Science News for Kids articles from October 2006

Science News for Kids archives from October 2006

A seabird's endless summer.(sooty shearwaters travel more than 64, 000km)
October 4, 2006... It's that time of year again. Many of the birds that have filled our backyards, parks, and forests with song are packing up and heading south for the winter. For some songbirds, the trip may be as short as a jaunt from southern Wisconsin...

Bugs with gas.(microbes produce propane and ethane)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... You may know of propane as the gas that fires up camp stoves or fuels outdoor grills. Researchers have now found that microbes living under the ocean floor appear to produce propane and another gas called ethane. These microbes chew up...

Stalking plants by scent.(dodders)
October 4, 2006... Dodder is a wiry, orange vine that steals water and nutrients from other plants. Scientists have now found that this vine chooses its victim by smell, growing its shoots in the direction of a plant's natural perfume. When a dodder seed...

Dwarf planet discord.
October 11, 2006... Things continue to change at the outer edge of the solar system. On Aug. 24, Pluto was demoted from planet to "dwarf planet," leaving only eight true planets in the solar system. Now, astronomers have given another dwarf planet an official...

Picture the smell.
October 11, 2006... Just a whiff of steaming pizza straight out of the oven is enough to make your mouth water. Your nose is a living sensor that responds to the chemicals in pizza that give this food its distinctive aroma. Your brain recognizes this...

Sticky silky feet.
October 11, 2006... Comic book superhero Spider-Man uses tiny hairs on his fingertips to climb up walls. But he could have had another secret weapon to help him stick. Scientists have now found that some spiders can also make silk in their feet, which may...

Mating slows down prairie dogs.
October 18, 2006... Male prairie dogs are normally fast and tough. They can easily avoid predators. But that's when they're not in love. Scientists who spent years studying a colony of about 100 prairie dogs in Utah discovered that when it's time to court...

The Pacific Ocean's bald spot.
October 18, 2006... In at least one place, the land at the bottom of the ocean is nearly naked, scientists have discovered. The rocks that form Earth's surface beneath the oceans are usually covered with a thick layer made up of sand or dirt and the skeletons...

The science fair circuit.(science fairs )
October 18, 2006... For some kids, entering science fairs is like eating cookies. It's hard to stop at just one. The research is interesting, these students say. The competitions are exciting, and you can win prizes. Best of all, joining the science fair...

Crocodile hearts.
October 25, 2006... Crocodiles may not cry real tears, but they do have special hearts. Like mammal and bird hearts, a crocodile's heart is a muscle that pumps blood. One side of the heart sends blood that is full of oxygen out to most of the body. The other...

Internet generation.(internet usage )
October 25, 2006... I sent my first e-mail message when I was 17. I discovered Google 5 years later. Today, I use the Internet all the time. But when I was a kid, I never imagined that I would one day send messages using a computer that fits in my backpack....

Invisibility ring.(microwaves used for invisibility)
October 25, 2006... Scientists can't yet make an invisibility cloak like the one that Harry Potter uses. But, for the first time, they've constructed a simple cloaking device that makes itself and something placed inside it invisible to microwaves. When a...