Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from April 2008

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from April 2008

Sci-Triv Game: have fun learning about science!
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This special careers edition of the Sci-Triv Game lists 20 areas of study in science and shows five images of famous scientists. See how many points you can win by identifying what researchers study in each area and...

Who knew.(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN -- U.S. aviator Charles Lindbergh was flying over Iceland in the north Atlantic Ocean 75 years ago when he turned the controls of the aircraft over to his wife and copilot, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. He picked up a sticky glass...

Bionic man: a mountaineering accident spurred Hugh Herr to become a designer of artificial limbs.(PHYSICAL)(Cover story)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many people discover their career paths by accident. That was literally true for Hugh Herr. As a teenager in Lancaster, Pa., Herr had only one thing on his mind: mountain climbing. "I wasn't a model student," he...

Song and dance: Erich Jarvis turned from an education in dance to studying the biology of songbirds.(LIFE)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Cross the United States and you'll hear a chorus of regional accents. Some people say car; others say cah. Some say butter; others buttah. Even the country's songbirds have their own dialects, says Duke University...

Prison break: a New England doctor is struggling to break the cycles of infection and addiction in U.S. prisons.(HEALTH)(Josiah Rich)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Josiah Rich was in college, a drunken driver hit his older brother Ben. Fearful about his brother's condition, Rich paid daily visits to the hospital intensive care unit where his brother was being treated....

Planet hunter: astronomer Sara Seager uses telescope data to conceive what distant planets might be like.(EARTH)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In 1977, Sara Seager attended her first "star party," an open house for kids at a local observatory. The views of the night sky the planets and moons and the stars beyond--enthralled her. Back then, the known...

Designer genes.(DISCOVERIES: News Briefs From Current Science[R])(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... A team of genetic researchers led by maverick scientist Craig Venter has artificially constructed the genome--all of the genes--of a living creature. Here's how they did it. (1) The researchers began with Mycoplasma genitalium, a bacterium...

Science close to creating life.(life)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... ROCKVILLE, Md. -- A U.S. researcher has come very close to creating the world's first artificial life form. In January, biologist Craig Venter announced that he had assembled the very first genome for a simple bacterium. A genome is the...

Professor Ossolotch.(Ask)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Is it safe to take cough medicine? Susan Rubin, Los Angeles Dear Susan, I take it you saw the headlines about the government's recent decision concerning over-the-counter (nonprescription) cough and cold remedies. Last fall, the...

Tree flowers itself to death.(too weird)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar--Farmer Xavier Metz was ambling through a remote forest in northwestern Madagascar two years ago when he came across an astonishing site: a giant palm tree topped by what looked like a...

Having a blast at Yellowstone.(earth)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] YELLOWSTONE PARK, Wyo. -- Sometime in the next two hours, Old Faithful, one of Yellowstone Park's biggest geysers, will erupt in an enormous fountain of boiling water and steam. Park officials always know it will...

Spaceship for tourists unveiled.(technology)
April 11, 2008... NEW YORK -- Are you interested in a trip that's really out of this world? Virgin Galactic is taking reservations on the world's first spaceliner--an aircraft that will lift tourists into the upper atmosphere. The spaceliner is actually two...

A workforce of 40,000 made this Honeycomb Vase.(insight)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: A workforce of 40,000 made this Honeycomb Vase. Designer Tomas Gabzdil Libertiny inserted the frame of the vase into a beehive and the bees took it from there, filling it with beeswax.

Bend your mind.(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers From Current Science[R])(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Clock 4 is missing its minute hand. To which number should it point? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer 3. The numbers indicated by the hands increase by 7 each time--12, 19, 26, 33.

Whatizit?(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers From Current Science[R])(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... This microphoto shows a type of exocrine gland that releases a frothy liquid composed almost entirely of water. That liquid is essential in the digestive process. What is the name for this type of gland? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer...

Mystery photos.(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers From Current Science[R])(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mystery photos: Deanna Frederick/Cedar Grove-Belgium Middle School/Belgium Wis. (3); Whatizit: Steve Gschmeissner/Photo Researchers, Inc.; Background: Shutterstock Answer Top: plastic cups: Middle: school...

Discoveries.(SKILLBUILDERS)(Brief article)
April 11, 2008... Fill in the Blanks Find the word that best completes each sentence. Write the word in the blank. 1. A -- is the full set of genes in an organism. 2. -- is hot, molten rock that lies under Earth's surface. 3. The -- is the...