Science News for Students | News and feature articles from all fields of science
zip liners
Top Story
Cool Jobs: Bringing you summer thrills
The designers behind fireworks and fun rides reveal some of their secrets
Arctic water

Caption: 

The Arctic Ocean didn’t become salty until a stretch of land that ran from Greenland (pictured here) to Scotland sank far enough beneath the sea, a new study finds.

Credit: 

SteveAllenPhoto/iStockphoto
Oceans
 
How the Arctic Ocean became salty
A land bridge had to sink far enough below a top-of-the-world lake to let Atlantic saltwater overwhelm it
frying egg

Caption: 

Many old-style nonstick frying pans relied on coatings containing PFOA or related perfluorinated compounds. Although there has been a move to alternative coatings, these perfluorinated pollutants live on in the environment. And that is driving new research aimed at removing them.

Credit: 

loongar/iStockphoto
Chemistry
 
New ‘magnet’ pulls pesky nonstick pollutants from drinking water
It targets toxic chemicals, which can themselves stick around in the environment — potentially forever
vaccine shot

Caption: 

Most vaccines are given through injections, but some can be given by nose or mouth.

Credit: 

Remains/iStockphoto
Health
 
Explainer: What is a vaccine?
Vaccines imitate infections to prevent illness
bird eggs

Caption: 

Bird eggs come in many different shapes, sizes and colors. A new study shows a link between how birds fly and the shape of the eggs they lay.

Credit: 

HARVARD MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY
Animals
 
Evolving for flight may have changed the shapes of bird eggs
Scientists might have cracked the mystery of why eggs look so different

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Trending
exploding atomizer
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
dinosaur extinction
Fossils
What killed the dinosaurs?
Blogs
TEETH

Caption: 

Ewww. Dental plaque is actually a biofilm — a big conglomeration of microbes.

Credit: 

watanyou/istockphoto
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Biofilm
sunglasses

Caption: 

Glasses that change color in the sun are covered in a photochromic pigment — a chemical that changes color in response to light.

Credit: 

Mitja Derenda/istockphoto
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Photochromic
amygdala
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Amygdala
TEETH

Caption: 

Ewww. Dental plaque is actually a biofilm — a big conglomeration of microbes.

Credit: 

watanyou/istockphoto
Microbes
 
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Biofilm
These are slimy clumps of microbes that cling anywhere they can
corvina fish

Caption: 

This is a fresh-caught Gulf corvina. Scientists have listened in on its mating sounds to determine how many of these fish are around — and if they need protecting.

Credit: 

Gulf of California Marine Program
Animals
 
Listening to fish love songs can predict their numbers
Scientists use sound to count some of the fish in the sea
bee hotel

Caption: 

The Edmonton & Area Land Trust’s staff placed this bee hotel in a park in Alberta, Canada.

Credit: 

Edmonton & Area Land Trust
Animals
 
Bee hotels are open for business
These structures give wild bees a place to nest — but may bring uninvited guests
Larsen C

Caption: 

Images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites confirm the crack of Larsen C has reached the Weddell Sea, allowing an iceberg weighing 1 trillion metric tons to calve.

Credit: 

ESA (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
Earth
 
Antarctic ice shelf sheds Delaware-sized iceberg
The ice chunk’s release raises questions about how stable its parent ice shelf is
Kepler planets

Caption: 

The Kepler space telescope detected a lot of alien worlds that are rocky like Earth or gassy like Neptune. But few exist between those two types.

Credit: 

B.J. Fulton/Univ. of Hawaii, Caltech, Ames/NASA
Planets
 
Small, distant worlds are either big Earths or little Neptunes
Kepler telescope adds 10 potentially habitable rocky planets to exoplanets tally
Body & Brain
vaccine shot

Caption: 

Most vaccines are given through injections, but some can be given by nose or mouth.

Credit: 

Remains/iStockphoto
Health
Explainer: What is a vaccine?
Japan atmosphere

Caption: 

The view from a plane in which atmospheric scientists are taking air measurements over Japan. They’re looking for airborne particles that might prove a trigger for Kawasaki disease.

Credit: 

Roger Curcoll, IC3
Health
Hunting the mysterious source of a global illness
brainy teen

Caption: 

Researchers have overturned a longstanding belief about the adolescent brain — that gray matter is decreasing. Instead, it just gets packed into a smaller space, increasing density.

Credit: 

shironosov/iStockphoto
Brain
Adolescents are brain-dense — and that's good
Microrobot artery
Robotics
Therapeutic robots may soon swim within the body
Invention & Innovation
underwater robot
Robotics
Underwater robot vacuums up lionfish
native silver
Materials Science
Nanowires made from silver are super stretchy
Smart poster
Technology
These antennas turn anything into a radio station
Skin cell
Technology
‘Nanostraws’ safely sneak a peek inside cells
Japan atmosphere

Caption: 

The view from a plane in which atmospheric scientists are taking air measurements over Japan. They’re looking for airborne particles that might prove a trigger for Kawasaki disease.

Credit: 

Roger Curcoll, IC3
Health
 
Hunting the mysterious source of a global illness
As Kawasaki disease is on the move, hitting kids across the planet, researchers team up to identify its cause
cat grass

Caption: 

Before cats achieved world dominion, they spread in two waves, a DNA study suggests. Early Middle Eastern farmers probably brought kitties and agriculture to Europe over land. Egyptian cats may have been transported by boat to far-reaching parts of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Credit: 

Astrid860/iStockphoto
Genetics
 
DNA tells tale of how cats conquered the world
Analyzing 9,000 years of cat remains points to two waves of feline migration
sunglasses

Caption: 

Glasses that change color in the sun are covered in a photochromic pigment — a chemical that changes color in response to light.

Credit: 

Mitja Derenda/istockphoto
Chemistry
 
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Photochromic
This word describes chemicals that change shape in response to light
brainy teen

Caption: 

Researchers have overturned a longstanding belief about the adolescent brain — that gray matter is decreasing. Instead, it just gets packed into a smaller space, increasing density.

Credit: 

shironosov/iStockphoto
Brain
 
Adolescents are brain-dense — and that's good
Density of gray matter may compensate for young brains’ low volume
Microrobot artery
Robotics
 
Therapeutic robots may soon swim within the body
Scientists look to nature for clues about how to build and power these microrobots
Cool Jobs
zip liners

Caption: 

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

Credit: 

JHVEPhoto/iStockphoto
STEM Careers
Cool Jobs: Bringing you summer thrills
cave light
Ecosystems
Cool Jobs: Bringing caves' dark secrets to light
crime scene sample
Science & Society
Cool Jobs: New tools to solve crimes
food pile
Chemistry
Cool Jobs: Counting calories
Space
Kepler planets

Caption: 

The Kepler space telescope detected a lot of alien worlds that are rocky like Earth or gassy like Neptune. But few exist between those two types.

Credit: 

B.J. Fulton/Univ. of Hawaii, Caltech, Ames/NASA
Planets
Small, distant worlds are either big Earths or little Neptunes
Jupiter spot

Caption: 

Jupiter was probably the first planet in the solar system to form, new research suggests. Its existence may have influenced how the planets evolved into the order we see today.

Credit: 

AMY A. SIMON, NASA, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
Planets
Jupiter may be the solar system’s oldest planet
Hot exoplanet
Planets
Hot, hot planet sets sizzling new record
gravity waves
Astronomy
Gravitational waves detected yet again
860_main_water_taste.png

Caption: 

From cats to rats to humans, mammals know when they’re drinking water. A new scientific study shows how.

Credit: 

Oranit6666/istockphoto
Body functions
 
Tongues ‘taste’ water by sensing sour
Acid-sensing cells — which help us taste sour foods — also help mammals detect water
narwhals

Caption: 

The purpose of the narwhal’s mysterious tusk has been the subject of much scientific speculation. Now new video shows that the animals may use the elongated tooth to stun fish.

Credit: 

World Wildlife Fund
Animals
 
Beware the tap of the narwhal’s tusk
A new video shows narwhals tapping prey fish with their tusks, maybe to stun them
amygdala
Brain
 
Scientists Say
Scientists Say: Amygdala
This part of the brain helps us process emotions and form memories
teaching class

Caption: 

Students paying attention in class may have similar brain electrical patterns, a new study shows.

Credit: 

monkeybusinessimages/istockphoto
Brain
 
Brains learning together act the same
When students are focused, their brainwaves sync up
cave light
Ecosystems
 
Cool Jobs: Bringing caves' dark secrets to light
These scientists study caves to learn about geology, climate and life at extremes — possibly even in space
Latest Headlines
zip liners

Caption: 

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

Credit: 

JHVEPhoto/iStockphoto
STEM Careers
Cool Jobs: Bringing you summer thrills
Arctic water

Caption: 

The Arctic Ocean didn’t become salty until a stretch of land that ran from Greenland (pictured here) to Scotland sank far enough beneath the sea, a new study finds.

Credit: 

SteveAllenPhoto/iStockphoto
Oceans
How the Arctic Ocean became salty
frying egg

Caption: 

Many old-style nonstick frying pans relied on coatings containing PFOA or related perfluorinated compounds. Although there has been a move to alternative coatings, these perfluorinated pollutants live on in the environment. And that is driving new research aimed at removing them.

Credit: 

loongar/iStockphoto
Chemistry
New ‘magnet’ pulls pesky nonstick pollutants from drinking water
vaccine shot

Caption: 

Most vaccines are given through injections, but some can be given by nose or mouth.

Credit: 

Remains/iStockphoto
Health
Explainer: What is a vaccine?
Math & Technology
zip liners

Caption: 

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

Credit: 

JHVEPhoto/iStockphoto
STEM Careers
Cool Jobs: Bringing you summer thrills
Microrobot artery
Robotics
Therapeutic robots may soon swim within the body
underwater robot
Robotics
Underwater robot vacuums up lionfish
shade balls
Technology
Maybe ‘shade balls’ should not be balls