MS-PS1-3

Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

  1. 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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  2. 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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  3. 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.

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  4. 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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  5. 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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  6. 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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  7. 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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  8. 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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  9. 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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  10. 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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  11. Brain

    Explainer: What are opioids?

    Opioid drugs can kill pain, but they can also kill people. Here’s how.

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  12. 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.

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