695R 841C  How Smart Are Orangutans?

Fu Manchu was an orangutan in a zoo. He escaped often. The keepers were confused. They found he used a wire to pick the lock. Orangutans are smart. They live in forests and learn from their mothers. Babies stay with their moms for years. They learn to climb and eat different plan...

813R 1077C  Is Whale Poop the Ocean¡¯s Most Valuable Tr...

In 1891, James Bartley, a whaler, was said to be swallowed by a whale and survived for 36 hours. While this story is likely false, it reminds us of the ocean¡¯s mysteries. Whales release waste into the water, and while this may seem gross, whale poop is actually very important. ...

708R 867C  Why Fish Are Better at Breathing Than Human...

In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge ran a marathon in under two hours, taking in twice as much oxygen as non-runners. But even he can¡¯t breathe as well as a fish. Fish live in water where oxygen is low, so they have efficient breathing systems. Most fish breathe using gills. Gills have t...

849R 1148C  Can You Freeze Your Body and Come Back to L...

In 1967, James Bedford became the first person to be cryogenically frozen. Cryonics aims to preserve bodies until the future when medicine can reverse death. But to revive people, we need to preserve them without damage. Freezing the human body is difficult because ice crystal...

780R 1010C  Why Can Parrots Talk?

In 2010, a British parrot went missing and returned speaking Spanish. Parrots and some birds can mimic human speech, but parrots do it especially well. Wild parrots are social and use calls to communicate, find mates, and stay connected. Monk parakeets use unique calls to stan...

841R 1133C  Should We Eliminate Mosquitoes?

Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals for humans because they spread diseases like malaria. However, only a few of the 3,500 mosquito species are harmful. Scientists are exploring gene drives to target these dangerous species. Gene drives ensure certain genes are inherited by all ...

717R 885C  The Elephant¡¯s Incredible Nose

An African elephant uses her trunk to explore her world. Her trunk can smell water far away and detect predators. Elephants live in herds led by a matriarch. These herds work together to survive, using their amazing sense of smell. Even young elephants have powerful trunks with m...

835R 1121C  What If Satellites Disappeared?

If all satellites vanished suddenly, global chaos would follow. First, TV broadcasts and GPS systems would stop working. Airplanes, ships, and vehicles would lose navigation tools, leading to grounded flights and halted traffic. Machines and systems relying on satellite timing, l...

835R 1121C  Who Decides How Long a Second Is?

In 1967, scientists decided how to measure a second precisely. Ancient civilizations used the night sky to track time, but the modern second came from the Gregorian calendar in the late 1500s. This calendar defined a day as one full spin of Earth, divided into 24 hours, 60 minute...

783R 1016C  The Journey of a Cup of Coffee

A cup of coffee involves the work of hundreds of people across the world. It begins in places like Pitalito, Colombia, where Coffea trees grow. Farmers pick the coffee cherries by hand, as the fruits ripen unevenly. Workers at wet mills separate the seeds, wash them, and dry them...

929R 1308C  Do Personality Tests Really Work?

In 1942, Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers created the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to classify people into 16 personality types. Today, personality tests like MBTI, the Big Five, and the Enneagram are widely used by individuals, schools, and companies. However,...

845R 1141C  Why Do You Get a Fever When Sick?

A fever happens when the body fights an infection. The hypothalamus, a part of the brain, makes the body¡¯s temperature go higher than normal. This process is called thermoregulation. Normally, the body stays at about 37¡ÆC, but during a fever, the hypothalamus sets a new higher ...

983R 1416C  What Causes Volcanic Eruptions?

In 1942, a crack in a cornfield in Mexico grew into the Paricutin volcano. Over nine years, it covered more than 200 square kilometers with lava and ash. Volcanic eruptions start deep in the Earth, where magma forms. This hot, melted rock usually stays underground because of a ba...

820R 1090C  The Corpse Flower

The corpse flower Rafflesia arnoldii grows in Southeast Asia. It is the largest flower in the world. Some flowers are over one meter wide and weigh seven kilograms. It smells like rotting meat to attract flies. These flies carry pollen between flowers to help them make seeds. ...

870R 1191C  How Leafcutter Ants Farm Their Fungus

In Texas, a leafcutter ant queen starts a new colony. She carries fungus in her mouth and tiny cockroaches under her wings. After mating in the air, she sheds her wings and digs a nest. Inside, she regurgitates the fungus and fertilizes it with her feces while laying eggs. Her fi...

658R 766C  The Rarest Color in Nature

Nature has many colors, but some are very rare. Colors come from pigments or structures. Pigments absorb some light and reflect other colors. For example, plants use chlorophyll to look green by absorbing blue and red light. True blue is rare because many pigments absorb blue lig...

949R 1348C  How Do Clouds Affect Climate Change?

Earth¡¯s average surface temperature has risen by 0.8¡ÆC since 1750. If carbon dioxide levels double, temperatures may rise by 1.5¡ÆC to 4.5¡ÆC. A small increase, like 1.5¡ÆC, might be manageable, but a 4.5¡ÆC rise would cause dramatic climate changes. Predicting this change accu...

905R 1261C  The Asteroid That Ended the Dinosaurs

66 million years ago, a giant asteroid hit Earth near the Yucatán Peninsula. It was about 12 kilometers wide and struck at 20 kilometers per second. The impact created the Chicxulub crater, a hole 100 kilometers wide, and caused a massive explosion. The energy was billions o...

787R 1025C  Why Recycling Plastics Is Hard?

Most plastic has a recycling symbol. But only 9% of the world¡¯s plastic is recycled. Some plastics, like thermosetting polymers, cannot be melted and reused. Even thermoplastics, which can be recycled, need special conditions. Plastics have resin codes inside the recycling sy...

833R 1116C  The Tiny Plastic Pellets Taking Over the Oc...

Nurdles are small plastic pellets used to make most plastic products, like bottles, bags, and toys. They are tiny and look harmless, but they don¡¯t break down in nature. Every year, nurdles escape during production and shipping. They travel through rivers to the ocean, where the...

712R 875C  Why Do Mayflies Swarm Over Water?

Mayflies are insects with a short adult life, lasting only a day or even minutes. They live most of their lives underwater as nymphs and emerge for a brief reproductive stage. Male mayflies form swarms, and females join to mate. After laying eggs on or under water, the adults die...

809R 1069C  Underwater Farming to Fight Climate Change

Seafood is a key food source for 3 billion people, but wild fishing is unsustainable, with 33% of fisheries overfished and 60% at capacity. Over half the seafood we eat now comes from aquaculture, or aquatic farming, which grows fish, shellfish, and seaweed. However, traditional ...

782R 1015C  How Cacti Stay Alive in Harsh Places

Cacti are plants that live in deserts and tropical forests. They store water in their thick stems and protect themselves with spines. These spines are special leaves that help the plant save water by having a small surface area. The spines also block sunlight, keep the cactus coo...

914R 1279C  Sea Lions: Masters of the Ocean

Sea lions may seem like lazy beachgoers, but underwater, they are skilled hunters. They swim at speeds of 4 to 18 miles per hour and hunt for up to 30 hours. Their physical adaptations make them excellent at diving and hunting. Sea lions dive as deep as 400 meters by compressi...

783R 1017C  Inside the Killer Whale Matriarchy

Killer whales live in family groups called pods, led by elder females or grandmothers. These matriarchs, often over 80 years old, play a key role in survival by leading hunts and sharing their knowledge. Unlike most animals, killer whale offspring—both sons and daughters...