All Stories by Sid Perkins
- Earth
Explainer: Understanding ice ages
Earth slowly wobbles, tilts and stretches (or contracts) as it orbits the sun. These changes may be fairly small and subtle. Still, their cumulative impacts can be huge — sometimes triggering the slow onset of an ice age or an abrupt thaw.
- Earth
Explainer: The volcano basics
Here’s an overview of what they are, where they form and the many ways they pose dangers.
- Fossils
Some Arctic dinos lived in herds
Fossil footprints retrieved from Alaska indicate that plant-eating duckbill dinos not only traveled as extended families but also spent their entire lives in the Arctic.
- Earth
Nifty science
Inspired research put select high school seniors on the path to the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search finals.
- Animals
Mosquitoes, be gone!
An extract of local seeds in Puerto Rico may be the key to keeping mosquitoes away. It kills the larval insects and repels the biting adults.
- Microbes
Convincing bacteria they’re alone
Caffeine may be the trick to confusing some bacteria into thinking they’ve not yet summoned enough troops to launch a successful attack on their host. It could prove an alternative to antibiotics for certain infections.
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Better than plywood
Most people think of pineapple as a tasty fruit. But it can be so much more, two Malaysian teens showed. They turned the plant’s leaves into a construction material that’s both strong and waterproof.
- Earth
Don’t let the bedbugs bite
A trio of teens has found a nontoxic way to stop bedbugs dead in their tracks. The method relies on a mesh of fibers that a bug can step into easily — but never leave.
- Animals
Mite-y discoveries!
Two teens from Russia discovered tiny mites living inside grass-like plants called rushes. Three of the species they turned up are new to science.
- Science & Society
Teen’s cancer research scores big at Intel ISEF competition
Seventeen teens grabbed top honors at the world’s premier high-school science competition. A 15-year old cancer researcher got to take home $75,000.
- Tech
The road less worn
Two teens have found a new use for old tires. By grinding them up and adding them to asphalt, the old rubber can create stronger, longer-lived roads. And the bonus: The process recycles tires that might otherwise have been burned, creating pollution.
- Tech
Fighting theater pirates
How can theaters thwart thieves from unlawfully recording a movie during a showing? A high-school freshman’s low-cost solution relies on simple physics.
