Kids News - Articles for Grade 8

While your pet fish may appear to be oblivious of your presence, chances are it knows you extremely well and can probably even identify you from a crowd of humans! At least, that is the conclusion reached by scientists the University of Oxford in the U.K. and the University of Queensland in Australia, following an extensive study of the archerfish, a species of tropical fish that can be found all the way from India, to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia....

With more than 16,000 jumps to his credit, professional skydiver Luke Aikins has performed many heart-stopping stunts, but his latest feat tops them all. On July 30, 2016, the 42-year-old daredevil became the first man in the world to leap off a plane from an altitude of 25,000 feet without a wingsuit or parachute! Instead, he relied on a net that measured 100-by-100-feet, or less than one-third the size of a football field, to break his fall and help him land safely....

With technology permeating every aspect of our lives, it should come as no surprise that it is playing an important role at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Wearable tech is not just helping elite athletes deliver their optimal performance at this competitive sporting event where everyone is battling for Olympic gold, but also protecting them from serious injuries....

A few weeks ago, if you saw someone wandering around your neighborhood staring at their phone, you might have assumed they were lost. Now, it would not be too much of a stretch to think that they are busy locating, capturing, battling or training fictional creatures called Pokémon Welcome to Pokémon Go, the free-to-play location-based augmented reality game that has taken the world by storm since its release on July 6. For those that are unfamiliar with the Pokémon brand and wondering what the latest hoopla is all about, here is a brief rundown....

On June 23, residents of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom (UK)— England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales — went to the polls to determine if the country should leave the European Union (EU). Most experts believed that Britons would make the “sensible” decision and vote against what has popularly been dubbed “Brexit.” After all, the benefits of remaining with the world’s largest economy far outweigh the drawbacks. But the experts were wrong!...

On Friday, June 10, over 100,000 fans lined up along the streets of Louisville, KY and chanted “Ali Ali” as the hearse carrying legendary boxing icon Mohammad Ali’s cherry-red casket made its way to the Cave Hill National Cemetery. The 74-year-old, who had been battling Parkinson’s disease for 32 years, passed away at a hospital near Phoenix on June 3, 2016. Ali was famous not only for his athletic prowess but also for his social activism....

Though the detrimental impact of plastic waste on the environment is well-known, consumption of drinks bottled in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) —the most commonly used polymer — continues to rise at alarming levels. According to experts, over 22,000 plastic bottles are discarded every second, and the numbers are only growing. While a fraction of them do get recycled, most end up in the ocean, where they disintegrate into smaller pieces and are often mistaken for food by innocent fish and birds....

On Monday, May 30, Americans will celebrate Memorial Day. The Federal holiday that is observed annually on the last Monday of the month is highly anticipated by all, for various reasons. To students, it signifies the end of the school year and the start of a long lazy summer break. For adults, the holiday is a reminder to firm up vacation plans and host barbecue parties....

In 2014, marine biologist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer David Gruber was on a nighttime dive to observe biofluorescent corals when he noticed a bright green eel darting across. This was the first time biofluorescence had been witnessed in a vertebrate. Curious to see if there were more such creatures just waiting to be discovered, Gruber and his team began combing through coral reefs around the world. Sure enough, they found that 180 species of animals, including bony fishes, reptiles, and even the hawksbill sea turtle, have the capability to “glow”, in the deep dark ocean waters....