We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
Tiny floating plankton can accidentally eat sediment particles kicked up by deep sea mining. Plankton that munch these nutrient-poor particles could starve, which could lead to a starvation cascade affecting creatures at higher levels of ocean food webs.
Airlines often offer passengers the option to pay a few dollars for carbon credits that offset their share of the flight’s emissions. But those purchases might not be helping the climate because of problems with the voluntary carbon credit. Understanding how carbon credits work can help you decide what to do about your carbon footprint.
In atmospheric chemistry, an equilibrium will develop as the system balances gains and losses in important molecules. Calculate the role of bark-dwelling microbes on the overall concentrations of atmospheric methane, all while answering questions about how a new understanding of microbial diets might suggest paths to a more sustainable future.
Students will explore the cosmic timeline of the universe’s evolution era by era, from the Big Bang until today. Students will present about one of the eras using a visual aid they created to help communicate what happened during the era and the physics behind it.
Many people fear sharks even though it’s more likely for someone to be struck by lightning than bitten by a shark. People should instead fear for sharks, many of which are threatened. Researchers are working to convince people that sharks, which are vital to maintaining the ocean’s health, are more valuable alive than dead.
In this activity, students will read the Science News Explores article “There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away” and reflect on how the author of the article educates the reader. After finishing the article, students will create their own ecosystem portrait to educate their classmates about a unique ecosystem.
Freshwater fish make vast treks, but their migrations remain hidden beneath the surfaces of rivers. This invisibility has left freshwater fish largely overlooked, even as their populations worldwide have plummeted. Now, global “swimways” for migratory fish are emerging as an important conservation focus.
Scientists noticed Venus’s weirdly shaped mountain ranges decades ago, but until recently their origin has remained a mystery. Learn how researchers apply computer-modeling technology to existing data, revealing patterns suggesting what might have created such geological features. Answer questions about plate tectonics and discuss how our knowledge of Earth-like processes can help us understand the mysterious geology of other planets.
The atmosphere abounds with aerosols, tiny particles with large sway over global temperature. A new visualization from NASA reveals how these airborne particles swirl through Earth’s sky.
