MS-LS1-5
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
-
These lemurs take nose-picking to a new level
A nose-picking aye-aye’s spindly middle digit probably pokes all the way into the back of the throat, CT scans show.
- Animals
Prairie voles can couple up even without the ‘love hormone’
Scientists thought the chemical oxytocin was required to make prairie voles mate. They were wrong.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: Why it’s easier to get sick in the winter
Low humidity helps viruses survive, and cold weather blunts some of the body’s immune responses — making colds and other viral infections more likely.
- Brain
The pandemic prematurely aged teens’ brains
A small study showed certain structural changes that appeared three to four years early. Normally, premature aging of the brain is not a good sign.
- Animals
This parasite makes wolves more likely to become leaders
Gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions. This makes them more likely to become pack leaders or strike out on their own.
- Environment
Microplastic pollution aids viruses and prolongs their infectivity
The tiny plastic bits give these germs safe havens. That protection seems to increase as the plastic ages and breaks into ever smaller pieces.
- Health & Medicine
Toddler now thrives after prenatal treatment for a genetic disease
Ayla was treated before birth for the rare, life-threatening Pompe disease. Now a thriving 16-month-old toddler, her treatments will still need to continue.
- Health & Medicine
An asthma treatment may also help tame cat allergies
Adding a therapy used to treat asthma improved cat allergy symptoms for more than a year, a small study found.
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Earth
Analyze This: Wildfires are pumping more pollution into U.S. skies
Researchers wanted to study the health effects of wildfire smoke. But they realized they didn’t know where it was and how much exposure people had.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Glymphatic System
The glymphatic system bathes the brain in cleansing fluids during sleep and clears away harmful cellular waste.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about microplastics
Microplastics have turned up everywhere from the highest mountains to the bottom of the ocean — and even inside animals and people.
