HS-ETS1-2

Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.

  1. Earth

    Nicotine from smoke enters body through the skin

    Scientists have shown for the first time that nicotine from cigarette smoke can enter the body through bare skin from the air or contact with smoky clothes.

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  2. Genetics

    Explainer: What is epigenetics?

    Epigenetics is the study of molecular “switches” that turn genes on and off. Tweak those switches and there could be big health consequences.

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  3. Tech

    ‘Smart’ sutures monitor healing

    Coatings added to the threads used to stitch up a wound let researchers use electrical signals to monitor a wound’s healing — even one covered by a bandage.

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  4. Materials Science

    Beetles offer people lessons in moisture control

    Taking tricks from a beetle, researchers are designing surfaces that collect water from the air or resist frost buildup.

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  5. Materials Science

    Nano medicines take aim at big diseases

    Nanomedicines are new treatments and tools that are taking aim at disease from the cellular level. Medicine’s next big thing could be very teeny tiny.

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  6. Chemistry

    Gasp! At the movies, your breaths reveal your emotions

    Researchers took air samples as they screened movies. What people exhaled were linked to film scenes’ emotional tone, they found.

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  7. Environment

    Fighting big farm pollution with a tiny plant

    Fertilizer runoff can fuel the growth of toxic algae nearby lakes. A teen decided to harness a tiny plant to sop up that fertilizer.

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  8. Tech

    Concrete science

    Teen researchers are exploring ways to strengthen this building material, use it for safety purposes and use its discarded rubble.

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  9. Space

    Biologist Kate Rubins is headed to space

    Molecular biologist and astronaut Kate Rubins has spent 7 years preparing for a mission to the International Space Station. She blasts off this month.

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  10. Computing

    ‘Couch potatoes’ tend to be TV-energy hogs

    Many government programs urge people to save electricity by using more efficient TVs. Here’s why these programs should target “couch potatoes.”

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  11. Tech

    Helping MS patients get a grip on things

    An Irish teen has invented a device that helps people with multiple sclerosis address the “clenched fist” symptom that afflicts most such patients.

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  12. Tech

    Control a computer with your tongue

    Thousands of severely paralyzed people could venture into cyberspace with the use of this new tongue-controlled computer mouse. It was developed by a teen.

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