Five STEM academies -- one at the elementary level and four at the middle-school level -- are scheduled to open this fall in the Lewisville Independent School District in Texas. The programs will cover topics such as engineering in addition to the standard curriculum, and eighth-graders will be permitted to replace physical education class with an elective of their choice.

In about two dozen states, community colleges are permitted to offer four-year degrees, according to the Community College Baccalaureate Association. The practice has become more common in recent years, with advocates saying it helps overcome the challenge of transferring for students who want to earn a four-year degree.

A cracked smartphone screen provides great fodder for real-life math lessons on the cost of repair versus the cost of replacement in Wisconsin math teacher Sara Shefchik's class. Gathering data and calculating solutions grounds the math in a real-life subject and engages students, Shefchik says in this interview.

NASA could fly its Ingenuity helicopter on Mars' surface next week after a recent delay due to a flight-control software glitch. "We are confident in the team's ability to work through this challenge and prepare for Ingenuity's historic first controlled, powered flight on another planet," NASA officials said.

A probe underneath Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier has revealed the glacier is less stable than previously believed, according to findings reported in Science Advances. An autonomous underwater vehicle gathered information about the water temperature, salinity and other data to help scientists assess the glacier's future stability.

Scientists have long believed that human brains are hard-wired to quickly detect threats, but a new study published in PLOS Biology suggests our brains recognize screams of joy more easily than fearful screams. The researchers used acoustic analysis to fMRI to understand how we process different screams.

Fossilized footprints dating back approximately 100,000 years belonged to a group of Neanderthals, including children running and jumping in the sand of a beach in modern-day southern Spain, a study in Scientific Reports suggests. "We have found some areas where several small footprints appeared grouped in a chaotic arrangement," suggesting play, said study author Eduardo Mayoral.

The NIH has awarded a $10.6 million grant to Clemson University for the initial five-year phase of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence in Human Genetics, which will expand researchers' studies into the genetics of diseases. The university is working alongside Greenwood Genetic Center to advance its research.

Scientists have taken the frequencies generated by the vibrations of spider webs and converted them into music, which they presented in virtual reality form at the American Chemical Society virtual meeting. The webs of tropical tent-web spiders were imaged using lasers in an effort to provide listeners a glimpse into the spiders' world.

Technical education students in Arkansas are learning to use a Rabbit Laser System purchased by their school district. The system is part of lessons in advanced manufacturing and computer-aided design drafting.