Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from August 2003

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from August 2003

Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!
August 29, 2003... Want to play a game of science trivia? See how many points you can win by correctly answering the questions below. To find your score, give yourself 10 points each time you get the first question right, 20 points for each second question, and...

Who knew?(trivia briefs)
August 29, 2003... Astronomers have recently spotted 21 more moons orbiting Jupiter, bringing the total number of Jovian moons to 61--the most for any planet in the solar system. James Price of Locust Grove, Ark., accidentally dropped his false teeth into...

Trick kick: scientists discover how to bend a soccer ball the way superstar David Beckham does.(Physical)
August 29, 2003... THE GAME IS TIED, with mere minutes to go, when a player on the opposing team commits a foul. You step up to take a free kick at the net, which is blocked by the goaltender and a wall of defenders. All eyes are on you as you gaze down at the...

SARS unmasked: what is the new global disease SARS? What threat does it pose? Can it be defeated?(Severe acute respiratory syndrome)
August 29, 2003... Last February, a Chinese professor of medicine checked into the Hotel Metropole in Hong Kong. The professor had been treating an outbreak of disease in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. Unbeknown to him, he was carrying that...

High life: does life exist on the planet Venus? Some U.S. scientist think so.(Earth/Life)
August 29, 2003... VENUS is one of the last places in the solar system where you might expect to find signs of life. The planet's surface is hot enough to melt lead. Its dense atmosphere is 97 percent carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) and 90 times heavier than Earth's....

Too cool: cold-water marathon swimmer Lynne Cox made the ultimate splash--in Antarctica.(Earth/Life)
August 29, 2003... DRESSED in nothing but a swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles, Lynne Cox peered over the railing into the icy blue water below, Goose bumps covered her skin as freezing winds whipped past the boat. Cox is an accomplished open-ocean swimmer and a...

Student solves brain mystery.( )(Laura Drew's experiment on role of cerebrospinal fluid and brain injuries )
August 29, 2003... DAYTON, Ohio -- A high-school student's science experiment has helped clear up an old mystery about brain injuries. The student, Laura Drew, 17, needed an idea for her science fair project. Laura's father, William Drew, a neurologist with the...

Insight.(male yellowheaded jawfish carries eggs in mouth)
August 29, 2003... This male yellowheaded jawfish had better not swallow! If he does, he will gulp down all his kids! The male yellowheaded jawfish protects his eggs from predators by carrying them in his mouth. When feeding, the jawfish hides the eggs in his...

Space rock barely misses sleeping teen.(chondrite meteorites)
August 29, 2003... PARK FOREST, Ill. -- Robert Garza, 14, was jolted out of his sleep shortly before midnight on March 26. A softball-sized rock crashed through the roof of his parents' house and ricocheted around his room. The rock sliced through a set of...

New vitamin found.(PQQ: pyrroloquinoline quinine first vitamin discovered in 55 years)
August 29, 2003... TOKYO -- Check the label on your Flintstones chewables bottle. Does it include PQQ? That's the acronym for a new vitamin identified by Japanese scientists--the first vitamin discovered in 55 years. PQQ, which stands for pyrroloquinoline...

Ask Professor Ossolotch.("runner's high" explained)
August 29, 2003... Dear Professor Ossolotch What is a runner's high? Joe Brick, Toledo, Ohio Dear Joe, "Runner's high" is a term that many athletes use to describe the feeling of euphoria that sometimes occurs after vigorous exercise. Many...

Coat makes wearer invisible.(Physical)
August 29, 2003... TOKYO -- Kazutoshi Obana, a student at Tokyo University, is Japan's Harry Potter. Like the most famous student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Obana has an "invisibility cloak." When he puts it on, you can see right through...

Mystery photos.(Optricks)
August 29, 2003... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Mystery Photos Top: the top of a fire hydrant Middle: a leaf covered in frost Bottom: a turtle on its back

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
August 29, 2003... Add the list of numbers out loud or in your head. Then add them using a calculator. Compare your answers. 1000 20 30 1000 1030 1000 + 20 ----- ???? The answers are in the Teacher's Guide. Mindbender: The...

Whatizit?(Optricks)
August 29, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The blobs in this microphotograph, which have been stained blue, are what anatomists call adipocytes. They function as insulation and as a reserve energy source. Americans spend billions of dollars each gear trying...

Discoveries.
August 29, 2003... Find the word or words that best complete each sentence. Write the words in the blanks. 1. -- are chemicals in the human body that behave like the addictive drug morphine. 2. The male yellowheaded jawfish protects his eggs by carrying...