Science News for Students

Many U.S. football players had brain disease, data show

Severe disease showed up in 99 percent of pro players whose brains had been donated to science

An artist’s rendering of nerve cells in the brain. A mild head trauma can cause temporary swelling in parts of those cells.

ktsimage/iStockphoto

Mild brain injury can cause bead-like swellings in brain cells

Mild head hits cause small, temporary swellings in cells — and protein buildups, mouse data show

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Toxicology

Concerns explode over new health risks of vaping

More U.S. teens now vape from electronic cigarettes than smoke conventional tobacco cigarettes. They may think the high-tech devices yield a safe kick from nicotine. New studies suggest that even vaping may pose serious health hazards.

Toxicology

Vaping may harm the lungs

Fossils

What killed the dinosaurs?

Blogs

This is an example of a histology specimen. In this case, it’s a tiny piece of a human lung.

GRUMELLI ET AL, 2004 (CC-BY-2.0)

Scientists Say: Histology

High above the earth, a layer containing ozone helps protect us from the sun’s radiation.

Nastco/istockphoto

Scientists Say: Ozone

The study of caves is called speleology. A scientist who studies them is a speleologist.

Khlongwangchao/istockphoto

Scientists Say: Speleology

Tricks using the vapor clouds from e-cigarettes and other vaping devices are popular among some teens. Researchers now worry these behaviors could boost health risks. Here, a vaper creates a “waterfall.”

Aleksandr Pogudin/iStockphoto

Health

Vape tricks could increase health risks, experts warn

Stunts could expose teens to higher levels of harmful chemicals, scientists worry

Giant sea spiders may look strange, but their circulatory system is even weirder, new data show.

Tim Dwyer

Giant Antarctic sea spiders breathe really strangely

These creepy-crawlers absorb oxygen through their skin and pump blood with their guts

This is an example of a histology specimen. In this case, it’s a tiny piece of a human lung.

GRUMELLI ET AL, 2004 (CC-BY-2.0)

Cells

Scientists Say: Histology

This is the study of the microscopic parts of plants or animals

Artists’ illustration of synestia, a spinning disk of vaporized rock that looks like a jelly-filled doughnut with a small, solid core (here, in gray).

S. LOCK/HARVARD UNIV.

Early Earth may have been a hot doughnut

Our planet may have spent part of its violent infancy as a geological ‘jelly doughnut’

To reach the deepest depths of the oceans, scientists must rely on rovers to take them there — or to do the exploring as they remain atop the waves.

Steve Ross, UNC-W/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration/Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Oceans

Cool Jobs: Science deep beneath the waves

These scientists explore the sea’s mysterious depths — from ‘zombie worms’ to mega-waves

Body & Brain

Mindfulness slows the process of eating, which improves the experience and makes smaller amounts of foods more enjoyable.

Chris6/iStockphoto

Behavior

Mindfulness in eating pays the body big dividends

Eugene_Onischenko/iStockphoto

Many U.S. football players had brain disease, data show

An artist’s rendering of nerve cells in the brain. A mild head trauma can cause temporary swelling in parts of those cells.

ktsimage/iStockphoto

Mild brain injury can cause bead-like swellings in brain cells

Aleksandr Pogudin/iStockphoto

Health

Vape tricks could increase health risks, experts warn

Invention & Innovation

Robotics

Underwater robot vacuums up lionfish

Materials Science

Nanowires made from silver are super stretchy

Technology

These antennas turn anything into a radio station

Technology

‘Nanostraws’ safely sneak a peek inside cells

They may look like chubby microscopic caterpillars, but water bears are no joke. These creatures will probably live long after humans are gone.

Eraxion/istockphoto

This tiny animal is apocalypse-proof

Asteroids or exploding stars won’t wipe out microscopic critters called tardigrades

The galaxies M81 (left) and M82 (right) may be exchanging gas. Supernova explosions in M82 would toss out gas that could be pulled toward M81. That could help M81 bulk up.

Markus Schopfer/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Astronomy

Half the Milky Way may be stolen material

Galactic winds may have delivered half of the material that makes up our galaxy

Scientists filmed this humpback whale swimming with a large group of others as it fed off the coast of South Africa. The video shows the whale using its front flippers to move toward its prey.

Charles Littnan and Ari Friedlaender

Humpbacks flap their flippers like underwater birds

Researchers spotted whales making moves once thought impossible

High above the earth, a layer containing ozone helps protect us from the sun’s radiation.

Nastco/istockphoto

Earth

This is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms that can be both protective and harmful

Scientists Say: Ozone

Curiosity has done a lot more than take selfies in front of Gale Crater, and with its mission extended through next fall, there’s still more science to come.

MSSS, JPL-Caltech/NASA

What the Curiosity rover has learned about Mars so far

While it has found no signs of life, its cameras and other tools have spied hints of water and habitable soils

Cool Jobs

To reach the deepest depths of the oceans, scientists must rely on rovers to take them there — or to do the exploring as they remain atop the waves.

Steve Ross, UNC-W/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration/Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

Oceans

Cool Jobs: Science deep beneath the waves

Sailing along a zip line can be a spectacular way to take in the local scenery.

JHVEPhoto/iStockphoto

STEM Careers

Cool Jobs: Bringing you summer thrills

Ecosystems

Cool Jobs: Bringing caves' dark secrets to light

Science & Society

Cool Jobs: New tools to solve crimes

Space

Artists’ illustration of synestia, a spinning disk of vaporized rock that looks like a jelly-filled doughnut with a small, solid core (here, in gray).

S. LOCK/HARVARD UNIV.

Early Earth may have been a hot doughnut

They may look like chubby microscopic caterpillars, but water bears are no joke. These creatures will probably live long after humans are gone.

Eraxion/istockphoto

This tiny animal is apocalypse-proof

The galaxies M81 (left) and M82 (right) may be exchanging gas. Supernova explosions in M82 would toss out gas that could be pulled toward M81. That could help M81 bulk up.

Markus Schopfer/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

Astronomy

Half the Milky Way may be stolen material

Curiosity has done a lot more than take selfies in front of Gale Crater, and with its mission extended through next fall, there’s still more science to come.

MSSS, JPL-Caltech/NASA

What the Curiosity rover has learned about Mars so far

Ceres is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. New research suggests it could have once been a ball of mud with a solid core.

IDA/DLR/MPS/UCLA/JPL-CALTECH/NASA

Early solar system may have slung giant mud balls

The first asteroids may not have been so rocky, explaining some meteorite mysteries

$girl chalkboard$

Math offers a different way to look at the world and solve problems. Like athletes, mathletes can compete, even from young ages, to win medals and have fun — sometimes in exotic places.

isaiahlove/iStockphoto

Math + teens + practice = a winning competition

Competitive mathletes emphasize the joy in solving problems

More than 150 girls from around the world competed in the 2017 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland.

Evelyn Merkli/European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad/Flickr (CC-BY-NC 2.0)

Unfortunately, too many girls have yet to get that message

Math isn’t just for boys

These are the shimmering blue wings of a morpho dragonfly.

GREG LASLEY/INATURALIST.ORG (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Could a dragonfly’s wings be alive — and breathing?

Surprising microscope image hints at breathing equipment in the wing of a morpho dragonfly

The star EBLM J0555-57Ab (illustrated, right) is one of the smallest ever found. It has a radius similar to Saturn’s (illustrated, left). The star’s mass is just large enough that it can fuse hydrogen in its core.

COURTESY OF UNIV. OF CAMBRIDGE

Astronomy

Newfound stars rank as farthest and one of the smallest

It would take more than a backyard telescope to spot them

Latest Headlines

Concrete, once hardened and then powdered, may be able to remove certain pollutants spewed by electric power plants.

tortoon/iStockphoto

Pollution

Can concrete conquer air pollution?

Mindfulness slows the process of eating, which improves the experience and makes smaller amounts of foods more enjoyable.

Chris6/iStockphoto

Behavior

Mindfulness in eating pays the body big dividends

Eugene_Onischenko/iStockphoto

Many U.S. football players had brain disease, data show

An artist’s rendering of nerve cells in the brain. A mild head trauma can cause temporary swelling in parts of those cells.

ktsimage/iStockphoto

Mild brain injury can cause bead-like swellings in brain cells

Math & Technology

$girl chalkboard$

Math offers a different way to look at the world and solve problems. Like athletes, mathletes can compete, even from young ages, to win medals and have fun — sometimes in exotic places.

isaiahlove/iStockphoto

Math + teens + practice = a winning competition

More than 150 girls from around the world competed in the 2017 European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland.

Evelyn Merkli/European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad/Flickr (CC-BY-NC 2.0)