How did nonbird dinosaurs first come to fly? Do human beings have unique “breath prints”? Do asteroids hold the building blocks of life? Did baby talk give rise to language? What makes someone “cool”?

These are just a few of the questions guiding scientific research — across disciplines like paleontology, biology, astronomy and experimental psychology — that were recently covered in The New York Times. In a new weekly lesson plan called Science Practice, we aim to bring students into this exciting world of current research.