How much do you know about that three-pound hunk of tissue in your head - your brain? Its structure and function drive your behavior in profound ways. Scientists are studying the brain and its chemicals to find behavioral patterns, to figure out the sources of good moods and random outbursts, for example. This compilation from Science News for Students turns to brain science to answer all sorts of questions: Can you actually be addicted to your phone? Why is it so hard to sleep away from h...

How Vera Rubin convinced the scientific community that dark matter might exist, persevering despite early dismissals of her work.We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which w...

We now know that the universe is mostly dark, made up of particles and forces that are undetectable even by our most powerful telescopes. The discovery of the possible existence of dark matter and dark energy signaled a Copernican-like revolution in astronomy: not only are we not the center of the universe, neither is the stuff of which we're made. Astronomer Vera Rubin (1928–2016) played a pivotal role in this discovery. By showing that some astronomical objects seem to defy gravity's gri...