Environment

Health & Medicine

Is your home chilly? This might just be healthy

Feeling mildly cold (or a bit too warm) forces the body to adjust what it’s doing to maintain a healthy temperature. And that can do a body good, data now show.

Tech

Maybe ‘shade balls’ should not be balls

So-called shade balls have a range of uses in water reservoirs, from cutting evaporation to reducing the growth of algae. But the best performers might not actually be balls, a Florida teen now shows.

Environment

Cleaning up water that bees like to drink

Plant roots suck up pesticides used on soils, then release them into water that can seep from their leaves. This is a sweetened water that bees love to sip. A teen figured out how to remove most of the pesticide with bits of charcoal.

Environment

Ocean of the future may make shrimp small and colorful

Carbon dioxide released into the air can end up in the ocean, making it more acidic. A teen showed that this acidification could shrink shrimp and make them more colorful.

Environment

Arctic Sea could be ice-free by 2050

Everyone contributes to the melting of Arctic sea ice, and all are in danger of making summer ice disappear there completely by 2050, a new study finds.

Environment

Rocket nozzle research propels teen to big win

A 13-year old won the top prize at this year’s Broadcom MASTERS science competition. She had determined the best shape for a rocket nozzle. 

Chemistry

Lab creates new, unexpected type of ‘firenadoes’

A newly discovered type of fiery vortex burns hot and generates little soot. Scientists suspect it could be a solution to cleaning up oil spills at sea.

Environment

Scientists Say: Aufeis

Water keeps flowing underground even in the coldest Arctic winters. But when it comes to the surface, it chills out and forms large layers of ice — called aufeis.

Climate

Volcanic rocks can quickly turn pollution into stone

A test program in Iceland injected carbon dioxide into lava rocks. More than 95 percent of the gas turned to stone within two years.

Environment

Teens use science to worm through plastic waste

Some beetle larvae can eat plastic, which might be good for our pollution problem. But which types eat the most can vary a lot, these young scientists find.

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.

Genetics

Why some frogs can survive killer fungal disease

A disease is wiping out amphibian species around the globe. New research shows how some frogs develop immunity.