MS-LS4-4

Construct an explanation based on evidence that describes how genetic variations of traits in a population increase some individuals' probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment.

  1. Animals

    Butterfly ‘tails’ might be part of an escape tactic

    Slender, tail-like extensions on their wings may help some butterflies survive attacks by hungry predators.

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  2. Tech

    Virtual critters evolve bodies that help them learn

    A combination of evolution and learning may lead to more intelligent and agile robots.

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  3. Fossils

    Bright-colored feathers may have topped pterosaurs’ heads

    Fossil remains of a flying reptile hint that their vibrant crests may have originated 250 million years ago in a common ancestor with dinosaurs.

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  4. Humans

    Scientists Say: Denisovan

    The Denisovans were a recently discovered population of ancient hominids.

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  5. Animals

    Losing some genes may explain how vampire bats can live on blood

    Loss of 13 genes active in other bats could support the vampires’ blood-eating strategies and adaptations.

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  6. Animals

    Surprise! Sixteen tiny wasp species found masquerading as one

    Scientists used new and old tools to overturn 160-year-old ideas about this wasp. They show you can’t tell a wasp by its looks.

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  7. Life

    Explainer: What is an endangered species?

    Threats such as climate change and habitat loss can put species at risk of going extinct. Different words describe that risk.

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  8. Archaeology

    Our species may have reached Europe while Neandertals were there

    Archaeological finds from an ancient French rock-shelter show periodic settlements by both populations, just not at the same time.

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  9. Life

    Scientists Say: Adaptation

    This word refers to a feature of a living thing that helps it better survive in its environment — or the process of that feature evolving in a population.

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  10. Fossils

    ‘Penis worms’ could have been the original hermits

    These soft-bodied critters lived in abandoned shells about 500 million years ago, a new study suggests.

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  11. Animals

    Will the woolly mammoth return?

    Scientists are using genetic engineering and cloning to try to bring back extinct species or save endangered ones. Here’s how and why.

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  12. Animals

    Cloning boosts endangered black-footed ferrets

    A cloned ferret named Elizabeth Ann brings genetic diversity to a species that nearly went extinct in the 1980s.

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