MS-LS1-8
Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
- Psychology
Addiction can develop when reward-seeking changes a teen’s brain
Over time, the pleasure disappears and craving grows. That craving causes stress that can drive people to use drugs or pursue unhealthy behaviors again and again.
- Animals
A panda stands out at the zoo but blends in the wild
A panda may stand out among bamboo at the zoo, but in the wild, its black-and-white coloring camouflages it from predators. Learn more with this web comic.
- Physics
Future cars may offer personal sound zones — no earphones needed
Zones that offer each passenger personal listening are closer to reality. A new design improves performance by adapting to the conditions in your car.
- Tech
A sense of touch could upgrade virtual reality, prosthetics and more
Scientists and engineers are trying to add touch to online shopping, virtual doctor appointments and artificial limbs.
- Health & Medicine
A 2021 Nobel goes for discovering how our body reads touch sensations
David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian found nerve-cell sensors for temperature, pain and pressure.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Haptic
Haptic is an adjective used to describe things related to our sense of touch.
- Animals
Squirrels use parkour tricks to leap from branch to branch
Squirrels navigate through trees by making rapid calculations. They have to balance trade-offs between branch flexibility and the distance between tree limbs.
- Animals
Birds could get their sense of direction from quantum physics
Songbirds could detect north and south using a protein in their eye. It works somewhat like a compass.
- Space
Here’s why people picked certain stars as constellations
Patterns of human eye movement help explain why particular sets of stars form iconic shapes, a high school student showed.
- Brain
Explainer: What is a neuron?
From the moment you are born, cells called neurons sense information, process it and then pass it on. Neurons allow you to do everything that you do.
- Brain
Search for ‘rewards’ is big driver in remodeling a teen’s brain
Communication ‘highways’ in the brain undergo a major overhaul as children morph into adults. Dopamine plays a big role in this remodeling project.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Neuron
Neurons are the foundational cells in the nervous system. They pass along and process information using electrical signals.
