MS-ESS3-3
Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
- Animals
Food-like smell on plastic may lure seabirds to eat it
When plastic smells like supper, seabirds and other animals can be fooled into thinking it is food.
- Climate
Predicting a wildfire with data from space
When the West gets dry it can catch fire. A teen decided to find out if satellite data might show where a fire’s fuel might reside.
- Environment
Ocean of the future may make shrimp small and colorful
Carbon dioxide released into the air can end up in the ocean, making it more acidic. A teen showed that this acidification could shrink shrimp and make them more colorful.
- Animals
Spidey sense: They can hear you!
Surprise! At least some spiders can hear us. Even without eardrums, jumping spiders can still detect airborne sounds from across the room.
- Earth
Beaches can be a germy playground
Infectious microbes can flourish on sandy beaches. Scientists are now exploring how to find and monitor these hotspots for pollution that can make vacationers sick.
- Animals
Creative ways to help coral reefs recover
Coral reefs are under siege from threats ranging from climate change to explosives. But scientists are developing ways to rebuild reefs before they disappear.
- Chemistry
Laundering clothes may send indoor pollutants outdoors
Clothing absorbs pollutants from indoor air. During washing and drying, the fabric releases those chemicals into the outdoor environment, a new study finds.
- Health & Medicine
U.S. to outlaw antibacterial soaps
Soaps with germ-killing compounds promise cleaner hands. But manufacturers couldn’t show they offer any safety advantage. Now the U.S. government is banning them.
- Animals
Cool Jobs: Linking animal health to human health
Scientists who watch out for diseases in wild animals also can play a role in keeping people from getting sick.
- Earth
Non-scents: Pollution can confuse pollinators’ sniffers
New research uses computers to predict how much longer it takes bees and other pollinating insects to sniff out lunch in a polluted environment.
- Climate
Climate closing the gender gap for this mountain flower
Among valerian plants, males like it hotter than the females do. So a warming climate has been speeding their migration up once-cool mountainsides.
- Animals
Current coral bleaching event is the longest known
Heat stress has led to the longest coral bleaching event on record. Scientists now worry that global warming may make such prolonged crises more frequent.
