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Studying A Crater In Tennessee

We have hundreds of tons of material falling to the Earth from outer space every single day. This material is not in one big chunk, but lots of really tiny pieces like dust. However, every once in a while, a very big chunk of material can collide with planet earth. These rocks from space are called meteorites. When they hit the earth’s atmosphere, they catch on fire. If you are lucky, you can see this happen; we call them shooting stars! Most burn up in the atmosphere, but every once in a while one makes it through to the ground. Studying Flynn Creek Crater About 360 million years ago, a...

This Month's Expert: Amanda Clark

Amanda Clark is a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University and an NSF graduate fellow. She uses molecular techniques to learn about ecology. Amanda also runs an ecology camp for kids in Alabama. In her free time, Amanda enjoys hanging out with friends, crocheting, and hiking. Amanda will be our expert for the month of September. Maybe you share her love for animals or her passion for science? Or perhaps you have questions for Amanda? She would love to hear from you and will be responding to your questions in each article. Do check out Amanda's three-part...

My Path To Science

In high school, I already knew I wanted to work in science! I’ve always wanted to answer the question: Why does this happen and how? I was a part of a team called B.E.S.T., which stands for B oosting E ngineering S cience and T echnology. Teams would work together to build robots that could complete jobs in a competition. In my first year, we had to build a robot that could fix a problem with the Hubble Space Telescope -- a telescope that was launched into outer space in 1990 and that is still taking really amazing photos of space today! Our robot had to turn off a switch, just like your...

What Is Ecology?

People who are studying connections between living things or between living things and the environment are called ecologists. Ecology is all about relationships, or connections! Ecology seeks to answer questions about how living things are linked together like, “What is the connection between sharks and remoras, the cool suckerfish that can be seen clinging to sharks?” It seeks to answer questions about how living things are linked to certain habitats like, “Why can you only find the pink land iguana on one of the Galapagos Islands?” Ecology even seeks to answer questions about human...

Amanda Clark

Amanda Clark is a graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University and an NSF graduate fellow. She uses molecular techniques to learn about ecology.

Amanda is also runs an ecology camp for kids in Alabama. In her free time Amanda enjoys hanging out with friends, crocheting and hiking.

Carolina Grandellis: My Personal Story

My interest in science began with my curiosity about the natural world around me when I was a child. My father told me that I was full of questions, always asking about insects and plants in the garden, and wondering why it rained. He had a busy job trying to answer all my questions, trying to explain to me things like the water cycle. I recall that I wanted to be a doctor or a designer, and biology was not my favorite subject during high school. However, there was a turning point when I became fascinated with genes and DNA. It was absolutely remarkable to me to learn that every living...

Plant Biology: Understanding Plant Life

Plant biology is the science that is dedicated to the study of plants. Plant scientists dedicate themselves to understanding the many aspects of how plants make their living (survive and reproduce). Questions such as - How do plants get their food to grow? How do plants survive when it is cold? How do plants react when pathogens (germs) attack and cause disease? How can we help the plant produce more and better food for people? The Role Of Plants These questions are very important because plants are the main source of nutrition for animals, including us. Without them, animal life would not...

Plant Diseases: What I Study

I find plants fascinating because they can produce their own food directly from sunlight: plants do photosynthesis to convert light and carbon dioxide from the sun into chemical energy in the form of sugar. Plants also need to capture water from the roots to do that, and oxygen is released during the process. Photosynthesis then maintains oxygen levels in the environment necessary for life on Earth. Also, since plants are sessile, meaning they cannot walk or run, they are at the mercy of the environment. They face pathogens and nasty environmental conditions and must fight against them. How...

Susana Alvarado: Personal Story

I am from Guatemala, a small Central American country. Because of its location in the tropics and its rugged terrain, it harbors many ecosystems with distinct microclimates and unique species in a very small area. In Guatemala, you may drive from the capital city, which is at 1500 meters above sea level, to the beach and find that the view out the window changes drastically in a matter of a few hours: it starts with pine forests which are gradually replaced by oaks, then by dry shrublands, and as you get closer to the coast, you can see it all change again into a wet tropical forest! Growing...

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