MS-LS1-4
Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
- Animals
Listening to fish love songs can predict their numbers
Gulf corvinas croak for mates while in groups of millions. By listening to their undersea serenades, scientists may be able to estimate how many are out there.
- Animals
Orangs nurse young for more than eight years!
Orangutan moms and babies have been tricky to study in the wild, so researchers used dental tests to reveal a record setting nursing period.
- Agriculture
Wild hamsters raised on corn eat their young alive
European hamsters raised in the lab turn into crazy cannibals when fed a diet rich in corn, new data show. The problem may trace to a shortage of a key vitamin.
- Genetics
How to make a ‘three-parent’ baby
Scientists combined an egg, sperm and some donor DNA: The end result: what appears to be healthy babies.
- 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.
- Agriculture
Bananas under attack: Understanding their foes
Fungal blights threaten the world’s most popular fruit. But genetic studies hint at new ways to combat some of these diseases.
- Animals
Catching ‘Dory’ fish can poison entire coral reef ecosystems
More than half of saltwater-aquarium fish sold in the United States may have been caught in the wild using cyanide, new data show.
- Plants
New species of terrifying tomato appears to bleed
A new species of Australian bush tomato bleeds when injured and turns bony in old age.
- Animals
Eating toxic algae makes plankton speedy swimmers
After slurping up harmful algae, copepods swim fast and straight — making them easy prey for hungry predators.
- Animals
Male peacocks twerk it to bring in the hens
Scientists recorded peacocks with high-speed video cameras to learn the basic mechanics behind the shows they put on for peahens.
- Animals
Spiders eat insects — and sometimes veggies
Plant-eating spiders have been found on every continent except Antarctica, a new study notes.
- Animals
Parasites give brine shrimp super powers
When infected with parasitic worms, brine shrimp survive better in waters laced with toxic arsenic, a new study finds.
