When playful pups skid across an icy pond or romp in a snowdrift, their paws plunge into frosty places. If people go barehanded and barefooted in such cold places, their skin may freeze in a painful condition called frostbite. Dogs frolic without fear of frostbite, and scientists from Japan say they’ve figured out why.   Dog paws don’t freeze because the arrangement of blood vessels beneath the animals’ skin keeps the temperature just right, the scientists report. The arrangement helps the animal hold on to body heat, which might otherwise be easily lost through their hairless paws...

Even among poisons, Shiga toxin is particularly nasty. When this substance gets inside the body, it can damage blood vessels, causing them to lose large amounts of blood. Produced by single-celled organisms called bacteria, including a common type of E. coli, this poison can kill quickly. That’s why scientists from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh were excited to discover that a mineral called manganese may lessen the bite of Shiga toxin. Their experiments suggest this metallic food supplement might offer a fast and affordable cure for formerly deadly infections. Visit...

If you ever travel to the moon, don’t forget to pack a heavy-duty umbrella. It’s not for downpours: With no atmosphere, there’s no chance of rain. But hundreds of times each year, small space rocks smash into the lunar surface, flashing brightly enough to be seen from Earth.   Researchers have long argued about why the collisions lead to light. A new study appears to have solved the mystery. Scientists in Europe say the flashes come from scorching pieces of material kicked up from the lunar surface after the collisions.  Visit the new Science News for Kids websit...

Most global warming stories talk about carbon dioxide, the colorless gas that accumulates in the atmosphere and insulates the planet like a giant, invisible blanket. But carbon dioxide isn’t the only greenhouse gas. Another, called methane, also traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere (one definition of the greenhouse effect) — more than 20 times as much as the same amount of carbon dioxide. But unlike carbon dioxide, which can hover for hundreds of years, methane stays in the air for only about 12 years.   So reducing methane might be an easy way to start tackling a big problem.   ...

By the light of day, a greeneye fish seems ordinary: It has a long, narrow body and a small head topped with large, upward-glancing eyes. But if you cut out the bright lights and turn on a dim blue-violet bulb, those eyes glow with an eerie, green hue. That’s because their lenses are fluorescent, which means they absorb one color of light and emit another. Scientists are now beginning to understand the advantages this gives the species. Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Fish eyes go green

A new experiment may seem too odd to be true: Scientists have found a way to grow an eye in a tadpole’s gut. The view from the third eye is probably unappealing, but the study shows how electric charges can be used to coax cells to grow in surprising ways.   It also offers a new look at a possible way to regenerate, or regrow, larger limbs.Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Eyes from ions

With March Madness right around the corner, basketball-watching season is in full swing. People who play or watch the sport know that the right shot can make or break a game. A swoosh through the hoops may bring the thrill of victory; a backboard bounce may give a team another chance.   Devoted fans aren’t the only ones watching pro basketball players and other athletes. Though top jocks may be well known for using their bodies, scientists have found that athletes’ brains also work hard while playing.  New data show athletes can "see" and anticipate opponents moves differen...

James Bond and his enemies would be interested in the goings-on at the laboratory of John Rogers. So would Batman, the Spy Kids, Darth Vader and their enemies. That’s because Rogers, a materials scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, mixes electronics with the human body to create new devices not found even in science fiction.   Make room, Lord Vader. There’s a new kind of cyborg in town.   Rogers and his collaborators have built an electronic device that’s smaller than a postage stamp and sticks to the skin like a temporary tattoo. The device’s possib...