MS-LS2-2
Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.
- Animals
Let’s learn about venom
A bite or puncture from a venomous critter can cause paralysis, flesh rot, organ failure and many more violent — and sometimes fatal — symptoms.
- Life
Scientists Say: Biodiversity
The coral reefs at Komodo, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia, are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.
- Animals
Here’s a spider whose barf is worse than its bite
These critters, which often make their homes on houseplants, don’t bother injecting venom. The spiders just vomit it all over their tied-up prey.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Kleptopredation
It’s a hunter-eat-hunter world out there, and this feeding strategy gives some double-dipping predators a competitive edge.
- Animals
Young capuchins are kidnapping baby howler monkeys
The disturbing habit has emerged among capuchin monkeys on a remote island off Panama. Scientists are baffled — and concerned.
- Plants
Pollinators send out good vibrations — and plants respond sweetly
Snapdragon blooms can distinguish between the sounds of pollinators and thieves. They boost or drop the sugar in their nectar depending who’s arriving.
- Animals
These fish yawn — and it’s contagious
Zebrafish are the first cold-blooded animals known to behave this way. Contagious yawning may affect other behaviors in these fish, too.
- Health & Medicine
Three U.S tick species may trigger a mysterious red-meat allergy
This little-known allergy, known as alpha-gal syndrome, is potentially deadly. Here’s what we know about it — and how to avoid the tick bites that seem to cause it.
- Planets
The desert planet in ‘Dune’ is pretty realistic, scientists say
Humans could live on the fictional planet Arrakis from Dune. But thankfully giant sandworms probably could not.
- Genetics
A protein in sweat may protect people from Lyme disease
That protein stopped the disease-causing bacterium from growing in lab dishes or infecting mice.
- Environment
To limit pollution, new recipe makes plastic a treat for microbes
Microplastics made from fossil fuels take centuries to disappear. But the plant- and algae-based plastic can break down in weeks to months.
- Health & Medicine
With measles outbreaks in 49 countries, should you worry?
By March, the United States had more measles cases than in all of 2023. It was part of a global trend. The way to halt measles’ spread: vaccinations.
