Pandemic stress

Scuba lizard secrets

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7/19/2021 Thank you for subscribing to The Cheat Sheet, from Science News for Students. If you like this newsletter, share it with a friend or colleague. Did someone forward this to you? Sign up for our weekly updates. Got questions, suggestions or comments? Email us at sns@sciencenews.org and put “The Cheat Sheet” in the subject line. We’d love to hear from you. In the News No one has survived the past 15 months unchanged, including teens. Social distancing, remote and hybrid learning, masking, boredom, a boost in nonrecreational screentime and unrelenting news of COVID-19’s victims have all taken a toll. A June 28 study in JAMA Network Open finds many kids are clearly suffering . Researchers surveyed the mental health of 3,052 randomly selected 14- to 20-year-olds earlier this year, focusing on what it called “clinically relevant” symptoms. Fully 55 percent showed symptoms of depression, 47 percent exhibited symptoms of anxiety, 22.8 percent had moderate insomnia and 59.5 percent had disordered eating behaviors. More bad news comes from the May 3 JAMA Pediatrics. Among Northern California 9th- and 10th-graders, there was little change in use of cannabis and alcohol after pandemic-related school closures (even though being sequestered with family gave kids fewer opportunities to hide their drug use). And these drugs can erode a kid’s ability to deal with stress or remember things. Compounding the problem, these kids exercised far less after community lockdowns. We think of adolescents as resilient. But emerging data challenge the notion that they are weathering the pandemic well.  Since January 2020, Science News for Students has been covering the science of the virus and its infectivity, tips to limit infections and how kids can find help if they are struggling academically and emotionally. We have 67 stories, so far, that anyone can access from our Coronavirus Outbreak landing page. We have another group of 31 stories that focus on Social Stressors and how they can impact the health of adolescents. These stories won’t have all the answers, but they may offer a way to start discussions with vulnerable youth as they navigate our troubling times. Science News is a nonprofit. We depend on our readers to support our journalism. You can help by subscribing for as little as $25.   SUBSCRIBE NOW   Catch up with the latest from Science News for Students Nuclear clocks are nearly here: More precise clocks could improve technologies such as GPS and help scientists test major ideas in science. Readability: 7.4. Resources: Power words, classroom questions, alternate version at Science News Fossils unearthed in Israel reveal possible new human ancestor: They come from a previously unknown Stone Age group that may represent a complex mashup of early members of our genus Homo. Readability: 7.7. Resources: Power words, classroom questions, alternate version at Science News A bubble of air lets some lizards breathe underwater: Anolis lizards leap into streams to escape danger. Now researchers have figured out how they can stay underwater for up to a quarter of an hour. Readability: 6.6. Resources:   Power words, classroom questions Birds could get their sense of direction from quantum physics: Songbirds could detect north and south using a protein in their eye. It works somewhat like a compass. Readability: 6.1. Resources: Power words, alternate version at Science News Find out more about the resources available for using Science News for Students stories for learning. And if you like this newsletter, please share it with a friend or colleague. Did someone share this with you? Subscribe to this newsletter here. If you’ve got questions, suggestions or comments, email us at sns@sciencenews.org. Thank you for reading! Privacy policy  |  Update Profile  | Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe This email was sent by: Society for Science 1719 N Street NW Washington, DC, 20036, US