Kids News - Articles with 400-600 Words

Self-driving cars are all the rage today, Companies ranging from car manufacturers like General Motors and Toyota to private-hire companies like Uber and even Internet search giant Google are all scrambling to be the first to bring them to market. The efforts are so intense that the University of Michigan has established an entire city to help the cause. Dubbed Mcity, it allows manufacturers to safely test their autonomous cars using human props....

On September 15, 2017, Cassini’s 19 year, 11 month, 0 day, 3 hour, 12 minute and 46 second long mission ended with a plunge into Saturn, the planet it had been orbiting for 13 years. The fiery demise was not accidental, but the result of a well-orchestrated plan to ensure that the spacecraft, which was running out of rocket propellant would not crash and pollute Saturn’s pristine moons....

On September 6, the sun let its presence be felt by unleashing two massive solar flares. The first eruption, classified as an X2.2 flare, the strongest since 2008, occurred at 5:10 a.m. ET. Shortly after, at about 8:02 a.m ET, the star spewed out a bigger, and more spectacular, X9.3 flare — the most powerful on record since December 2006....

Male humpback whales are well-known for the long sweet melodies they sing during the breeding season. The soulful songs that last anywhere from ten to twenty minutes, are not random noises, but carefully orchestrated themes that keep repeating and developing. Scientists are not sure if the mammals sing to attract partners or to deter rivals but once they get going, they tend to repeat the same tune over and over, for long periods of time....

Tony Stark, aka Ironman, constantly seen manipulating 3D holographic images and floating displays projected in mid-air from his phone or tablet. Unfortunately, the rest of us are not as fortunate because the current computer-generated holograms are too bulky to be integrated into our personal devices. However, if a team of researchers from Australia's RMIT University and the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) is right, we may all soon be able to mimic Ironman, at least, when it comes to playing with 3D holograms....

Scientists have long known that the world’s first flower bloomed between 250 million and 140 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs dominated the earth. The single mutation was so successful that flowering plants, or Angiosperms, now make up almost 90% of all plant species, far outnumbering seed plants like conifers, that appeared on earth much earlier, between 350 million and 310 million years ago....

Fans of fidget spinners, 2017’s must-have toy, spend copious amounts of time spinning the three-pronged device with a flick of their finger. That’s because the addictive toys can rotate on their own, for only a few minutes at the most. However, if a Japanese company has its way, users will be able to relax and watch the gadget whirl for over 12 minutes with just one flick....

Most toys are fads that last a few years, or even months, before they get replaced by the next craze. However, the Slinky – the pre-compressed coil of wire, or plastic, which can “walk” on its own – has been entertaining children and nostalgic adults for over 70 years! It is therefore not surprising to hear that every August 30, fans across the U.S. celebrate this iconic toy with a National Slinky Day!...

Earlier this month, millions of Americans were treated to a rare spectacle: a total solar eclipse that was visible from coast-to-coast. While Florence, a massive asteroid that will zip past our planet on September 1, will not overshadow the stunning event, it will make history of its own. According to Paul Chodas at the Center for Near Earth Object (NEO) Studies, the space rock is the largest to pass this close to our planet since the first near-Earth asteroid was discovered over a century ago....