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...

Fish gets extra thrust by the teeth of its skin.

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...

This week, the president of the United States invited some big winners to the White House. And no, they don’t play football.   February 7 marked the second ever White House Science Fair. About 100 middle school, high school and college students from across the country got a special invitation to spend the morning meeting with the president and his top scientists. Ten students who had competed in national academic challenges sponsored by Society for Science & the Public — or SSP, publisher of Science News for Kids — were among those honored. Some students even presented their pr...

Medication helps the brain clear a plaque-forming protein associated with dementia.