Life
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AnimalsBees and butterflies struggle to find flowers in polluted air
Emissions from cars and trucks make it harder for insects to find flowers. That in turn reduces flower visits and pollination, a new study finds.
By Laura Allen -
LifeScientists Say: Eukaryote
Eukaryotes are living things whose cells package their genetic material inside a pouch called a nucleus.
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AnimalsSee the world through a jumping spider’s eyes — and other senses
Scientists are teasing out the many ways the spiders’ vision, listening and taste senses differ from ours
By Betsy Mason -
AnimalsGoldfish driving ‘cars’ offer new insight into navigation
Fishes’ internal sense of direction is not limited to their natural environment. The latest Wild Things cartoon from Science News for Students.
By Maria Temming and JoAnna Wendel -
BrainAddiction can develop when reward-seeking changes a teen’s brain
Over time, the pleasure disappears and craving grows. That craving causes stress that can drive people to use drugs or pursue unhealthy behaviors again and again.
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BrainAmericans tend to see imaginary faces as male, not female
When people see imaginary faces in everyday objects, those faces are more likely to be perceived as male than female.
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AnimalsMysterious kunga is the oldest known human-bred hybrid animal
People bred these animals — part donkey, part wild ass — some 4,500 years ago, probably for use in fighting wars.
By Jake Buehler -
ChemistryScientists Say: Decay
This word can refer to rotting flesh or the transformation of radioactive atoms.
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AnimalsDNA in air can help ID unseen animals nearby
Analyzing these genetic residues in air offers a new way to study animals. It could give scientists a chance to monitor rare or hard to find animals.
By Laura Allen -
AnimalsLiving mysteries: Why teeny-weeny tardigrades are tough as nails
Tardigrades often live in cool, damp moss. Their cushy life has somehow prepared them to survive the lethal radiation of outer space.
By Douglas Fox -
BrainNodding off may turn your creativity on
In an experiment, people who fell into a shallow sleep were more likely than non-sleepers or deep sleepers to discover a sly math trick.
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AnimalsWorld’s biggest colony of nesting fish lives beneath Antarctic ice
Totally unexpected, it’s far, far larger than any other known community of nesting fish — fully one-third larger than the area of Washington, D.C.
By Jake Buehler