MS-ESS3-3
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
- Agriculture
Pesticides contaminate most food of western U.S. monarchs
Monarch caterpillars eat only milkweeds. A new study finds widespread pesticide use has tainted these plants across the insect’s western U.S. breeding grounds.
- Climate
Siberian heat wave that caused an oil spill made more likely by climate change
The six-month heat wave in Siberia during the first half of 2020 would not have happened without human-caused climate change, researchers find.
- Life
For teens, big problems may lead to meaningful research
Several teens who competed at the Regeneron Science Talent Search applied their STEM know-how to solve problems they or their communities faced.
- Chemistry
Australian wildfires pumped smoke to record heights
Wildfires in Australia in late December and early January spurred an unusual smoke plume that still hasn’t fully dispersed.
- Animals
Going bright may help corals recover from bleaching
When some corals bleach, they turn neon colors. Flashy hues may be part of a response that helps these corals recover and reunite with their algae.
- Materials Science
Silk-based microneedles may help treat diseased plants
Engineers have invented silk microneedles to inject medicines into plants. One day farmers might use drones to dart their sick plants with meds from the air.
- Earth
Fossil fuels appear to release far more methane than we thought
Ice cores reveal less methane than expected. This suggests today’s fossil fuel industry is responsible for nearly all of the methane emissions from natural sources today.
- Environment
CO2 emissions have nosedived as COVID-19 keeps people home
The COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel that can pollute the air. By April, travel-related daily emissions of greenhouse gases was back to 2006 levels.
- Animals
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning
Pesticide-laced nectar and pollen can permanently harm the brains of baby bumblebees.
- Environment
This ‘living’ concrete slurps up a greenhouse gas
Microbes help harden a mix of sand and gelatin into a living concrete that could interact with people and the environment in great new ways.
- Earth
Laundry tweaks can help clothes last longer and pollute less
Clothes washed in cooler water and for less time shed less dye and fewer fibers, a new study finds. That’s better for clothes — and the environment.
- Animals
Drones might one day capture a dolphin’s breath in midair
High-speed footage of dolphin spray reveals that droplets blast upward at speeds close to 100 kilometers per hour.
