Staff picks

Thanos snap physics

To view this email as a web page, go here.

12/20/21 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. Inside Science News for Students  2021 has been a busy year at Science News for Students. We’ve published 350 stories and counting, covering everything from the ongoing pandemic to niche discoveries in every corner of science. With so many great stories to choose from, it’s hard to play favorites. But we’ve tried anyway. In case you missed them, here are the staff’s most-loved Science News for Students articles in 2021. Enjoy.  What the mummy’s curse reveals about your brain This mashup of psychology, statistics and the alleged curse of King Tut’s tomb is at once entertaining, enlightening and thought-provoking. What more could one ask for?  — Janet Raloff, Editor Weight shaming is literally sickening We live in a society that equates being thin with health, wealth and beauty, and stigmatizes people who don’t fit that ideal. But it doesn’t have to be that way, as this story so beautifully shows. — Sarah Zielinski, Managing Editor Cockatoos learn from each other how to open garbage bins Clever cockatoos is a thoroughly delightful story about social learning told in graphic form. I was particularly enchanted by the illustrations showing how these birds open bins in different ways. — Lillian Steenblik Hwang, Web Producer Will the woolly mammoth return? The science behind Jurassic Park may be closer than you think. This story both captures the imagination and puts the potential consequences of species-reviving technology in sober perspective.  —    Maria Temming, Assistant Editor 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 A new way to make plastics could keep them from littering the seas: Borrowing from genetics, scientists are creating plastics that will degrade. They can even choose how quickly these materials break down.  Readability: 6.9 Resources: classroom questions, power words  ‘Penis worms’ could have been the original hermits: These soft-bodied critters lived in abandoned shells about 500 million years ago, a new study suggests.  Readability: 7.1 Resources: power words, alternate version at Science News Astronomers may have found first known planet in another galaxy: The spiral-shaped Whirlpool galaxy may be home to the first planet spotted outside our own Milky Way galaxy. Readability: 6.7 Resources:    classroom questions, power words, alternate version at Science News  A panda stands out at the zoo but blends in the wild: A panda may stand out among the bamboo at the zoo, but in the wild, its black-and-white coloring camouflages it from predators, a new study finds. Readability: 5.8 Resources: power words, web comic Snap! High-speed video captures the physics of snapping fingers: Inspired by the infamous snap of the Avengers rival Thanos, scientists set out to investigate the physics behind finger-snapping. Readability: 7.1 Resources: power words, alternate version at Science News From icebergs to smoke, forecasting where dangers will drift: Smoke drifts. Fish eggs float downstream. Where such drifting things end up may seem a mystery. But research can predict where they’ll end up. Readability: 7.2 Resources: classroom questions, power words, word find puzzle Scientists Say: Savanna: Savannas exist where there is more rainfall than in a desert, but less than in a forest. Readability: 6.9 Resources: power words, audio recording Opportunity While we reflect on a year of coverage, Science News is reflecting on a whole century. This year, the magazine’s Century of Science series has published stories delving into the history of discovery across many fields. Find out how the last 100 years have revolutionized our understanding of the architecture of the atom, the contents of the cosmos and more. You can also check out a Science News for Students version of the Century of Science piece on human origins.  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