Science News for Kids articles from May 2006

Science News for Kids archives from May 2006

A dino's long, long reach.(Brief article)
May 3, 2006... Scientists have found the remains of a dinosaur whose neck could have been twice as long as its body. Such extreme proportions would put a giraffe to shame. The dinosaur, called Erketu ellisoni, was a sauropod. These dinosaurs are known...

Fingerprint evidence.
May 3, 2006... In May 2004, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed up at Brandon Mayfield's law office and arrested him in connection with the March 2004 bombing of a train station in Madrid, Spain. The Oregon lawyer was a suspect because...

Microbe superglue.(Brief article)
May 3, 2006... A common microbe that lives in water makes the strongest sticky material yet found in nature. The discovery might help scientists make extra-strong glue that holds tight even when wet. The bacterium is called Caulobacter crescentus. When it...

Dancing with robots.
May 10, 2006... Sprague's Sprockets, a team of two boys and two girls, waited nervously for its turn at the search-and-rescue station as the RoboCup Junior competition got under way. The students from Adelphi Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y., had checked the...

If only bones could speak.
May 10, 2006... Language is one trait that separates people from other animals. Words give us the power to communicate complicated ideas, and this skill has taken us far. No one knows exactly when our ancestors started talking, but new evidence suggests...

The way a comet crumbles.
May 10, 2006... For a comet, breaking up is not so hard to do. A comet called 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has been disintegrating for years, but the pace has picked up in recent weeks. The comet has already broken into at least 59 pieces. As it gets closer...

Blast from the past.
May 17, 2006... About 144 million years ago, a large asteroid slammed into southern Africa, blasting a crater that measures 70 kilometers (43 miles) across. Now, an international research team has found intact pieces of this ancient asteroid within the...

New monkey business.
May 17, 2006... A new kind of monkey is giving scientists a lot to think about. Two groups of researchers independently discovered the rare creature in different forests in Tanzania last year (see "New Mammals"). They classified the shy animal as a...

Shape shifting.
May 17, 2006... Using a cell phone, you can hear your friend when she calls. With a video camera or picture phone, you can also see her. But what if you could have a technology that made it seem as if your friend were sitting across from you, even if she's...

Germ zapper.(Brief article)
May 24, 2006... You've probably experienced the power of antibiotics. These amazing medicines kill the bacteria that give you strep throat and other infections. Usually, you start feeling better after a day or two of treatment. Antibiotics have become so...

Jay watch.
May 24, 2006... When some birds store food for future meals, they pay close attention to who might be watching when they hide the food. In the presence of thieves, the birds go to extra trouble to save their hoards. Among western scrub jays, certain birds...

Missing moose.
May 24, 2006... For many years, moose were a mystery to me. On camping trips, I'd see fresh tracks and droppings, but no moose. On car trips, other people would see them and I'd be looking the wrong way. When I was 18, a friend and I traveled through New...

Assembling the tree of life.
May 31, 2006... It's easy to see how you're related to your parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, and cousins. It's not so easy to see how you're related to apple trees, worms, or elephants. From algae to zebras, all living things on Earth have a...

Squeezing oil from old wells.
May 31, 2006... Oil fuels the lives of most people around the world. We use it to power our cars and planes, heat our homes, and even manufacture shoes, plastic bottles, and other products. Without it, the world would be a very different place. Oil can be...

Staying away from sick lobsters.
May 31, 2006... Lobsters may have a sick sense. New experiments show that certain kinds of lobsters avoid sick individuals even before the infected lobsters are contagious or show symptoms that people can see. It's the first evidence that healthy wild...