All Stories by Bethany Brookshire
- Materials Science
Scientists Say: Colloid
When water hovers in the air as fog and when bits of fat disperse in water as milk, they form a type of substance called a colloid.
- Animals
Scientists Say: Plankter
Plankton is the word used to describe a collection of these tiny free-floating organisms. This is what you call just one.
- Fossils
Scientists Say: Coprolite
Every living thing and signs of its existence — right down to their wastes — can fossilize under the right conditions. When poop fossilizes, it gets a special name.
- Ecosystems
Scientists say: Biomagnify
Chemicals in the environment can build up in an animal’s tissues. Predators who feed on these animals can accumulate more and more of the pollutants, a process known as biomagnification.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists say: Inflammation
When cells are injured, they send out distress signals. The rescuing cells cause more blood to flow to the area, producing inflammation.
- Animals
Picture This: Winter brings white noses
White-nose syndrome, caused by a fungus, has killed millions of bats in the eastern United States. Now, scientists show that the disease comes and goes, by season. The finding could help scientists more effectively target any treatments.
- Animals
Scientists say: Hibernaculum
This week’s word is hibernaculum, the word scientists use to describe the place where an animal goes to hibernate.
- Science & Society
A teacher’s guide to mentoring in STEM
Many people in STEM careers credit mentors for their success. But a good mentor is more than just a teacher.
- Animals
Picture this: Too many walruses
A giant herd of walruses have hauled out onto a beach in Alaska. They don’t belong there, but with no ice nearby, they have taken to land.
- Animals
Octopus sets egg-nurturing record
Animals will do extraordinary things to help their babies survive. Consider ‘Octomom:’ She sat on one clutch of eggs for nearly 4.5 years.
