Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from April 2003

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from April 2003

Who knew?(brief news about current events)
April 11, 2003... A rare African mammal has been spotted for the first time in 70 years in Tanzania. Called Lowe's servaline genet, the mammal measures 1 meter in length and is a cousin of the mongoose. It lives in trees, goes out only at night, and has spots on...

Strange invader: a new infection is traveling across the country. How dangerous is it? (Health).(West Nile virus)(Cover Story)
April 11, 2003... Objectives This feature explains what the West Nile virus is, how it's spread, and what health risks it poses. Critical Thinking * How might the West Nile virus have come to the United States? * How might the West Nile virus...

Scuttle the shuttle? the disastrous breakup of the space shuttle Columbia has prompted some scientists to call for an end to the space shuttle program. (Earth/Physical).
April 11, 2003... Objectives This feature outlines some of the reasons scientists and historians have for discontinuing the space shuttle program. Critical Thinking * Present an original reason for either keeping or scuttling the space shuttle...

Forest foe: a newfound microbe is ravaging the oak forests of California. (Life).
April 11, 2003... Objectives This feature explains what is -killing the oak forests of California. Critical Thinking * What might explain the sudden appearance and spread of P. ramorum in California, starting in 1995? * How might P. ramorum be...

Sun dancing: a Mississippi school will send its custom solar car to Australia in October for the world's top sun run. (Earth/Physical).
April 11, 2003... Objectives This feature, about a Mississippi high school's champion solar race car, explains how photovoltaic cells turn sunlight into electricity. Critical Thinking * Referring to the photos of the Sundancer, explain how the...

Four-winged dino fossil found. (Life).(Microraptor gui)
April 11, 2003... LIAONING PROVINCE, China -- Scientists here have unearthed fossilized specimens of one of the oddest prehistoric creatures yet found--a dinosaur with four wings. The discovery sheds new light on the way that dinosaurs learned to fly, say the...

Coming soon! Eclipse of the moon. (Earth).
April 11, 2003... Get ready for a celestial spectacle! A total eclipse of the moon will grace the skies above North and South America the night of May 15. An eclipse of the moon occurs when Earth passes between the moon and the sun, blocking the sun's light. ...

Stroke patients get vampire's kiss. (Health).(drug made from enzyme secreted by vampire bats)
April 11, 2003... VICTORIA, Australia -- When a vampire bat sinks its teeth into a victim, it secretes an enzyme that keeps the victim's blood from clotting so that the bat can get as much blood as it needs. Now, a team of Australian researchers has developed a...

Ask Professor Ossolotch. (Discoveries).(Blue Ridge Mountains)
April 11, 2003... Why are the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina blue? --Justin Bodine Turkey, N.C. Dear Justin, Many mountains, not just the Blue Ridge Mountains, appear blue even though they're blanketed in green vegetation....

Whatizit? (Optricks).(jellyfish stingers)(Illustration)
April 11, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Is this a curly pipe cleaner? No. It's a nasty little organ that biologists call a nematocyst. The tentacles of jellyfish are covered with nematocysts. What might they do? Nematocysts are stingers.