MS-LS1-5
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
- Physics
Here’s how giant pumpkins get so big
Cinderella took a ride in a pumpkin coach. Though real pumpkins do get big enough, here’s why their ride would be uncomfortable at best.
- Animals
One hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing stiff
To survive a freezing night, hummingbirds in the Andes mountains go very still, slow their heart rate and let their body temperature plummet.
- Climate
The faster trees grow, the younger they die
As climate change spurs forest tree growth, it also shortens trees’ lives. That results in a quicker release of climate-warming carbon back into the atmosphere.
- 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.
- 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.
- Animals
A single chemical may draw lonely locusts into a hungry swarm
Swarms of locusts can destroy crops. Scientists have discovered a chemical that might make locusts come together in huge hungry swarms.
- Animals
Are coyotes moving into your neighborhood?
How do coyotes survive in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago? Researchers and citizen scientists are working together to find answers.
- 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.
- Health & Medicine
Explainer: What is puberty?
Puberty isn’t just a time for zits, breasts and deeper voices. It also spurs brain development that helps teens handle emotions and deal with stress.
- Brain
Puberty may reboot the brain and behaviors
Facing adversity early in life can hurt how children learn to deal with stress. Puberty can sometimes offer a chance to reset how the body responds to stress, returning it to normal.
- Genetics
A Hong Kong man got the new coronavirus twice
His is the first confirmed case of reinfection with this virus. His second bout was detected by accident, because he showed no symptoms.
- Animals
To figure out your dog’s ‘real’ age, you’ll need a calculator
What’s your dog’s human-equivalent age? Just multiply how old it is times seven, right? Uh, no. And here’s why.
