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Scientists have discovered an enzyme that helps oxidize the pigment aldehyde psittacofulvin, which colors parrot feathers red, to carboxyl psittacofulvin, a yellow pigment. After reviewing the basics of molecular structure and bonding, use this activity to introduce functional groups to students before having the students describe how different pigments might create the feather colors in a photo of a parrot. Finally, discuss the importance of understanding properties and reactivity of functional groups.

Learn how scientists use vampire bats' unusual locomotion to investigate mysteries of their blood-based metabolism. Then, answer questions about this study’s experimental design and discuss how chemical analysis data can support conclusions and answer scientific questions.

Smartphone use is changing human behavior and likely influencing our brains. New research is turning up clues as to how our interaction with devices is shaping our memory, navigation and even our happiness. Use the data visualization “Screentime” and graph “What am I missing” to have students analyze data on phone use and behavior.

Review the major components of the immune system then have students investigate lifecycles of pathogens and the possibility of polar bear exposure to them and discuss the ethics of experimental design using a rat training study with articles from the November 20 issue of Science News.

Students will learn how their bodies help protect them from bacteria, viruses and other foreign invaders. Have students review the major components of the immune system and investigate the life cycles of a few prevalent pathogens of polar bears, focusing on the mode of transmission and effects of being infected by the pathogen. Students will then infer why polar bears are being exposed to these pathogens more regularly.

Wildlife smugglers beware: A new border-patrol agent may scurry into nearby airports. Learn how African giant pouched rats in tiny red vests are being trained to sniff out elephant ivory and other illegal goods from at-risk species. Then answer questions about the ethics of the experimental design of animal studies and the value of biodiversity.

To tackle our warming climate, we’ll need to rein in emissions of carbon dioxide, but there’s another greenhouse gas at play: methane. Decreasing methane concentrations may be the best bet for stopping rising temperatures in the short term.

Use a carnivorous plant enzyme and an enzyme from a symbiotic fungal friend to introduce catalysts to your students before having them investigate their own example and potential applications and show popular “liquid cat” in-home experiments to teach about experimental design.

"Cats are liquid." You may have heard this playful saying before. Cats earn a reputation for oozing in and out of some tight spots. But lately, some scientists started wondering whether they’d fit through an opening of any size. Learn how scientists have developed controlled in-home experiments to address such questions scientifically. Answer questions about independent and dependent variables and compare two similar experiments in terms of experimental design.

A carnivorous plant enzyme and an enzyme from a symbiotic fungal friend expedite digestion of ants. Use this as an example of enzymes, to introduce catalysts to your students. Then have students investigate how enzymes relate to catalysts, create their own catalyst metaphor and find another example of a catalyst or enzyme. Have students share examples and, as a class, discuss why scientists are interested in learning more about enzymes or other catalysts and potential applications of catalysts.

Begin a unit on natural selection using the northern sea robin before having students create their own species with adaptations specific to a unique habitat and introduce a new type of gamma ray electromagnetic radiation found from lightning with articles from the November 2 issue of Science News.

Lightning crackles across roiling skies—a visible display of a thunderstorm's energy. However, these storms produce more energy than we can see. Scientists have now used new gamma-ray imaging techniques to reveal invisible energy streaming out of these natural light shows. Learn how gamma rays relate to the electromagnetic spectrum and explore the relationship between wavelength and energy, all while drawing connections to weather phenomena.