Science News for Kids articles from December 2005

Science News for Kids archives from December 2005

Wired for Math.(how preschool children learn math)
December 7, 2005... Quick. What's 845 + 289? Sorry, time's up. Few people can add numbers in their heads that quickly. If someone showed you a set of 845 dots next to a set of 289 dots, however, you'd probably be able to tell right away which set has more...

Atom hauler.(Brief article)
December 7, 2005... Atoms are everywhere, but you'd never know it. Even though these tiny building blocks of matter make up everything--from chairs to air--they're far too tiny to see with your own eyes. When scientists want to study atoms one at a time,...

Taste messenger.
December 7, 2005... It can be hard to imagine life without a sense of taste. Ice cream would feel cold and smooth without the sweetness. Peanut butter would seem sticky and thick without the nuttiness. Apples would be crispy and juicy without the tartness. ...

Smart windows.
December 14, 2005... A window is more than just an opening that you can see through. It can affect the way a building looks, how much energy a building uses--and even how you feel. Researchers are now working on new technologies to create "smart windows."...

Evidence of a wet Mars.
December 14, 2005... The news from Mars is dripping with interesting clues about the planet's wet history. Mars nowadays has no large pools of liquid water on its surface, but evidence gathered over 30 years suggests that the planet used to have lots of...

Insect stowaways.
December 14, 2005... Bugs, guts, and poop are gross on their own. Add them together, and you've got what may be the ickiest news story of the year. Researchers in Spain have found a species of insect larvae that pass through the guts of migrating birds and...

Out in the cold.
December 21, 2005... There's a scene in the movie March of the Penguins in which a group of mother penguins leaves their chicks alone for the first time. The moms will be gone for days. As they waddle away, some of the fuzzy newborns hop after them, screeching and...

Supernovas shed light on dark energy.
December 21, 2005... It's mysterious. It's so dark that it's invisible. And, boy, is it repulsive! Still, astronomers who study dark energy in the universe keep learning new things about it. Scientists came up with the bizarre concept of dark energy 8 years...

Training your brain to feel less pain.
December 21, 2005... Your brain controls your body, and your body affects your brain. Now, scientists have found a way to turn the system upside down. With practice, a new study suggests, people can use their minds to change the way their brains affect their...