Explainers | Science News for Students

Explainers

Background pieces on a broad range of pivotal topics

a young man standing outside in the sunshine and sweating in very hot weather

As temperatures skyrocket, the body may not be able to shed excess heat well enough to remain healthy. And not all age groups may suffer equally.

shakzu/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Weather & Climate
 
May 2, 2019
Explainer: How heat kills
an autistic girl sitting on a kitchen counter and blowing bubbles

A now-discredited study once linked vaccines and autism. But many studies have since shown that vaccinations don’t lead to the brain disorder.

lisegagne/E+/Getty Images

Health
 
Apr 4, 2019
Explainer: Vaccines are not linked to autism
an illustration of Salmonella Bacteria

Prokaryotes are tiny but mighty. They make up two of life’s big domains — archaea and bacteria.

urfinguss/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Cells
 
Mar 28, 2019
Explainer: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
An artist’s interpretation of what the black hole named Cygnus X-1 might look like. A large horizontal spinning disk is pulling in mass from a nearby blue star. Light shoots straight out from the top and the bottom of the middle of the disk.

This is an artist’s interpretation of what the black hole named Cygnus X-1 might look like. It formed after a large star imploded on itself. The intense gravity of this black hole is drawing in mass from a nearby blue star.

NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

Astronomy
 
Mar 27, 2019
Explainer: What are black holes?
a close up photo of a baby wiping his nose

Mucus, snot and phlegm are made from the same thing and serve the same purpose. They’re a first line of defense against germs.

AntonioGuillem/iStockphoto

Body functions
 
Feb 20, 2019
Explainer: The benefits of phlegm, mucus and snot
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
 
Feb 14, 2019
Explainer: The making of a snowflake
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
 
Feb 8, 2019
Explainer: What are genes?
a photo of high-voltage electrical lines stretching towards the horizon to meet the support towers closer to the horizon

High-voltage electric lines are part of the giant network that makes up the electric grid.

Chris Hunkeler/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Technology
 
Jan 24, 2019
Explainer: What is the electric grid?
a photo showing a supercell storm creating a tornado at the horizon of the picture

Rotating thunderstorms known as supercells are the storms that give rise to most tornadoes.

Graham Moore/iStockphoto

Weather & Climate
 
Jan 18, 2019
Supercell: It’s the king of thunderstorms
an aerial photo of a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City, scooters and cars are driving through the floodwaters

Traffic keeps flowing on a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Sea levels are rising around the world, but they are rising more quickly in some places than in others.

xuanhuongho/iStockPhoto

Weather & Climate
 
Jan 10, 2019
Explainer: Why sea levels aren't rising at the same rate globally