Science News for Students | News and feature articles from all fields of science

Climate Change Chronicles

a photo of Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula from the air

Crane Glacier lost the protective floating ice shelf at its lower edge in 2002. Since then, the glacier has more than tripled its original speed. As the glacier sped up, it also splayed out. This caused its ice to thin in some places by 100 meters (325 feet).

Erin Pettit/Oregon State University

Weather & Climate
The big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack
an aerial photo showing melt ponds on Arctic sea ice, there are two researchers in the middle of the image

Melt ponds form on Arctic sea ice during the summer. Their being dark increases how much of the sun’s heat they will absorb (not reflect), speeding the rate at which they melt.

Kathryn Hansen/NASA

Weather & Climate
Why Antarctica and the Arctic are polar opposites
a photo of a glacier melt channel

Warm summers are melting large amounts of snow on the Devon Ice Cap, in the Canadian Arctic. As this melt water gathers into rivers, it carves deep channels in the ice, like the one shown here.

A. Gardner/NASA/JPL-Caltech

Earth
Climate change cripples planet’s glaciers and ice caps
an artist's illustration of ICESat-2 aiming green laser's at the Earth's surface

ICESat-2’s bright green lasers can monitor Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets by detecting changes in their heights.

NASA

Earth
ICESat-2 measures ice and more from space
a photo of a building on the coast that has fallen into the ocean and cracked apart

Rising seas eroded the coastline of this resort region in Hoi An, Vietnam, causing its buildings to crack apart and start tumbling into the water. Climate change is threatening low-lying regions across the globe with similar destruction.

xuanhuongho/iStockphoto

Oceans
Climate change makes seas rise faster and faster
a photo of a cardinal sitting on a bare branch in a snowstorm, there are tiny snowflakes on the cardinal's head
Top Story
The many faces of snowstorms
Science explains why some storms quietly dust us with flakes while others howl ferociously
A short video clip of the OroBOT walking as seen from overhead
Fossils
 
This robot shows how an ancient creature might have walked
The 290-million-year-old animal that left this fossil didn’t slither like a salamander after all
a girl playing in a snowdrift
Weather & Climate
 
Explainer: The making of a snowflake
Here’s the science behind a snowflake’s striking shape
an anxious girl taking a text in a classroom holds her head in her hands
Psychology
 
Easing test anxiety boosts science grades in low-income students
Coping with stress before exams could help more kids stay in science
a photo of ivy plants inside a wood cabinet there is a fog or mist creeping out from behind the doors
Plants
 
This houseplant can clean indoor air
Adding a rabbit gene helps this ivy break down cancer-causing chemicals

Sponsor

Editor's Picks
Brain
When Cupid’s arrow strikes
A photo of Levi Draheim on a sunny day standing in front of a beach. His green shirt says "Climate Change is Real"

Twenty-one young people — including Levi Draheim, 11, from Satellite Beach, Fla. — have sued the U.S. government for actions that they say contributed to climate change.

Robin Loznak/Our Children’s Trust

Science & Society
Teens and tweens sue United States over climate change
chocolate hearts
Chocolate is one of the most prized treats. But ensuring there will be enough of the raw ingredients to satisfy our hunger for it has candy-makers and farmers consulting scientists around the globe.

ma-no/iStockphoto

Plants
Increasingly, chocolate-makers turn to science
Trending
a photo of ivy plants inside a wood cabinet there is a fog or mist creeping out from behind the doors

Plants behind the doors of this greenhouse are breaking down harmful chemicals that pollute indoor air.

Mark Stone/University of Washington

Plants
This houseplant can clean indoor air
a photo of four different Lego minifigures lying on their backs in a circle, heads towards the middle of the photo

Would you eat one of these for science? Six doctors did. 

Ekaterina79/iStockphoto

Science Education
These researchers swallowed Legos for science
a photo of students in a classroom, a young woman in the middle of the image has her hand raised

If school starts later in the morning, teenagers are more ready to learn. In a new study, students wore wrist activity trackers that pinpointed when they fell asleep and woke up. The results confirmed the benefit of later start times.

monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto

Health
Later school starts linked to better teen grades
a photo of Crane Glacier, Antarctic Peninsula from the air

Crane Glacier lost the protective floating ice shelf at its lower edge in 2002. Since then, the glacier has more than tripled its original speed. As the glacier sped up, it also splayed out. This caused its ice to thin in some places by 100 meters (325 feet).

Erin Pettit/Oregon State University

Weather & Climate
The big melt: Earth’s ice sheets are under attack
a photo of a porthole into an underwater habitat, fish are swimming past the round window
Materials Science
 
A self-cleaning glass keeps itself spotless underwater
Microscopic pancakes on its surface stop dirt from sticking
eagle with fish
Ecosystems
 
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Niche
A term in ecology, it’s how an organism fits into its community
a photo of four different Lego minifigures lying on their backs in a circle, heads towards the middle of the photo
Science Education
 
These researchers swallowed Legos for science
The toys should pass through the digestive tract without harm, study concludes
a photo of a smiling family with a baby girl in the middle
Genetics
 
Explainer: What are genes?
These stretches of DNA are the instruction manuals for making proteins, which do a cell’s work
a photo of Steve Perlman rappeling down a verdant cliff over turquoise waters
Plants
 
Rare-plant hunters race against time to save at-risk species
Scientists rappel down cliffs and trek through forests to collect plants and seeds
Blogs
eagle with fish

In this community, the bald eagle is a predator and the fish is its prey. 

BrianEKushner/iStockphoto

Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Niche
cubic zirconia earrings

Cubic zirconia looks like diamond from afar. But instead of being made of carbon, these rocks are a combination of the elements zirconium and oxygen.

Kristin Cacciavillani/iStockphoto

Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Zirconium
a photo of a girl covering her nose with a paper tissue

We’ve all been told to cover our noses when we sneeze. But how well does it stop snot spread?

AnneMS/iStockphoto

Eureka! Lab
Snot Science: Stopping the sneeze
single cell autophagy

Cells are always undergoing metabolism — taking food and turning it in to energy, building up new cell parts and breaking them down again.

Dr_Microbe/iStockphoto

Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Metabolism
Body & Brain
an anxious girl taking a text in a classroom holds her head in her hands

Helping low-income biology students manage test anxiety improves scores, a new study finds. Such test-prep tips might help these students stay on the high school science track.

seb_ra/iStockphoto

Psychology
Easing test anxiety boosts science grades in low-income students
a photo of four different Lego minifigures lying on their backs in a circle, heads towards the middle of the photo

Would you eat one of these for science? Six doctors did. 

Ekaterina79/iStockphoto

Science Education
These researchers swallowed Legos for science
a photo of a smiling family with a baby girl in the middle

We inherit genes from our parents. Genes are like a recipe that’s passed along from one generation to the next. But the number of genes doesn’t explain why we are more complex than simple animals or bacteria.

digitalskillet/iStockphoto

Genetics
Explainer: What are genes?
a photo of students in a classroom, a young woman in the middle of the image has her hand raised

If school starts later in the morning, teenagers are more ready to learn. In a new study, students wore wrist activity trackers that pinpointed when they fell asleep and woke up. The results confirmed the benefit of later start times.

monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto

Health
Later school starts linked to better teen grades
a photo of a green spiral of cyanobacteria printed onto a white mushroom marked with black graphene ink
Technology
 
This bionic mushroom makes electricity
Scientists had to figure out how to 3-D print bacteria onto a curved home of fungus
a photo of students in a classroom, a young woman in the middle of the image has her hand raised
Health
 
Later school starts linked to better teen grades
Low-income students also may find it easier to get to school, the new data show
Fossils
 
These fuzz-covered flying reptiles had catlike whiskers
Delicate fossils reveal a new look for pterosaurs
cubic zirconia earrings
Materials Science
 
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Zirconium
This super-tough substance might be best known as an element in fake diamond
a close-up of a new kind of bandage
Materials Science
 
This bandage uses electrical zaps to heal wounds faster
The movements of a patient’s body power this setup
Space
an artist's illustration of ICESat-2 aiming green laser's at the Earth's surface

ICESat-2’s bright green lasers can monitor Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets by detecting changes in their heights.

NASA

Earth
ICESat-2 measures ice and more from space
an image of Ultima Thule, a space rock shaped like a snowman

This New Horizons spacecraft took this image at a distance of about 28,000 kilometers (17,400 miles). It shows the space rock’s unique shape.

SWRI/JHU-APL/NASA

Astronomy
There’s a snowman in space
a photo from the Chang’e-4 lunar probe of the far side of the moon

China’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe gives a rare glimpse of the farside of the moon.

Xinhua/Xinhua via Getty Images

Space
China landed a spacecraft on the far side of the moon
a photo of a three stages of blood moon eclipse from July 2018 showcasing a very red moon in the middle image

During a "total" lunar eclipse, the moon will remain partially visible in the sky but take on a dark red hue.

Bernd Thaller/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Weather & Climate
Distant volcano could turn latest lunar eclipse dark red
Invention & Innovation
a photo of a porthole into an underwater habitat, fish are swimming past the round window

A new kind of glass can keep itself clean underwater. The key is microscopic pancake-shaped structures that let liquid flow between them.

ES3N/iStockphoto

Materials Science
A self-cleaning glass keeps itself spotless underwater
a photo of a green spiral of cyanobacteria printed onto a white mushroom marked with black graphene ink

Researchers 3-D print a green spiral of cyanobacteria onto a mushroom. The microbes give off electrons when exposed to light. Those electrons flow into the black graphene ink to produce an electric current.

American Chemical Society

Technology
This bionic mushroom makes electricity
a close-up of a new kind of bandage

A new bandage uses electrical pulses to help wounds heal faster. It’s powered by the patient’s natural body motions.

Sam Million-Weaver/Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

Materials Science
This bandage uses electrical zaps to heal wounds faster
a photo of a person writing "Bye" on rewritable paper

A special pen heats the blue ink on this rewritable paper. As the ink warms, it turns clear. The white paper beneath reveals a written message.

Luzhuo Chen

Chemistry
This rewritable paper depends on disappearing ink
a starry night sky over power pylons and high-voltage power lines
Technology
 
This grid moves energy, but not always reliably
Engineers are working to make the distribution of electricity more reliable and resilient
a photo of high-voltage electrical lines stretching towards the horizon to meet the support towers closer to the horizon
Technology
 
Explainer: What is the electric grid?
Round-the-clock work keeps the giant network going so the lights stay on
a photo of a group of Adélie penguins standing on a rocky surface
Animals
 
To monitor penguin diet from satellites, look to poop
Landsat imagery can tell scientists what foods Adélie penguins are eating
a pair of hands getting ready to shoot a rubber band
Physics
 
High-speed video reveals the best way to shoot a rubber band
Physics can help you avoid hitting your thumb when you fire
a photo of a glassy-winged sharpshooter sitting on vegetation
Animals
 
How some insects fling their pee
Sharpshooters hurl liquid waste at an acceleration up to 20 times Earth’s gravity
Latest Headlines
A short video clip of the OroBOT walking as seen from overhead

Researchers built a robot called OroBOT to re-create the way that Orobates pabsti might have walked. That four-legged creature lived some 290 million years ago.

Tomislav Horvat and K. Melo/EPFL Lausanne

Fossils
This robot shows how an ancient creature might have walked
a photo of a cardinal sitting on a bare branch in a snowstorm, there are tiny snowflakes on the cardinal's head

A cardinal weathers a snowstorm. Note the small size of the snowflakes accumulating on the bird’s head. That indicates a temperature likely several degrees below freezing, when flake size would begin to shrink.

EEI_Tony/iStockphoto

Weather & Climate
The many faces of snowstorms
a girl playing in a snowdrift

Snowflakes take a long journey down from the clouds in which they form. But it takes more than cold air and moisture to create them.

SbytovaMN/iStockphoto, adapted by L. Steenblik Hwang

Weather & Climate
Explainer: The making of a snowflake
an anxious girl taking a text in a classroom holds her head in her hands

Helping low-income biology students manage test anxiety improves scores, a new study finds. Such test-prep tips might help these students stay on the high school science track.

seb_ra/iStockphoto

Psychology
Easing test anxiety boosts science grades in low-income students
Math & Technology
A short video clip of the OroBOT walking as seen from overhead

Researchers built a robot called OroBOT to re-create the way that Orobates pabsti might have walked. That four-legged creature lived some 290 million years ago.

Tomislav Horvat and K. Melo/EPFL Lausanne

Fossils
This robot shows how an ancient creature might have walked
a photo of a porthole into an underwater habitat, fish are swimming past the round window

A new kind of glass can keep itself clean underwater. The key is microscopic pancake-shaped structures that let liquid flow between them.

ES3N/iStockphoto

Materials Science
A self-cleaning glass keeps itself spotless underwater
a photo of a green spiral of cyanobacteria printed onto a white mushroom marked with black graphene ink

Researchers 3-D print a green spiral of cyanobacteria onto a mushroom. The microbes give off electrons when exposed to light. Those electrons flow into the black graphene ink to produce an electric current.

American Chemical Society

Technology
This bionic mushroom makes electricity
a close-up of a new kind of bandage

A new bandage uses electrical pulses to help wounds heal faster. It’s powered by the patient’s natural body motions.

Sam Million-Weaver/Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

Materials Science
This bandage uses electrical zaps to heal wounds faster