EurekAlert! - Science Reporting for Kids

Former astronaut preps students for success with math and science

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

More than 50 area middle-school students are using the summer break to sharpen their math and science skills during the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp at the University of Houston. Former astronaut and UH alum Dr. Bernard Harris Jr. will be on hand to help the campers create space suit swatches capable of absorbing the impact of space debris.

Great Sunflower Project asks public to count bees in backyards, parks and trails

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Interested in bees? Want to help scientists learn about the lives of pollinating insects? The Great Sunflower Project needs your help. The public are being asked to help count bees, and this summer, there are even more ways to take part. Now in its sixth year, The Great Sunflower Project is encouraging its corps of more than 100,000 volunteers to observe bees and other pollinators on all kinds of plants and in all kinds of places, from backyards and parks to nature trails.

Better oxygen storage deepens the dive

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

All mammals -- including you -- have oxygen-storing molecules, but deep-diving mammals like whales have adapted special versions of these molecules that let them hold their breaths for long periods, and a new study provides insight into just when this special capability evolved.

All aboard the Mars Express

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Ten years ago, the Mars Express blasted its way out of Earth's atmosphere and began its journey to the Red Planet. Since then, the Martian probe has been hard at work shedding light on the many mysteries of this alien world. In the last decade the Mars Express has sent home dramatic images of huge volcanoes, gigantic canyons and the planet's Earth-like polar ice caps.

It's a trap!

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Nearly 1,000 alien worlds have now been found orbiting around distant stars. What we don't fully understand is how they form. We know that young stars are often surrounded by rings of dust, but how do tiny grains of dust in the discs around young stars grow bigger and bigger, to become rubble and comets and eventually giant, rocky planets like the one we live on? This is a mystery that the ALMA telescope is trying to solve.

Birds of a colony eat together

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Animals trying to determine where their feeding territory ends and the feeding territory of a competing animal nearby begins may be influenced just as much by signals they share with others in their colony as by spats and squabbles with members of competing colonies, reveals a new study in Science.

Science Books & Films suggests 10 top summer books for K-4 students

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Ten great books for students in kindergarten through the fourth grade, suggested by Science Books & Films at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, promise to stimulate children's imaginations and help combat summer learning loss.

Caught on camera!

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

In 1992, a discovery was made that changed our view of the Universe: the first alien world was detected circling a distant star. With this discovery, there was no denying it -- the Earth and its brothers and sisters in our solar system are not alone. Since this first discovery, almost 1000 exo-planets have been identified. But only about a dozen were directly photographed. Now astronomers have caught on camera the lightest exo-planet ever seen!

Where are all the normal galaxies?

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Most of the distant galaxies we have observed and cataloged are extremely bright and easy to spot. This gives the impression that bright, active galaxies are more common in the Universe than "normal" galaxies like our home, the Milky Way galaxy. But this may not be the case. Using the world's most sensitive radio telescope, ALMA, astronomers have finally started to uncover these elusive "normal" galaxies!

The hunt for distant galaxies

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Interested in Helping Find Galaxies In Deep Space? Then meet a galaxy-hunting team that needs your help.

Human activity echoes through the Brazilian rainforest

Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The disappearance of large, fruit-eating birds from tropical rainforests in Brazil has caused the forests' palm trees to produce smaller, weaker seeds over the past century, researchers say. The finding makes it clear that human activity can trigger fast-paced evolutionary changes in natural ecosystems.

Music of the Spheres: Star songs

Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Plato, the Greek philosopher and mathematician, described music and astronomy as "sister sciences" that both encompass harmonious motions, whether of instrument strings or celestial objects. This philosophy of a "Music of the Spheres" was symbolic. However, modern technology is creating a true music of the spheres by transforming astronomical data into unique musical compositions.

The circle of life

Wed, 29 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Stars like the sun were believe to blow off much of their atmospheres into space near the end of their lives. This material then goes on to form the next generation of stars. Like the circle of life on Earth. But new studies have shaken up science -- they've shown that this isn't the case for up to 70 percent of all sun-like stars!

Science teachers see NASA IceBridge research

Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

NASA's Operation IceBridge gave three teachers -- one each from the United States, Greenland and Denmark -- an inside view of research by hosting a field research experience during part of the 2013 Arctic campaign.

Cockroaches outsmart sugary traps

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

A new study in the May 24 issue of Science reveals how cockroaches outsmart the sugary traps designed to catch and kill them.

Pretty in pink

Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The world's best instrument for looking at the visible universe turns 15 today. Happy birthday to the Very Large Telescope! To celebrate, the telescope has been used to take this space photograph of a party in Space. The theme is "pretty in pink" and there are bright disco lights and dark balloons scattered all across the image.

Making tiny complex controlled shapes

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

A new study in the May 17 issue of Science reveals how to make minerals assemble themselves into complex but controlled architectures.

The universe is a cool place!

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The universe is a pretty cool place. If you hopped on a tour bus for a complete tour of the cosmos, it would take you past a number of "hot" attractions, like the sun, monster black holes and billions of shining stars. But mostly, space is incredibly cold. Like the object in this picture, it might look like a ribbon of hot fire stretching through space, but this is actually a cold cloud of gas and dust, just -250 °C!

Half of national Microsoft video game design finalists from UH

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Two teams from the University of Houston are among the 10 finalists chosen from among thousands of America's brightest young computer science students to reach the final round of the US Imagine Cup in Silicon Valley. They will vie for cash prizes and a spot to represent the U.S. at the Worldwide Finals in Russia. For the fourth consecutive year, UH is the only school to have more than one team in the gaming category.

New American Chemical Society video: Keeping tabs on global air pollution from space

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

What flies around the world 14 times a day and can detect global air pollution levels from space? It's the Aura satellite, the star of the latest ChemMatters video from the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The video is available at http://www.BytesizeScience.com.

Astronomers vs. Kids available now

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

EU-UNAWE is delighted to announce the release of a brand new educational tool: Astronomers vs. Kids! The two new videos have been created specifically for use by educators, to help introduce the hottest topics in astronomy to the classroom, answer the most fundamental questions about the universe and incite a passion for astronomy in curious young students.

The secret lives of bubbles

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

A froth of soap suds, a handful of shaving cream or the mass of bubbles that sits on top of a freshly poured soda -- all of these things are foams or foam-like materials. They all have complex dynamics too, since the individual bubbles that make them up are constantly growing, popping and shape-shifting.

Rising from ashes

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Like the legendary phoenix, a number of Earth-like planets have been spotted rising from the ashes of a pair of burnt-out stars, many light years from our solar system. Observations show that these planets probably get their rocky material from nearby asteroids which were torn apart by the stars' strong gravitational fields! The pulverized material would have been pulled into a ring shape surrounding the retired stars and within this disc, brand new planets formed!

With heart cells, middle schoolers learn the hard lessons of science

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The drug trial is not off to an auspicious start. The cells are not cooperating."My control is a beater, but right now my other ones are not," observes Morgridge Outreach Experiences assistant coordinator Irene Landrum as she works under a lab hood manipulating plates of cardiomyocytes, the workhorse cells of the human heart. "Let's get these guys warmed up. If they're too cold, they can stop beating."

I can see your halo

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The universe is enormous and full of empty space. Yet somehow, despite all this empty space, galaxies crashing into each other is a fairly common sight. One such collision has been caught in this cosmic picture; which shows the enormous cloud of hot gas surrounding two large colliding galaxies called NGC 6240.

Robotic flies take to the skies

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The common house-fly is one of nature's most agile fliers, capable of dodging flyswatters and carefully landing on flowers that are blowing in the wind. Now, researchers have designed a small, flying robot -- about the size of a house-fly -- that can execute the same tricky maneuvers.

Cloudy with a chance of star birth

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

There's no atmosphere in space. This means that there is no weather; no cool breeze, no torrential rainfall and definitely no snow ... but there are clouds. "Nebulae" are clouds of gas and dust in space. These clouds come in many different varieties: some are the remains of dead stars, while others are areas of vigorous star birth. This new space picture includes a number of different types of nebula, take a look and find out more.

Plastic problem payoff for STEM savvy students

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Extraordinary problem-solving and creativity earned 29 high school students from Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania top honors -- and top dollars -- in the 2013 Moody's Mega Math Challenge, a math modeling contest organized by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and sponsored by the Moody's Foundation.

The warped fabric of our universe

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Have you ever wondered why people on the other side of the world don't fall off? In the 17th century, a man called Isaac Newton came up with an answer: "gravity," a force that attracts all bodies that have mass. But, more recently, Albert Einstein came up with another idea for what gravity is. He suggested that it's actually the curving of the fabric of the universe, known as "spacetime," around objects. Is he right?

Probing and proving gravity theory

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Scientists have identified a neutron star, the densest kind of a star in the universe, which has helped them prove Einstein's theory of relativity in a place it's never been tested, a new study in Science reports.

Comet makes a splash on Jupiter

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

When scientists named Jupiter a "gas giant," they weren't exaggerating -- if you parachuted into Jupiter, you would never hit solid ground! The planet is made up largely of swirling, stormy hydrogen gas tens of thousands of kilometers thick. But now astronomers have found another element on the planet: water, and it was delivered to the planet by a comet!

Born in the wild

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Astronomers have discovered a group of stars in the trail of a fast-moving dwarf galaxy. Apparently, these have been able to form in extreme circumstances: winds of 4 million kilometers per hour and temperatures reaching up to one million degrees Celsius. The dwarf galaxy is rushing through the Virgo Cluster at a distance of 55 million light years from our Milky Way.

Stressful conditions help moms help their babies

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Pregnant squirrels may be able to help their babies before they are born simply by living in a crowded place, a new study in the journal Science reports.

Shining a light into the brain

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers have figured out a way to insert tiny electronic devices that can detect and control light into the brains of rodents without harming the animals. Until now, similar devices, like light sources and sensors, have been safely placed upon the brain. But, inserting such electronics directly into brain tissue has caused serious damage and irritation.

'Ain't no sunshine when she's gone'

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

If you're a regular reader of Space Scoop, you've probably seen lots of exciting pictures of space by now. But you'll want to pay special attention to this fuzzy green blob, because this is the future fate of our sun! (But don't worry, we've got another five billion years before this happens!)

High school students offer recycling solutions for a possible share of $115,000

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Consider it a 30-million-ton problem. Of the nearly 300 million tons of plastic produced around the world each year, over 30 million winds up as plastic waste. Quantifying this waste, coming up with the best methods for US cities to recycle it, and recommending guidelines for nationwide recycling standards was the task faced by the nearly 6,000 US high school students who competed in Moody's Mega Math Challenge in early March.

Students attempt rowing cardboard boats at annual UH race

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Using only cardboard and duct tape to build boats that can be paddled more than 160 feet across a swimming pool, teens will put their physics skills to the test at an annual boat race at the University of Houston April 13. Students will spend several weeks applying lessons learned in physics class to build handmade vessels that are buoyant and stable enough to row across a pool without sinking.

Continent-wide look at vole populations

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Climate may be affecting vole populations across Europe, a new study in the journal Science reports.

ASPB joins National Park Foundation to support 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

ASPB returns today to the South Lawn to offer science activities for kids at the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll. ASPB is providing an in-kind donation of expertise and materials in its 'Growing Strong with Plants' booth. Plant science educators and researchers are set to chat with visitors about seed care, plant growth, and nutrients that plants provide. Kids can take home "My Life As A Plant," a coloring-activity book published by ASPB.

Termites behind desert 'fairy circles'

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

A new study uncovers the origin of fairy circles, circular patches of perennial grasses with a barren center that grow in the desert on the southwest coast of Africa. The research appears in the March 29, 2013, issue of the journal Science.

A case of mistaken identity

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Not once, but twice, this galaxy has been misidentified by professional astronomers. When it was first observed way back in 1780, it was called a nebula. Then, a few years later it was labelled a "star cluster." These days we know it is a spiral galaxy, but it also has another identity: it is the closest example of a "Seyfert galaxy." Want to learn more? Read on...

New kids on the block

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The universe is an old neighborhood; it's about 13.8 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also ancient: some of its stars are more than 13 billion years old. But it's still a lively place, with new objects forming and others being destroyed. In this image, you can see a group of young newcomers to our solar neighborhood.

It all started with a big bang ... but when?

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The space telescope, Planck, has been observing the oldest light in the world, from just after the Big Bang! The data has been made into this map, showing the shape of the universe when it was very young. The blue and red splotches you can see are the ancient 'seeds' of today's stars and galaxies. And guess what Planck found? The universe is millions of years older than we thought!

Taking robots off-roading

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Researchers can learn a lot from a lizard scampering across the desert sand or an insect walking across some gravel, according to a new study. Chen Li and colleagues studied how objects move across these types of "flowable" surfaces and designed a six-legged robot that can do it easily.

How to stand out from the crowd

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Back in 1999, a galaxy was floating peacefully through space without a care in the world. Then all of a sudden, its calm was shattered by a spectacular explosion. It was the fiery death of a massive star, one of the most violent events in nature. We call these explosions "supernovae," and this one was bright enough to outshine the rest of its galaxy combined!

ONR program helps girls pursue science careers

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Women's History Month is in full swing, and the Office of Naval Research is helping to meet the challenge of encouraging young women to become scientists.

Wings not lost, just hidden in some insects

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

The only limbs that can grow upon a modern insect's back are wings and wing-like structures, and they only appear on the second and third segments of an insect's thorax -- between their head and their abdomen. However, some insects in the fossil record seem to have wing-like "pads" on many of their non-winged body segments.

The search for our cosmic origins begins

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Today, a brand new telescope called ALMA opened its eyes. This gigantic telescope is the biggest in the world: made up of 66 huge dishes that will all work together to create the most powerful telescope on the face of the Earth! ALMA can capture light from some of the most distant objects in the cosmos, to show us never before seen details from the early universe!

NASA workshop transforms teachers into glaciologists for a week

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EDT

There are times in a teacher's professional life when she or he hits a wall. For the participants of a NASA training program for educators held on Feb. 11-15, the wall was a 50-foot icefall that the teachers proceeded to climb using ice axes and crampons.

Prairie dogs take cooperation over competition

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EST

Why did the prairie dog cross the road? It might be because all of its close female relatives had already done so, according to a new study by John Hoogland. This researcher studied three different species of prairie dogs for more than 30 years and discovered that -- unlike many other animals -- prairie dogs tend to stay in the areas they are born until their close family members are gone.

Paper or plastic?

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EST

Every five seconds, Americans use 60,000 plastic bags and consume 2,000 bottled drinks, an ecological concern on many minds, including thousands of high school juniors and seniors -- 5,809 across 29 states -- who spent last weekend devising methods to quantify and manage this waste. The impetus for this high-minded task is Moody's Mega Math Challenge, an Internet-based applied math contest organized by the Pennsylvania-based Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Cosmic candles shine a light on the size of the universe

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EST

For a hundred years, astronomers have been trying to pin down the exact distance to one of our nearest neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. Measuring distances in the vast Universe is very tricky business: we can't travel with a measuring tape, and our rulers would have to be very long! However, astronomers have come up with some very clever tricks for measuring distances, using just light from a pairs of stars orbiting each other!

Free insect fair in Lancaster, Pa., on St. Patrick's Day

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 EST

Thousands of insects and a swarm of entomologists will converge on Lancaster for the 84th Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America's Eastern Branch. The meeting will include a free public program for kids and parents called "It's a Bug's World." This event will be held on Sunday, March 17 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Eden Resorts.

For more food, we need wild bees

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Wild insects pollinate food crops more effectively than managed honeybees, a new study appearing online in Science Express reports.

Congratulations, it's a ... planet!?

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

When a woman is pregnant, she's has to go for an ultrasound, where doctors look into her womb to check on the baby growing inside. Astronomers recently performed similar observations on a nearby star -- by accident! While looking into the gassy disk surrounding the star, they were surprised to see a baby planet growing inside! For the first time a planet has been seen at such an early stage of its life!

Future leaders showcase work in Science and Engineering Fair

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Nearly 1,000 middle and high school students will present science and engineering research projects at the 54th Annual Science Engineering Fair of Houston Friday, March 1, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. As a lead sponsor, the University of Houston will host the fair's award ceremonies from noon to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2. Retired NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar will speak at the ceremonies, which are free and open to the public.

There's something fishy about this picture

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

ESO have snapped a breath-taking infrared photo of the so-called "Lobster Nebula" during an enormous survey that is being done by a telescope called VISTA. The survey will map the shape of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and help us discover how it formed.

Watching tiny particles in a Finland forest

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

All over the world, tiny airborne particles from volcanoes, dust, pollution and other sources float around in the atmosphere. New field studies in a boreal forest in Hyytiälä, Finland, and laboratory experiments reveal how these tiny particles, called atmospheric aerosols, are formed from gas molecules, a new study appearing in the journal Science reports.

Does melting ice in the Arctic mean more algae?

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Last year, Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest levels ever recorded. During that time, when the ice was the thinnest it had been in decades, scientists aboard the research vessel Polarstern found large amounts of an algae, known as Melosira arctica, growing under it.

NJIT sophomore gets invite from White House to attend tech summit

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Jinisha Patel, of Springfield, a sophomore at the College of Computing Sciences at NJIT, recently attended a White House technology summit. Patel numbered among 12 college students chosen to attend by the National Center for Women & Information Technology, a group Patel has worked with since high school.

Mathematics for the information age

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

So what's the best way to teach mathematics to the fast-paced, multitasking young people of the information age? Crunching numbers with pencil and paper and poring over the pages of conventional textbooks just doesn't cut it with this tech-savvy generation, so used to instant gratification!

Quick-Click Smack Down caps off UH contest for math-savvy teens

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Hundreds of Houston's most math-savvy teens will showcase their talents in physics, calculus and other subjects, Saturday, Feb. 9, during the eighth annual University of Houston Mathematics Contest. The event is free to participants and open to both middle and high school students. The organizers expect a turn out of 600 contestants from nearly 60 schools, all vying for awards and prizes.

What did the ancestor to most mammals look like?

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

A tiny, furry-tailed creature was the earliest ancestor of the placental mammals, according to a new study. That is, it was the ancestor of all the mammals except the marsupials and the small handful of mammals that lay eggs. The findings also help answer a decades-old debate about when the placental mammals first evolved.

The wings of the seagull nebula

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

There are lots of materials on Earth, but did you know that when you break them down they're all made from just a few basic chemicals? We call these chemicals "elements." For example, carbon is an element, but if you combine it with other elements you can form thousands of materials, like sugar, plastic and alcohol. We can find these basic elements in space, too, by looking at the colors of light we collect.

NASA invites children, families to learn about contamination, coatings of engineering

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., will host this month's free Sunday Experiment on Feb. 17, from 1-3 p.m. EST. This month's edition of Sunday Experiment will uncover the world of thermal coating and contamination engineering.

Pigeon genome opens a door to the past

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

The striking differences in behavior, feathers and color patterns among various breeds of pigeons captured the attention of Sir Charles Darwin long ago. While working on his now-famous theory of evolution, Darwin repeatedly referred to pigeons as dramatic examples of diversity. In fact, today, there are more than 350 different breeds of pigeon on record.

Can we name all of Earth's species?

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by news about how so many of Earth's species are facing extinction. Some experts have even despaired that we won't be able to identify all of the different species of plants, animals and fungi before they disappear forever.

Setting the night sky on fire

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Astronomers tell us that stars are born deep inside thick clouds of gas in space, but to find out for themselves they had to build special telescopes that can capture light our eyes can't see. These telescopes allow them to peer into dark, star-forming clouds to catch a glimpse of the hiding places where new stars form. Take a look at what they saw...

Hundreds of Mars rover models to be showcased at UH Jan. 26

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Nearly 250 Mars rover models created by elementary and middle school students will arrive at the University of Houston Saturday, Jan. 26, at the 11th annual Mars Rover Model Celebration and Exhibition. The event hosts hundreds of contestants dressed up in their finest Martian and rocket scientist gear and is free for the public to attend.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

The constellation Orion can easily be seen with the naked eye on winter nights in the northern hemisphere. Betelgeuse is the orange-red star above and to the left of Orion's famous three-star belt. The star might look tiny, but it is actually about 1,000 times bigger than our sun and shines 100,000 times brighter! Now we give you a closer look at this red supergiant as it gets closer to a nasty end as a powerful supernova explosion!

Animals in the Arctic linked by climate

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Few creatures call the high Arctic home year-round. But, for four animals -- reindeer, birds known as rock ptarmigans, small rodents called sibling voles, and arctic foxes, which eat the other three -- Norway's tiny Spitsbergen island is home, even during the freezing winters. Now, researchers have shown that extreme weather, like icy winter rains, can bring the birth and death rates of all four species into sync with one another.

Did somebody call the Ghostbusters?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Read about a new movie from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory that reveals the behavior of a "ghost star."

Preparing students for existing and future STEM career opportunities

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

If only 45 percent of US high school grads are ready for college-level math and the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the coming decade require at least some background in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) -- how will all these positions be filled? Perhaps Moody's Mega Math Challenge participants could help solve this question, as the contest puts high school students to the task of solving a real-world issue in just 14 hours using mathematical modeling.

Light from the darkness

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Things are not always what they seem, especially in space. To the naked eye, thick clouds of gas and dust appear empty and dark, but some are actually home to the brightest nebulae and hottest young stars in the universe!

Announcing the 2012 Best Paper Awards for Canadian Young Scientists

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

The Best Paper Awards for Canadian Young Scientists recognize the authors of exceptional papers published in the Canadian Young Scientist Journal. This year, honors went to a number of outstanding high school students in a variety of scientific areas.These awards are sponsored by Canadian Science Publishing, publisher of the NRC Research Press journals.

The battle of the brains again comes to NJIT: Science Olympiad set for Jan. 17

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Once again the brainiest of the brainy will descend Jan. 17, 2013, upon NJIT when 600 middle and senior high school students compete vigorously in the Northern New Jersey Science Olympiad Regional playoffs. The prize is to be crowned the best of North Jersey's future scientists and engineers.

Artificial muscles powered by water

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Researchers have designed artificial muscles, or actuators, that react to moisture in the environment. These actuators expand when they absorb water and contract when they expel it. So, when the researchers place them on a flat, wet surface, the actuators swell up and then topple over continuously.

NASA invites children, families to learn about NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory mission

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., will host this month's Sunday Experiment on Jan. 20 from 1-3 p.m. EST. The Sunday Experiment is a free afternoon for children of all ages and their families to discover NASA Goddard's exciting missions.

El Niño events are currently unpredictable

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 00:00:00 EST

Some climate events, like monsoon seasons, are thought to be influenced by greenhouse gases. But, so far, researchers have not been able to tie a quirk in the global climate, known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), to any other natural or human-made processes. The ENSO occurs roughly every five years, and it warms large stretches of the Pacific Ocean while influencing rainfall around the world.

Scientists to surveil Santa's sleigh Christmas Eve

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Los Alamos trackers will use state-of-the-art technology to mark the course taken this year by Santa Claus and his eight tiny reindeer during the Jolly Elf's annual mission to spread joy to all the children of the world. Visit http://santa.lanl.gov beginning at 6 a.m. December 24 to see St. Nick's whirlwind journey.

New space rock is rare type of meteorite

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

On April 22, 2012, several radar instruments -- typically used for tracking weather -- detected a fast-moving fireball in the skies over California and Nevada. Many people also saw it with their own eyes.

Santa considers switch from reindeer team to fish school

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Because summertime shrinkage of Arctic sea ice is hindering Santa's ability to provide the training his reindeer need to fly, he's considering switching to a school of fish and a boat for his Christmas rounds.

Scientists climb through and fly over a rain forest to count its bugs

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Did you ever dream about collecting bugs while climbing trees or flying a helium balloon? This is exactly what a team of scientists did to count the different arthropods (insects and others creepy-crawlies) in a Panamanian rainforest.

Darcin helps mice remember where scent marks are

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Scent marks, or the odors that mammals leave behind to mark their territory, contain cocktails of chemicals that pass on information about the animal's gender and social status. Animals regularly revisit scent marks to get more information about the creature leaving them, but until now researchers have not known how animals relocate these scent marks days or even weeks after first finding them.

Preparing for what can't be prepared for

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Even as an organizer of Moody's Mega Math Challenge began explaining to an inquiring audience how students can prepare for the Internet-based math modeling competition, long-time judge David Sprecher, professor emeritus at UC Santa Barbara, exclaimed, "But you can't prepare!"Interestingly, both perspectives accurately define the Challenge in which thousands of high school juniors and seniors from 29 states will compete on March 2-3, 2013, for scholarship awards totaling $115,000.

Donation made possible by UH allows visually impaired child to read

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

For the third year, a children's vision alliance is teaming up at the University of Houston to provide life-changing assistance to a visually impaired child in need. A nine-year-old boy with a rare disorder that results in rapid loss of vision will receive an electronic video magnifier thanks to an alliance between the Center for Sight Enhancement at UH's College of Optometry and two partner organizations, Optelec and Sight Savers America.

Pioneering cochlear implant patient returns to encourage others

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

The first person to receive a cochlear implant through the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders returned to share his experiences with younger patients. Michael was 15 months old when doctors offered their grim prognosis. He would never hear, and he would probably never be able to read or communicate beyond the level of a third-grader. "I'm very glad that I was able to prove them wrong," Noble said recently.

How do moths choose their flowers?

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Have you ever wondered how moths know which flowers to visit for nectar? A new study shows that a particular kind of moth -- the hawkmoth -- has specific patterns of brain activity for flower odors that it is naturally attracted to. On top of that, these moths can learn to associate new odors with nectar without forgetting their original, natural preferences, according to researchers.

Cracked skin and crocodile scales

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

Researchers have discovered how the scaly skin pattern on crocodile faces and jaws is created, reports a new study in the journal Science.

Blowing bubbles

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

Astronomers have captured a very special event in space: a so-called "reborn planetary nebula." This is a gas bubble inside a previously blown bubble, or nebula, like you can see in this image. Most stars turn into a nebula at the end of their lives, and sometimes, like in this case, they do the same thing twice.

On other planets, a new kind of magnesium oxide

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

Magnesium oxide, one of the simplest minerals on Earth, transforms into liquid metal under certain conditions likely to exist inside giant, Earth-like planets known as "super Earths," reports a new study in the journal Science.

American Chemical Society videos on the science behind turkey pop-up timers, tryptophan and more

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

Does tryptophan really cause the bleary-eyed daze after a Thanksgiving meal? Why does that timer pop up from the Thanksgiving turkey at just the right moment? What causes bloating after eating? For answers to those and other questions that could spark lively dinnertime conversation next Thursday, the American Chemical Society is offering an addition to the holiday menu: two Bytesize Science videos uncovering the chemistry behind Thanksgiving, available at www.BytesizeScience.com.

Rainforest insect hears like a human

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

The ear of the South American rainforest katydid sits on the insect's hind legs, and it's one of the smallest of all hearing organs. But in other ways, the katydid ear is remarkably similar to the mammalian ear, researchers have discovered.

Students from Maryland School for Blind visit NASA Goddard

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

October was National Disability Employment Awareness month, and students from the Maryland School for the Blind visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for a hands-on and audible learning experience about what happens at NASA and career opportunities available to them.

Corals signal to gobies, 'come clean me!'

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

On the reefs of Fiji, corals and goby fish help each other out, a new study shows. The corals offer the gobies food and shelter, and the gobies protect the corals from toxic seaweed.

Why fish talk

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EST

Clownfish produce sounds to establish and defend their breeding status in social groups, but not to attract mates, according to research published Nov. 7 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Orphal Colleye and colleagues from the University of Liege, Belgium.

Studying the solar system's first solids

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EDT

The first solids to form in our solar system more than four and a half billion years ago were calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions, or CAIs, and round grains called chondrules. They can both be found in meteorites today.

Registration open for high school math modeling competition

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Registration for Moody's Mega Math Challenge, an Internet-based competition that requires participants to analyze and interpret relevant issues in an effort to provide practical solutions opens today.

Early birds of a feather mated together?

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

The earliest feathers may have served decoration purposes, instead of helping animals to fly, according to a new study.

Say hello to a snake specialist!

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Jeff Ettling is a scientist who works hard to preserve amphibians and reptiles.Ettling works at the Saint Louis Zoo, where he is the curator of Herpetology and Aquatics. Herpetology is the study of amphibians (frogs, toads and salamanders) and reptiles (snakes, lizards and turtles).Learn about his career and his work at the zoo.