MS-LS2-4
Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
- 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.
- Animals
Drones might one day capture a dolphin’s breath in midair
High-speed footage of dolphin spray reveals that droplets blast upward at speeds close to 100 kilometers per hour.
- Health & Medicine
The many challenges of corralling a coronavirus outbreak
The Chinese government has quarantined millions of people in hopes of limiting spread of a new coronavirus. But no one yet knows how much this will help.
- Oceans
Healthy coral reef sounds attract fish searching for a home
Playing the sounds of a healthy reef can help attract fish to dying corals, helping rebuild their community.
- Environment
Australian fires have imperiled up to 100 species
As massive wildfires consume huge swaths of Australia’s bush, untold species — many of them found nowhere else — are now threatened with extinction.
- 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.
- Microbes
Globetrotting microbes in airplane sewage may spread antibiotic resistance
Along with harder-to-kill microbes, airplane sewage contains a diverse set of the genes that let bacteria evade antibiotics.
- Microbes
Drug-resistant germs kill some 35,000 Americans each year
The new mortality rate may be way low, some experts say. Also troubling are two new germs that have emerged as big and urgent threats.
- Animals
Hunting hidden salamanders with eDNA
The Japanese clouded salamander is an elusive beast. To find a new population, three teens turned to high-tech methods.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists discover how norovirus hijacks the gut
Noroviruses make people vomit, but scientists didn’t actually know why. It now turns out that those viruses cause their misery by attacking special “tuft” cells in the gut.
- Oceans
Ocean heat waves are on the rise — and killing coral
Ocean heat waves are becoming hotter and more frequent. And one can be blamed for the 2016 coral deaths on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Health & Medicine
Which bacteria hang out in belly buttons? Here’s a who’s who
Bacteria are everywhere — even in our belly buttons. One teen at Intel ISEF decided to find out what types people were harboring in their navels.
