Life
Some germs ride a superhighway at the edge of space
Some microbes common on Earth’s surface lead a secret double life. Soaring higher than jumbo jets, they carry clues about disease spread and alien life.
By Douglas Fox
MS-LS2-1
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
More Stories in MS-LS2-1
- Animals
How to lessen your pet’s impacts on the planet
Climate-friendly food choices, new poop solutions and avoiding animals collected from the wild can all help make pet ownership more sustainable.
- Microbes
This microbe turns into a ‘Hulk’ that eats its own kind
The shape-shifting transformation of Euplotes gigatrox may reveal how early life learned to act in complex ways.
- Animals
Mosquitoes may learn to like DEET, a common insect repellent
In lab tests, mosquitoes exposed to DEET while feeding learned to associate the chemical with food.
- Animals
Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock
With half a beak, Bruce has developed a unique fighting style that has won him top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
- Oceans
Explainer: What are corals?
Though they can look like rocks or plants, corals are animals. Most are made up of colonies of individuals called polyps.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Superbloom
These massive wildflower blooms create colorful carpets over desert landscapes during unusually rainy years.
- Animals
Emperor penguins are on the march — toward extinction
Along with Antarctic fur seals, these iconic birds, the largest of all penguins, are now endangered by their continent’s warming.
- Ecosystems
Let’s learn about wetlands
Just how wet these lands are varies a lot — from seasonally soaked to permanently flooded.
- Life
After the dino-killer asteroid, life bounced back quickly
New ocean dwellers arrived millennia — maybe decades — after the Chicxulub impact. That forces a rethink of evolution's response to wipeout events.
