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Human-caused climate change is boosting the intensity of Atlantic hurricanes. Using computer simulations, researchers calculated what wind speeds of recent hurricanes would have been without warming and then compared them with the hurricanes’ actual wind speeds. The team found that climate change boosted wind speeds by up to 47 kilometers per hour (28 miles per hour).

In this activity, students will play a game called “Run Like a Rabbit” to model population dynamics and then analyze how predator and prey populations changed over time during the game. Students will then read the Science News article "In a Quebec park, a science game brings predator-prey dynamics to life” and identify how the game described in the article differs from the game they played. After they analyze how predator and prey tactics affect population dynamics, students will identify a new tactic that was not included in the “Run like a Rabbit” game and will create a new rule for the game to reflect this tactic.

In these lesson plans paired to the May issue of Science News Explores, students will learn how researchers used the scientific method to study a beloved landmark and will consider the science behind future pieces of technology and how they could be used to solve a problem or design an experiment.

The relationship between speed and size has long stumped scientists. A study that surveyed how speed tracks with body size found that the make-or-break factor was the time it takes animals to achieve their theoretical top speed.

Scientists and engineers are hard at work developing new technologies that will impact everyday life. Students will focus on one future piece of technology and consider the science behind it before brainstorming ways to use it to solve a problem or design an experiment.

Learn how researchers use the scientific method to study a beloved landmark — Chicago’s “Rat Hole.” Practice designing your own experiment and creating a hypothesis. Learn to draw conclusions from data, all while using your investigative spirit to study the nuances of this mysterious impression, then make your own observations.

Tiny floating plankton can accidentally eat sediment particles kicked up by deep sea mining. Plankton that munch these nutrient-poor particles could starve, which could lead to a starvation cascade affecting creatures at higher levels of ocean food webs.

Directions for teachers:Since UFOs entered the spotlight in United States in the late 1940s, they’ve come to be dismissed as a hoax or irrational obsession and thus unworthy of study by scientists. But government agencies and officials are trying to change that attitude so that more pilots or citizens will report unusual phenomena that may […]

Pair these lesson plans with articles from the April issue of Science News to have students discuss how flower art provides evidence that ancient people had an understanding of math and learn how paleontologists use fossilized “clues” to learn about ancient species’ interactions and ecosystems.

Students will describe what they can learn from different types of fossils, from bones to microfossils. Then they will learn about an example of fossilized vomit and answer questions about how paleontologists use fossilized “clues” to learn about ancient species’ interactions and ecosystems.

After taking a fresh look at humanity’s oldest flower art, researchers realize that math may have emerged thousands of years earlier than previous estimates. Discuss how our Stone Age ancestors depicted flowers with a regular number of petals and how this provides evidence of an understanding of math.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture unveiled an overhauled food pyramid on January 7. It differs drastically from decades of previous recommendations. To learn about the new guidelines’ strengths and weaknesses, Science News spoke with Marion Nestle, a professor emerita of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University.