Take a deep breath and hold it for 30 seconds. Now you know what it's like for fish in a coastal dead zone, a place where there's little or no oxygen in the water, says Robert Diaz. He's a researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point. You can catch your breath after 30 seconds. But in a dead zone animals can't. Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Suffocating waters

Earthworms have many fans. In 1881, Charles Darwin — the father of evolutionary theory — wrote a whole book on earthworms. In it, he concluded that “It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures.” But many American scientists are coming to view some earthworms as enemies. To see why, visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: Tiny earthworms’ big impact