MS-LS1-6
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
- 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.
- Environment
Trees can make summer ozone levels much worse
The greenery can release chemicals into the air that react with combustion pollutants to make ozone. And trees release more of those chemicals where it gets really hot, a new study finds.
- Tech
Wired and weird: Meet the cyborg plants
By mixing electronics with greenery, engineers have made plants that conduct electricity, detect bombs and send email.
- Oceans
Creative ways to help coral reefs recover
Coral reefs are under siege from threats ranging from climate change to explosives. But scientists are developing ways to rebuild reefs before they disappear.
- Plants
Houseplants suck up air pollutants that can sicken people
Certain indoor air pollutants can sicken people. But some houseplants can remove those chemicals from a room’s air, new data show.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Chlorophyll
Plants can make energy out of sunlight, all thanks to a pigment called chlorophyll.
- Physics
Scrubbing bubbles: Secret to ouch-free dental cleanings?
People with sensitive teeth can find routine dental cleanings painful. But bubbles might pave way to no-touch — and pain-free — cleaning for these people.
- Environment
Not so sweet: Fake sugar found at sea
Sucralose — sold in stores as Splenda — has begun turning up in seawater. This raises concern about the fake sweetener’s impacts on the environment.
- Agriculture
Organic food starts to prove its worth
Organic food often comes with a higher price. But research is showing that food grown this way can be better for the environment — and possibly for us.
- Plants
Picture This: The world’s biggest seed
This monster seed develops on a super-slow-growing island palm. Key to that palm’s survival are leaves that funnel fertilized water to nutrient-starved roots.
- Environment
Native ‘snot’
The ‘rock snot’ choking rivers may be native algae. Experts blame its sudden and dramatic emergence on changes in Earth’s atmosphere, soils and climate.
