MS-LS2-5

Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

  1. Ecosystems

    Pooping ducks can shed the live eggs of fish

    Some carp eggs survived and even hatched after being pooped by a duck. This may help explain how invasive fish reach isolated waterways.

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  2. Oceans

    Going bright may help corals recover from bleaching

    When some corals bleach, they turn neon colors. Flashy hues may be part of a response that helps these corals recover and reunite with their algae.

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  3. Plants

    Silk-based microneedles may help treat diseased plants

    Engineers have invented silk microneedles to inject medicines into plants. One day farmers might use drones to dart their sick plants with meds from the air.

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  4. Environment

    Greener than burial? Turning human bodies into worm food

    Composting human bodies yielded good results — and good soil — in one small study. It could become an alternative to burial or cremation in one state.

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  5. Animals

    Conservation is going to the dogs

    Scientists are now training dogs to help track rare, elusive — and sometimes invasive — plants and animals.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Immune arms-race in bats may make their viruses deadly to people

    An overactive immune system may help bats avoid being sickened by many viruses. This may viruses becoming stronger — and deadlier — when they hit other species.

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  7. Animals

    Drones might one day capture a dolphin’s breath in midair

    High-speed footage of dolphin spray reveals that droplets blast upward at speeds close to 100 kilometers per hour.

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  8. Earth

    Help for a world drowning in microplastics

    Microplastic pollution in our oceans and lakes is a problem. Scientists are testing solutions — from more biodegradable recipes to nanotechnology.

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  9. Oceans

    Healthy coral reef sounds attract fish searching for a home

    Playing the sounds of a healthy reef can help attract fish to dying corals, helping rebuild their community.

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  10. Environment

    Australian fires have imperiled up to 100 species

    As massive wildfires consume huge swaths of Australia’s bush, untold species — many of them found nowhere else — are now threatened with extinction.

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  11. Microbes

    Drug-resistant germs kill some 35,000 Americans each year

    The new mortality rate may be way low, some experts say. Also troubling are two new germs that have emerged as big and urgent threats.

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  12. Life

    Explainer: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

    Prokaryotes tend to be small and simple, while eukaryotes have embraced a highly organized lifestyle. These divergent approaches to life have both proved very successful.

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