MS-LS2-3
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
- Environment
Native ‘snot’
The ‘rock snot’ choking rivers may be native algae. Experts blame its sudden and dramatic emergence on changes in Earth’s atmosphere, soils and climate.
- Animals
Trees: Koala air conditioning
When koalas sprawl over a tree branch, they may not be lazy. They just might be taking advantage of some natural cooling — enough to survive a heat wave.
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Solving bad breath one walnut at a time
Two teens came up with a cheap and simple solution to halitosis. It’s the African walnut.
- Animals
Helping birds doctor their babies
Darwin’s finches will soften their nests by weaving in fibers, such as stray bits of cotton. An observant biologist offered those birds some insecticide-treated cotton and the birds took it, which saved their young from deadly parasites.
- Animals
When a species can’t stand the heat
When temperatures rise, New Zealand’s tuatara produce more males. With global warming, that could leave the ancient reptile species with too few females to avoid going extinct.
- Environment
Burning to learn
Fires cause billions of dollars of destruction to homes and forests every year. But not all fires are bad, especially for forests. With a better understanding of fire, scientists can both help people prevent dangerous fires — and identify which ones it would be better to let burn.
- Environment
Explainer: How and why fires burn
A fire’s colorful flame results from a chemical reaction known as combustion.
- Animals
Passing diseases from bee to bee
A study finds that the viruses and parasites that plague honeybees can infect bumblebees too, sickening another important pollinator.
- Earth
Intel STS finalist brings earthworms to the big time
Earthworms and charcoal help plants resist infections, according to research by Anne Merrill, a finalist in the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search.
- Earth
Mining metals amidst seafloor animals
Miners may need to get their feet — and everything else — wet as they carefully seek out loads of copper and other valuable natural resources.
- Earth
Explainer: Antarctica, land of lakes
There are many, although they tend to be buried under rivers of ice.
- Chemistry
Explainer: Ocean acidification
Here’s why shellfish and other animals in the sea suffer when the ocean is forced to absorb too much carbon dioxide.
