sinks to the seafloor, it becomes a feast for hundreds of different types of creatures.
-
A dirty and growing problem: Too few toilets
As the famous book says, everybody poops. That’s 7.8 billion people, worldwide. For the 2.4 billion with no toilet, the process can be complicated.
- Life
If bacteria stick together, they can survive for years in space
Tiny clumps of bacteria can survive at least three years in outer space. This raises the prospect of interplanetary travel by microbial life.
- Microbes
Some deep-seafloor microbes still alive after 100 million years!
Some starving microbes nap while awaiting their next meal. For some living miles below the ocean surface, that nap may exceed 100 million years.
- Environment
Busy beavers may be speeding thaw of Arctic permafrost
As climate change continues, busy beavers are expanding their range in Alaska. Their dams could further speed the loss of permafrost there and promote local warming.
- Animals
Toxic germs on its skin make this newt deadly
Bacteria living on the skin of some rough-skinned newts make tetrodotoxin. This paralyzing poison is also found in pufferfish.
- Tech
Our gut microbes love a good workout
Technology shows how microbes in the body respond to exercise. That helps scientists understand why those microbes keep athletes healthy.
- Environment
Greener than burial? Turning human bodies into worm food
Composting human bodies yielded good results — and good soil — in one small study. It could become an alternative to burial or cremation in one state.
- Science & Society
Science isn’t just for scientists
It doesn’t take an advanced degree or a lab to do science. All you need is curiosity and an interest in learning something new every day.
- Ecosystems
Newfound desert soil community lives on sips of fog
Lichens and other fungi and algae team up to form a 'grit-crust' on the parched soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert. Those species slake their thirst with moisture from coastal fog.
- Oceans
Small swimmers may play huge role in churning the seas
Hoards of migrating shrimp and krill can cause large-scale water movements in the ocean, a new study suggests.
- Environment
Trees can make summer ozone levels much worse
The greenery can release chemicals into the air that react with combustion pollutants to make ozone. And trees release more of those chemicals where it gets really hot, a new study finds.
