HS-LS4-4
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.
- Genetics
Scientists Say: Evolution
Evolution is how species change over time. Individuals in the group vary, and some will pass on their genes. Over time, the whole species changes.
- Plants
Here’s how giant pumpkins get so big
Cinderella took a ride in a pumpkin coach. Though real pumpkins do get big enough, here’s why their ride would be uncomfortable at best.
- Life
Let’s learn about alligators and crocodiles
Alligators and crocodiles seem similar — but they live in different places and look different, too.
- Animals
A single chemical may draw lonely locusts into a hungry swarm
Swarms of locusts can destroy crops. Scientists have discovered a chemical that might make locusts come together in huge hungry swarms.
- Animals
Analyze This: Hurricanes may help lizards evolve better grips
Lizards have larger toepads in areas that tend to have higher hurricane activity. This suggests high winds select for those that can hang tight.
- Earth
On an Alaskan glacier, little green moss balls roll in herds
Oval balls of moss, nicknamed ‘glacier mice,’ roll across some glaciers. A new study explores the mysteries behind their herd-like motion.
- Animals
What you need to know about ‘murder hornets’
Two new specimens of the world’s largest hornet have just turned up in the United States. Here’s what to make of them and other alien-hornet invaders.
- Fossils
Saber-toothed anchovy relatives were once fearsome hunters
Today’s plankton-eating anchovies sport tiny teeth. But their ancient kin were armed with spiky lower teeth and a giant upper sabertooth.
- Health & Medicine
How to find the next pandemic virus before it finds us
Wild animals carry viruses that can sicken people. Monitoring those viral hosts that pose the greatest risk might help prevent a new pandemic.
- Science & Society
COVID-19: When will it be safe to go out again?
No one yet knows when social distancing can end. Experts explain we need 'herd immunity,' which won't be easy and may come at a horrific cost.
- Genetics
What would it take to make a unicorn?
Onward’s dumpster-diving unicorns seem like an impossibility. But scientists have some ideas about how unicorns could become real.
- Animals
Analyze This: Shimmering colors may help beetles hide
Delve into data showing how brilliant colors that shift as a viewer — or predator — moves may help iridescent insects blend in.
