MS-LS2-3
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
- Animals
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’
Two new specimens of the world’s largest hornet have just turned up in the United States. Here’s what to make of them and other alien-hornet invaders.
- Planets
Planets with hydrogen skies could harbor life
Microbes can live in a hydrogen atmosphere. This points to new space worlds that host alien life.
- Tech
Our gut microbes love a good workout
Technology shows how microbes in the body respond to exercise. That helps scientists understand why those microbes keep athletes healthy.
- Environment
Greener than burial? Turning human bodies into worm food
Composting human bodies yielded good results — and good soil — in one small study. It could become an alternative to burial or cremation in one state.
- Science & Society
Science isn’t just for scientists
It doesn’t take an advanced degree or a lab to do science. All you need is curiosity and an interest in learning something new every day.
- Earth
Study appears to rule out volcanic burps as causing dino die-offs
New data on when massive volcanic eruptions happened do not match when the dinosaur mass extinction took place.
- Ecosystems
Newfound desert soil community lives on sips of fog
Lichens and other fungi and algae team up to form a 'grit-crust' on the parched soil of Chile’s Atacama Desert. Those species slake their thirst with moisture from coastal fog.
- Life
Why some whales become giants and others are only big
Being big helps whales access more food. But just how big a whale can get is influenced by whether it hunts or filter-feeds.
- Animals
Whales echolocate with big clicks and tiny amounts of air
Toothed whales may echolocate using bits of air that they recycle inside their heads to conserve both air and energy.
- Life
Explainer: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
Prokaryotes tend to be small and simple, while eukaryotes have embraced a highly organized lifestyle. These divergent approaches to life have both proved very successful.
- Oceans
Small swimmers may play huge role in churning the seas
Hoards of migrating shrimp and krill can cause large-scale water movements in the ocean, a new study suggests.
- Plants
Explainer: The fertilizing power of N and P
Two elements — nitrogen and phosphorus — help plants grow. When the soil doesn’t have them, farmers might add them in the form of fertilizer.
