Ask a Scientist

Read Will's kid-friendly article "How do some fungi turn insects into zombies?" in two reading levels (for middle to high school) and in Spanish at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-do-some-fungi-turn-insects-into-zombies/.
Find the original paper we adapted at https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.01872-21.
Read a follow-up kid-friendly article "Which chemical makes ants walk like zombies?" at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/which-chemical-makes-ants-walk-like-zombies/
See photos of zombified insects and of Will's tattoos and read the full transcript of the interview in our companion post at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-e10-will-beckerson-zombie-insects-researcher/.
Learn more about Will's most recent work, including a Zombie Ant VR game and his popular TikTok channels at https://www.williamcbeckersonphd.com/.


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Read Jay's student-friendly article “What does hummingbird coloration tell us about competition?” at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/what-does-hummingbird-coloration-tell-us-about-competition/ It's available in two reading levels in English and also translated into Spanish.
Visit Jay's website to learn more at https://jayjinsing.github.io/ReadingList/ 
Original paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2022.0332
Review paper mentioned in the interview: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-019-1019-7
For a full transcript of this interview and photos, go to https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-jay-falk-hummingbird-researcher/



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Read Jen's student-friendly article “What can we learn from carbon on Mars?” at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/what-can-we-learn-from-carbon-on-mars/ It's available in two reading levels in English and also translated into Spanish.
For a full transcript and photos, go to https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-e8-dr-jen-stern-space-scientist-nasa/
Original paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10.1073/pnas.2201139119 


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Read the interview transcript at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-e7/
You can read the student-friendly article by Sarah "How can leopard seals survive climate change?" at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-leopard-seals-survive-climate-change/ as well as watch a video of leopard seals.
This article is also available in Spanish and in a text-to-speech audio version.
For a full transcript and photos, go to https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-e7/
Their original paper was published in the journal Frontiers Marine Science: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.976019/full 
Get the latest updates on Sarah's research at https://www.sarahskienle.com/.


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You can read the student-friendly article by Junjie "How do glassfrogs become transparent?" at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-do-glassfrogs-become-transparent/ as well as watch videos of glassfrogs.
Read the interview transcript at https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/lesson-ideas/ask-a-scientist-podcast-e6-dr-junjie-yao-glassfrogs-researcher/
Our related Lesson Idea video showcases a blood circulation educational game for middle school students: https://youtu.be/jbOj7sDoT9s.
Get the latest updates on Junjie's research at the Duke Photoacoustic Imaging Lab at https://photoacoustics.pratt.duke.edu/.
Their original paper was published in the journal Science https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl6620 and was on its cover.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com