Kids News - Articles for Grades 11-12

Female mosquitoes, which feed on human blood to obtain iron and amino acids required to produce eggs, are notorious for transmitting viruses responsible for deadly diseases, such as yellow fever, Dengue, and Zika. Over the years, researchers have devised various solutions, ranging from repellents to vaccines to genetic engineering, to combat the vectors. Now, a team at New York's Rockefeller University has come up with a unique solution to fend off the dangerous insects - filling their little bellies with diet drugs to curb their appetite for human blood....

Need a reason to smile? Then you will be happy to know that today, March 20, 2019, is not just the first day of spring, but also the International Day of Happiness. Established by The United Nations (UN) in 2012, it is meant to remind us that happiness is an essential human goal and right. This year's theme, Happier Together, encourages people worldwide to focus on what we have in common, rather than what divides us....

Over the last week, both the academic and celebrity worlds have been roiled by a college admissions scam, involving famous Hollywood actors, tech executives, and college coaches. On March 12, 2019, the US Department of Justice charged 50 individuals, including 33 affluent parents, with bribery, fraud, and false information, to get their kids admitted into some of the nation's most elite universities, including Stanford, Yale, and the University of Southern California (USC)....

In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's famous Sardine Run off the coast of Point Elizabeth. The annual migration of billions of Sardinops sagax, more commonly known as South African pilchards or sardines, is a big draw for predators, especially the Cape gannet, a beautiful, cream-colored seabird, and the common dolphin. The two species work together to herd the large group of fish and separate them into smaller shoals known as bait balls, which are then scooped up by not just the birds and the dolphins, but also other hunters such as copper sharks and Bryde's whales....

On Friday, March 15, 2019, hundreds of thousands of kids from over 80 countries, including the United States, Germany, and Malaysia, will skip school and take to the streets. However, the worldwide strike is not a protest against excessive homework or long school hours. It is a plea to government officials and business leaders to take immediate action against climate change....

Ever since the US shuttle program ended in 2011, astronauts - both American and those from other nations - have been dependent on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to go to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The reliance, which costs NASA $70 million for each trip, is expensive and also leaves astronauts in danger of being stranded in the event of a like the one experienced in October 2018. Now, thanks to SpaceX's successful Crew Dragon test mission, astronauts may soon have an alternate, more affordable, mode of transportation to the ISS....

Carbon dioxide (CO2), released by activities like burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, is one of the biggest contributors to the greenhouse effect, responsible for global warming. Over the years, scientists have come up with several innovative solutions to capture the polluting gas. However, none have been practical enough to implement on a large scale. Now, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia believe they may have finally found a feasible way to reduce atmospheric CO2 – turning the gas back into coal!...

Virgin Galactic's founder, Sir Richard Branson, has been hoping to make space tourism a reality since 2008. While it has taken a little longer than the 18 months he had originally estimated, the company is getting increasingly closer to accomplishing its mission. On December 13, 2018, Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceliner, VSS Unity, made history with the longest rocket-powered flight when it soared to the edge of space, 51.4 miles (82 km) above sea level. On February 22, 2019, the aircraft repeated the feat, this time with its first passenger – the company's astronaut trainer Beth Moses - on board....

The fact that the Earth's magnetic poles are continuously in flux has been known for over 400 years. However, scientists have usually been able to accurately predict their pace for five years. But earlier this year, when researchers at NOAA and the British Geological Survey conducted their annual check to gauge the accuracy of their forecast, they realized the north magnetic pole had moved much faster than expected. Fearing the unforeseen deviation would cause problems for military and ocean navigation, the experts updated the World Magnetic Model (WMM) on February 4, 2019, almost a year ahead of schedule....