MS-LS4-6

Use mathematical representations to support explanations of how natural selection may lead to increases and decreases of specific traits in populations over time.

  1. Animals

    When it’s hot, echidnas blow snot bubbles to cool off

    These spiky Australian mammals have a trick to moisten their noses, allowing them to survive hot temperatures that should kill them.

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  2. Animals

    How can Baby Yoda be 50 years old?

    Animals with wings, big bodies or other protections from predators are more likely to evolve long lifespans.

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  3. Animals

    A love of small mammals drives this scientist

    Alexis Mychajliw’s science is driven by her love of animals. She now looks to tar pits and fossilized poop to understand ancient ecosystems.

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  4. Humans

    Let’s learn about Neandertals

    Neandertals are an extinct species closely related to modern humans. They made tools and jewelry, controlled fires and cared for their sick.

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  5. Fossils

    An ancient ichthyosaur graveyard may have been a breeding ground

    Some 230 million years ago, huge dolphin-like reptiles appear to have gathered to breed in safe waters, just as many whales do today.

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  6. Animals

    This parasite makes wolves more likely to become leaders

    Gray wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii make riskier decisions. This makes them more likely to become pack leaders or strike out on their own.

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  7. Animals

    Some young fruit flies’ eyeballs literally pop out of their heads

    The first published photo shoot of developing Pelmatops flies shows how their eyes rise on gangly stalks in the first hour of adulthood.

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  8. Animals

    Cougars pushed out by wildfires took more risks around roads

    After an intense burn in 2018 in California, big cats in the region crossed roads more often. That put them at higher risk of becoming roadkill.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Should we use a genetic weapon against mosquitoes carrying malaria?

    One gene drive to eliminate malaria seems to work in the lab. Now it’s time to ask local people if they want it released in the wild.

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  10. Animals

    Sea creatures’ fishy scent protects them from deep-sea high pressures  

    TMAO’s water-wrangling ability protects a critter’s critical proteins — including muscle — from crushing under deep ocean pressures.

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  11. Animals

    Some ecologists value parasites — and now want a plan to save them

    Parasites get a bad rap as disease-causing, unwelcome guests on other organisms. But parasites are also imperiled, and scientists don’t want to lose them.

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  12. Animals

    How boa constrictors squeeze their prey without strangling themselves

    Tracking boas’ ribs in X-ray videos revealed the snakes’ squeezing secrets. It’s the latest Wild Things cartoon from Science News Explores.

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