What’s a technology you can’t imagine living without? 🤔
In controlled experiments, sea turtles changed their swimming direction when scientists altered the magnetic field around them. This provides strong evidence that this magnetic sense plays a major role in ocean navigation.
This project is part of IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
Research suggests sea turtles can detect Earth’s magnetic field and recognize the unique magnetic signature of their home beach, which may help guide them during long-distance migration.
How do sea turtles find home across thousands of miles of open ocean? 🐢🧪
Alannah Vellacott dives into the science behind sea turtle navigation and the remarkable ability that helps these animals return to the same beach where they were born.
#SeaTurtles #Wildlife #Oceans #MarineBiology #Science
On Saturday, March 14 celebrate Pi Day with us! Join us for a day of math and science with a special onsite gift offer, guest presentations, and hands-on activities. Learn more: https://www.mos.org/pi-day
From birth, Kronos uses tongue flicking to gather chemical information and heat-sensing pit organs to detect the body heat of prey, even in low light. These built-in senses help young boas respond to their surroundings and find food without parental care.
How does a baby boa survive without parents?🐍🧪
Meet Kronos, a Brazilian Rainbow Boa. Unlike many snakes that hatch from eggs, Brazilian Rainbow Boas are live-born, or ovoviviparous, and arrive with the instincts and anatomy they need from day one.
#Snake #BabyAnimals #Reptiles #RainbowBoa #Science
Antarctica holds about 90% of Earth’s ice. ❄️
If it all melted, global sea levels could rise by roughly 60 meters (about 200 feet).
One frozen continent has the power to reshape coastlines worldwide.
By connecting people to the outdoors, she’s helping build a future where protecting our planet starts with understanding it.
This project is part of IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
Learn more about Dr. Jessie Rack and more IF/THEN Women here: www.mos.org/discover/if-...
Science doesn’t just live in labs. It lives in forests, tidepools, and city parks.
Dr. Jessie Rack studies ecosystems and teaches others how to read the stories nature is telling.
Did you know there are clouds in space? ☁️🌌
Unlike fluffy Earth clouds made of water droplets, nebulae are enormous clouds of gas and dust that can stretch hundreds of light-years across and contain the ingredients to form new stars and solar systems.
On April 9, join us for ¡A Bailar!, an evening of conversation, performance, and celebration highlighting the power of dance in wellness and community. Register to attend here: https://www.mos.org/events/a-bailar-winter2026
It is about 1,500 light-years away from us and a companion of a sun-like star, which is how it was detected. The good news is we don’t have to worry about it eating our galaxy!
This project is part of IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
Should we be worried about a black hole in our galaxy?
Astrophysicist @erikahamden.bsky.social introduces us to our cosmic neighbor: a stellar-mass black hole called Gaia BH1.
#Space #Science #WomeninSTEM #Universe #Astronomy
Some birds can sleep while flying. 🐦
Species like frigatebirds can rest one half of their brain at a time while the other half stays alert, a process called unihemispheric sleep.
It lets them stay airborne for days without fully waking up. Would you want that ability? 👇
On April 6, join us for a conversation with acclaimed forest ecologist Suzanne Simard celebrating When the Forest Breathes. Purchase tickets here: https://www.mos.org/events/when-forest-breathes-author-suzanne-simard
There are more possible chess games than atoms in the observable universe ♟️🌌
Chess has about 10¹²⁰ possible games, known as the Shannon Number. That’s far more than the roughly 10⁸⁰ atoms scientists estimate exist in the observable universe.
What’s your go-to first move? ♟️
Today, microscopic algae and diatoms in sunlit oceans use sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy, producing more than half of the oxygen in our atmosphere.
You can’t breathe without photosynthetic microbes. 🦠
Quinten Geldhof, also known as Microhobbyist, breaks down how around 2.5 billion years ago, cyanobacteria evolved oxygen-producing photosynthesis, transforming Earth’s atmosphere and making complex life possible.
Scientists are not saying this proves life on Earth came from Mars. But the findings suggest the idea is worth taking seriously.
In a new study, researchers tested a famously tough microbe and simulated the force of a giant impact capable of blasting material off the Red Planet. Some of those microbes survived the shock, showing that one major hurdle in that journey may be possible to overcome.
Could microbes survive a trip from Mars to Earth? 🧪
That question is at the heart of panspermia, the idea that life could spread through space on meteorites.
Human intestines add up to an incredible distance. 🧬
One adult’s intestines are about 25 feet (≈7.5 meters) long. Multiply that by 8 billion people, and humanity has roughly 60 million kilometers of intestines. That’s enough to wrap around Earth about 1,500 times. 🌍
This suggests certain dogs can form a mental link between a spoken word and a specific object, a cognitive skill connected to learning and memory. Not every dog shows this ability, but for the ones who do, it resembles how human toddlers pick up words from context.
In the study, owners casually used the name of a brand-new toy in conversation. Later, when the dogs were asked to fetch it by name, they chose the correct toy about 80% of the time.
Researchers in Hungary found that some dogs can learn new words for objects simply by overhearing people talk, even when the toy isn’t being pointed out or practiced like a training cue.
Is your dog learning new words by eavesdropping on your conversations? 🐶🎾🧪
Sea otters still face threats from disease, oil spills, and climate change. But their return shows how protecting one species can help restore an entire ecosystem.
This project is part of IF/THEN®, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.
When kelp forests collapse, fish and invertebrates lose both food and shelter, and the entire marine ecosystem can shift.
International protections, stronger laws, and reintroductions helped sea otter populations recover and kelp forests rebound.
