Science News for Kids articles from April 2006

Science News for Kids archives from April 2006

Attacking asthma.
April 5, 2006... One minute, you're breathing normally. The next minute, you're coughing, wheezing, and gasping for air. Maybe the trouble started when you stroked a cat. Or maybe it happened when you raced for a soccer ball on a breezy spring day. If...

Saturn's rings created by collision.
April 5, 2006... When kids learn about the planets, Saturn and its spectacular rings always stand out. And one of the first things that everyone wants to know is how Saturn got its rings. One theory is that an asteroid or comet hit one of Saturn's icy...

Storing memories before bedtime.
April 5, 2006... A good night's sleep may help your brain permanently file away lessons learned during the day. But, according to a new study, the brain begins processing and storing those memories long before it's time for bed--and continues to do so even...

Jupiter's second red spot.(Brief article)
April 12, 2006... Saturn may have its rings, but Jupiter's got a big red spot. Make that two. Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot now has a sidekick. Called Oval BA, the new red spot is about as wide as Earth. The Great Red Spot, which is the most powerful...

Microbes at the gas pump.
April 12, 2006... Scientists searching for an Earth-friendly alternative to gasoline are looking in some of the weirdest places--termite guts, cow stomachs, and rotting logs. These researchers are hunting for bacteria and fungi that can help turn plant waste...

Prehistoric trips to the dentist.
April 12, 2006... Going to the dentist has a much longer history than you might imagine. Researchers recently unearthed what may be the earliest examples of ancient dentistry yet discovered--holes drilled in teeth that are between 9,000 and 7,500 years old....

A great quake coming?(giant earthquake to hit San Francisco)
April 19, 2006... Everyone who lives in San Francisco knows that earthquakes are common in the Bay Area--and they can be devastating. One hundred years ago this month, for example, a major quake destroyed about 28,000 buildings and killed hundreds, perhaps...

Saturn's strangely warm moon.
April 19, 2006... Weird things are happening on Saturn's moon Enceladus. The small moon, only 505 kilometers (314 miles) wide, was thought to be cold and icy. But new findings suggest that Enceladus (pronounced en-SELL-ah-dus) is oozing heat. And there might...

Xena's mysterious sparkle.(Brief article)
April 19, 2006... In addition to the nine planets that everyone learns about, there's a 10th object in the solar system that's tentatively being called a planet. Its name is Xena. It's three times farther from the sun than Pluto is. And it's surprisingly shiny....

Echoes of hunting.
April 26, 2006... If you go by what you see in cartoons or vampire movies, you might think that bats are big, scary, blood-sucking creatures that come out only at night. Certainly, many bats are active at night and asleep during the day. They have sharp...

Switchable lenses improve vision.
April 26, 2006... Some people have the impression that wearing eyeglasses can make you look smarter. Someday, your glasses themselves might actually be smarter. Scientists are developing "smart" lenses that sense where your eyes are looking and...

Vent worms like it hot.
April 26, 2006... Some worms that live on deep-sea vents can stand temperatures that most other animals on Earth won't tolerate. Now, scientists have tested these worms in the lab to find out exactly how hot the worms like it to be. It turns out that the...