MS-PS1-3
Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.
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Materials Science
Self-powered surface may evaluate table-tennis play
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology built a 'smart' surface on which to play table tennis. It can track the location, speed and direction of the ball.
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Materials Science
The future of crystal-based solar energy just got brighter
Researchers have upped the efficiency of layered solar cells that could be printed or painted onto surfaces. Now they are working to make them more rugged.
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Physics
Like Magneto? Microcrystals give magnets superpower over living cells
New iron-rich protein crystals could help researchers better understand the nerve cells that control movement and sensation. All they need are magnets.
By Jeremy Rehm -
Earth
Explainer: Where fossil fuels come from
Despite one oil company famously using an Apatosaurus as its logo, oil, gas and coal don’t come from dinosaurs. They do, however, come from a long time ago.
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Health & Medicine
Science-fair finding allows girl to sample a croissant
Some supplements claim they can help people with celiac disease, who cannot digest gluten. But do the pills work? One teen used science to find out.
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Materials Science
New black hair dye uses no harsh chemicals
Scientists have developed a new black-carbon-based hair dye. Instead of using damaging chemicals to dye hair, flexible flakes of carbon coat each strand.
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Chemistry
Hard-to-burn ‘smart’ wallpaper even triggers alarms
Scientists have made wallpaper that won’t easily burn. And embedded nanowires can be linked to a sensor to sound an alarm when the paper gets too hot.
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Materials Science
Light could make some hospital surfaces deadly to germs
A new surfacing material can disinfect itself. Room lighting turns on this germ-killing property, which could make the material attractive to hospitals.
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Chemistry
Cool Jobs: Diving for new medicines
Scientists mix research with underwater adventure as they search the oceans for new chemicals to treat infections, cancer and more.
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Tech
This power source is shockingly eel-like
The electric eel’s powerful electric charge inspired this new squishy, water-based new approach to generating power.
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Brain
Explainer: What are opioids?
Opioid drugs can kill pain, but they can also kill people. Here’s how.
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Chemistry
Explainer: What are polymers?
Polymers, whether natural or artificial, are big molecules made by linking up smaller repeating chemical units. The most common “backbones” for polymers are chains of carbon or silicon, each of which can bond to four other atoms.
By Sid Perkins