All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Health & Medicine
Why many Olympic athletes have early birthdays
When kids start out in sports, coaches tend to pick the biggest as the best. Here’s what scientists are trying to do about it.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Triclosan
This chemical is known for its bacteria-killing skills. But its use can also promote the development of dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Brain
Unlike adults, teens don’t perform better when the stakes are high
Adults tend to do better on tasks that have bigger rewards. Not teens. This difference might have to do with the rewiring of the brain during adolescence, new data suggest.
- Computing
Scientists Say: Ampere
An ampere is a unit of electric current. It’s a base unit, meaning it’s one on which all electrical calculations are based.
- Health & Medicine
Don’t blame the rats for spreading the Black Death
Popular history says millions of people died of the Black Death in the Middle Ages after being bit by fleas living on rats. But human fleas may be the real culprits, a new study finds.
- Microbes
Scientists Say: Archaea
Archaea are single-celled organisms that live anywhere from hot springs to your gut. Scientists used to think they were bacteria, but now they know they are their own domain.
- Chemistry
Scientists Say: Salt
Salts in chemistry are compounds made when a positively charged acid is combined with a negatively charged base. Table salt is one example.
- Space
Scientists Say: Neutron star
When large, ancient stars die, they explode. But they don’t disappear. The remnants become incredibly dense neutron stars.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists Say: Epidermis
The epidermis is the outer layer of your skin. It helps protect you from dangerous things in the environment, and helps control how much water evaporates from your body.
- Microbes
Scientists Say: Microbiome
You’ve got company. Every animal and plant has microscopic organisms living on and in them. These include bacteria, protists, archaea, fungi and viruses.
- Ecosystems
Here’s why scientists have been fertilizing the Arctic
For more than 30 years, scientists have been fertilizing small parcels of Arctic tundra. Here’s what happens when you push an ecosystem to the brink.
- Plants
Explainer: The fertilizing power of N and P
Two elements — nitrogen and phosphorus — help plants grow. When the soil doesn’t have them, farmers might add them in the form of fertilizer.
