Monday, May 9, 2022

How to keep ice cream creamy

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5/9/22

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Coming Soon

Earth is teeming with some pretty incredible life. Just in the past few months, we’ve covered birds staging murder scenes, meat-eating bees and how evolving to withstand dehydration basically gave tardigrades superpowers. And those are just a few animals. That’s to say nothing of the plethora of plants and the menagerie of microbes that share our planet — many of which may still be undiscovered. This May 22, Biodiversity Day , celebrate Earth’s splendid variety of life and support efforts to protect it.

With human activity killing off species at an unprecedented rate, preserving biodiversity is more important than ever. Some 1 million species are at risk of vanishing — about one in every eight plant or animal species known. Learn how construction projects, overfishing, pollution and other human impacts are driving species to extinction, and why more biodiverse areas are richer in resources. Find out how DNA residues are helping scientists take a better census of the species in different areas, and how restoring missing species to places where they once lived might help rehabilitate ecosystems and slow climate change.

Scientists say that saving Earth’s precious biodiversity will take “transformative change”. At Science News for Students, we strive to show our young readers how that change is possible, even as our bioscience coverage highlights just how much we stand to lose.

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Catch up with the latest from Science News for Students

Smartphones can now bring Ice Age animals back to ‘life’: Scientists bring Ice Age creatures to life with augmented reality. You can view these creatures in your own world on a smartphone. Readability: 7.5 Resources: power words, 3D models, augmented reality

Cellulose may keep ice cream from turning gritty in your freezer: Adding nanocrystals extracted from wood avoids the growth of ice crystals, keeping your treat smooth and creamy. Readability: 6.8 Resources: power words, alternate version at Science News

Prevention programs can help reduce teen dating violence: Teen dating violence has many forms and affects an estimated one in three teens. New studies explore what programs might help prevent this harm. Readability: 7.9 Resources: classroom questions, power words

Explainer: All about orbits: A handful of rules can describe the route some object repeatedly takes around another in space. Calculating that path, however, can be quite complex. Readability: 7.5 Resources: power words, animation, video

Five tips to consider when dating goes wrong: When dating is more hurtful than loving, it may be time to ask if there may be big trouble — and harm — ahead. Readability: 7.5 Resources: power words

This sun-powered system delivers energy as it pulls water from the air: The device not only produces electricity but also harvests water for drinking or crops. It could be especially useful in remote and dry parts of the world. Readability: 7.6 Resources: classroom questions, power words

Scientists Say: Atmosphere: An atmosphere is an envelope of gas around a planet, dwarf planet or moon. Readability: 7.0 Resources: power words, audio recording

Opportunity

Think you know your science history? Put your knowledge to the test with a new quiz by Science News. In honor of our centennial, we’ve collected stories covering some blockbuster discoveries over the past century and ask you to guess which year each article was published. See how your answers for each question compare with other quiz-takers and challenge your science-savvy friends to the test!

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!