Chemistry
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Hydrogel
Tangled polymer chains help hydrogels hold their shape despite being full of water.
- Environment
For a better brick, just add poop
Sewage sludge. Cow dung. They’re not just waste — scientists are finding uses for processed poop in construction materials.
- Physics
How salty does the sea have to be for an egg to float?
Some objects float on top of the ocean, and other objects sink to the bottom. Why? Try this eggs-periment to find out!
- Chemistry
Explainer: All about carbon dioxide
Animals and other life on Earth exhale carbon dioxide, which plants use for photosynthesis. But too much of this gas can perturb Earth’s climate.
- 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.
- Chemistry
Was that fingerprint left during a crime? A new test may answer that
In what could be a boon to forensics, Iowa State University chemists have come up with a way to analyze the age of fingerprints.
- Physics
Explainer: Radiation and radioactive decay
Like clockwork, radioactive forms of some elements shed parts of themselves as they attempt to become nonradioactive.
- Physics
Explainer: Radioactive dating helps solve mysteries
Knowing the decay rate of radioactive elements can help date ancient fossils and other artifacts.
- Earth
Fossil-fuel use is confusing some carbon-dating measurements
Carbon-14 dating of recent artifacts will soon give scientists confusing results. That’s another price society pays for its reliance on fossil fuels.
- Chemistry
Forensic scientists are gaining an edge on crime
Advances in forensic science are helping to recover invisible fingerprints and identify missing people from bits of tissue or bone.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Fluorescence
This property causes materials — including some animals’ skin, fur or feathers — to glow under light.
- Environment
This chemist uses online videos to teach about the perils of microplastics
Imari Walker says her journey as a scientist and science communicator lets her talk about and advocate for her passion.
