HS-LS1-2
Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms.
- Environment
Microplastic pollution aids viruses and prolongs their infectivity
The tiny plastic bits give these germs safe havens. That protection seems to increase as the plastic ages and breaks into ever smaller pieces.
- Animals
Some young fruit flies’ eyeballs literally pop out of their heads
The first published photo shoot of developing Pelmatops flies shows how their eyes rise on gangly stalks in the first hour of adulthood.
- Animals
Splatoon characters’ ink ammo was inspired by real octopuses and squid
In Nintendo’s Splatoon game series, Inklings and Octolings duke it out with weapons that fire ink. How does this ink compare with that of real octopuses and squid?
- Environment
Bacterial ‘living wires’ could help protect the seas and climate
Long, thin bacteria that conduct electricity may be able to help clean up oil spills and reduce emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Glymphatic System
The glymphatic system bathes the brain in cleansing fluids during sleep and clears away harmful cellular waste.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Fruit
Some foods usually called vegetables — such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers — are actually fruits.
- Animals
This acrobatic spider flips for its food — literally
An acrobatic hunting trick lets the Australian ant-slayer spider catch prey twice its size, a new study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Liver
This organ in the upper-right side of the belly does many essential jobs, such as cleaning blood and producing bile.
- Animals
How boa constrictors squeeze their prey without strangling themselves
Tracking boas’ ribs in X-ray videos revealed the snakes’ squeezing secrets. It’s the latest Wild Things cartoon from Science News Explores.
- Animals
Why these jumping toadlets get confused mid-flight
The tiny pumpkin toadlet tumbles when it jumps. Its ear canals may be too tiny to help the animal track its motion through the air.
- Animals
Orb-weaving spiders use their webs like external eardrums
Scientists discover that orb-weaving spiders listen with their legs, detecting sound vibrations that travel through their silken webs.
- Plants
Some redwood leaves make food while others drink water
The two types of leaves grow at different heights in trees at dry versus wet areas. They may help redwoods adapt to climate change.
