All Stories by Anna Gibbs
- Fossils
Bizarre ancient critter has spines but no anus
The spiny discovery moves this minion lookalike off a distant limb on the human family tree.
- Animals
Sleepy mosquitoes prefer dozing over dining
Mosquitoes repeatedly shaken to prevent slumber lagged behind well-rested ones when offered a leg to feed on.
- Space
Ancient volcanoes may have left ice at the moon’s poles
Volcanic eruptions billions of years ago may have produced several temporary atmospheres on the moon that held water vapor.
- Tech
Teens’ new tech would send alerts to reduce preventable deaths
A trio of teen innovations created devices that can speed up the response time to pool accidents, overheating in cars and combat-related injuries.
- Animals
A dog’s breed doesn’t say much about its behavior
Many people associate dog breeds with specific behavioral traits. But breed appears to account for only about 9 percent of behavioral differences.
- Animals
Here’s why cricket farmers may want to go green — literally
Crickets are great sources of protein, but they often kill each other in captivity. Green light could help solve the problem, two teens find.
- Tech
Teen-designed tech could expand access for people with disabilities
Several inventors at the 2022 Regeneron ISEF competition offered creative solutions that translate sign language and help blind people navigate.
- Environment
Bubbles could help remove trash from rivers
One young engineer devised a way to make bubbles sweep away the trash floating down a creek, like the one in her backyard.
- Plants
Electric shocks act like vaccines to protect plants from viruses
To protect crops against viruses in their home country of Taiwan, two teens invented a novel approach to fight blights.
- Chemistry
Cellulose may keep ice cream from turning gritty in your freezer
Adding nanocrystals extracted from wood avoids the growth of ice crystals, keeping your treat smooth and creamy.
- Microbes
Kitchen sponges are bacteria’s dream home
Sponges are favorite spots for bacteria, partly because of the mixed-housing environment that the cleaner-uppers offer microbes.
- Animals
Orcas can take down the largest animal on the planet
For the first time, scientists observed that orcas can kill blue whales by using the same hunting techniques that have worked on other large whales.
