An illustration of leaves with pluses and minuses around it

Breaking Cell Boundaries

Challie Facemire

Whether coming up with new methods for microscopes, or finding out new things about photosynthesis, Petra Fromme loves the process of discovery.

Four potential viruses that can be used in the game

Give It A Shot

Explore Give It A Shot

As our lives become more affected by viruses and bacteria that cause disease, how much does wearing masks and distancing matter? How important is it to get vaccinated? Explore and visualize these questions as you figure out how you could slow a pandemic.

Learn more about vaccine history, testing, and more with our story, Vaccine Science.

Read more about Local Fly Food Secrets

Could differences in the food animals like be enough to eventually separate one species into two? Learn what flies are teaching us about what can cause new species to form.

Madeline Sopa

Read more about Defending Desert-dwellers

Cacti live in one of the harshest climates on the planet: the desert. Scientists are investigating how we can make life easier for these desert-dwelling plants.

A desert sunset showing saguaros picture by Monika Häfliger

Madeline Sopa

Detect and Protect

Tyler Quigley

Knowing when you are sick and what illness you have is the first step to helping your body fight back. Immunologist Douglas Lake gets to design and build tests that can tell us what virus we have, or how well our body is fighting it.

EcoChains: Arctic Futures

Stephanie Pfirman J.J. Lee

Play EcoChains: Arctic Futures

EcoChains: Arctic Futures is a game that introduces you to arctic life and ice that is so very important for survival. This is a fun way to learn about the food web that includes living things from very tiny to the very large and those in between - like humans. Learn more about EcoChains: Arctic Futures.

You can also dig further into cooler life in Life In The Arctic.

A scientist wearing thick blue gloves uses tongs to dip test tubes into a bath of liquid nitrogen. Steam rises from the cold-looking liquid.

Cells, Frozen in Time

Risa Aria Schnebly

If a living organism freezes, it can die. But by freezing living cells at just the right temperature, scientists can preserve living cells instead of killing them.

Read more about Can City Ants Handle City Heat?

Large cities are often hotter than their rural surroundings, so what does that mean for city animals? At least for ants, it looks like these city dwellers may be better prepared to take the heat.

A leaf-cutter ant carrying a piece of a leaf

Jordan R. Glass

Searching for Alien Life

Finlay Warsop Thomas

Is there life on other planets? Let’s take a look at how scientists are trying to solve this mystery.

A red alarm clock sitting on top of a pile of green sanitary pads next to a tampon

What Is the Menstrual Cycle?

Emily Santora

Most girls around the world have periods, but how and why do periods happen? Periods are part of the menstrual cycle, which is an essential part of the female reproductive system.

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