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Read articles, including Science News stories written for ages 9-14, on the SNK website.

When humans are injured, we bruise and our skin changes color. When a polymer containing a color-changing molecule called a mechanophore is about to break, it also produces a color. The process is similar. An injury breaks blood vessels under the surface of the skin. As a result, the skin turns red, blue or purple. Similarly, when a polymer with mechanophore molecules becomes “injured” or weak, one of the mechanophore bonds breaks and the material turns red. Credit: Kemter/iStockphoto

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