Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from December 2003

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from December 2003

Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!
December 5, 2003... This special "Reality Check" edition of the Sci-Triv Game features 25 statements. Some are science fact and some are science fiction. See how many points you can win by deciding which are which. To find your score, give yourself 10 points each...

Who knew?(mirage in the Arctic; organ in caverns; space shuttle )
December 5, 2003... No one will ever climb Peary's Crocker Land, a mountain range in the Arctic. The mountains area mirage, caused by the reflection of sunlight on the ice. The world's largest musical instrument is a "stalapipe" organ in Virginia's Luray...

Up in smoke: scientists torch the idea that people can spontaneously burst into flame.(Physical)
December 5, 2003... A neighbor found the remains of 67-year-old Mary Reeser--just a left leg and a pile of ashes--in her favorite easy chair. The floor and other furniture in the room were completely unburned but covered in greasy black soot. From all...

How to spot bogus science.
December 5, 2003... A bogus phenomenon such as spontaneous human combustion usually comes with warning signs attached. According to University of Maryland physicist Robert Park, author of Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud, these are the main...

Dead wrong: TV psychic John Edward says he sees dead people. Should you believe him?(Life)
December 5, 2003... Ron Guay, his wife, Joy, and their friend Chuck Lizza had a popular animal act that ended abruptly in 1998. One of their trained tigers mauled Lizza to death. Within weeks, the same tiger killed Joy. State game officials responded by shooting...

Broken hearts: tragic deaths spur calls for a crackdown on health and fitness supplements.(Health)
December 5, 2003... One day last year, Sean Riggins, a high-school athlete from Lincoln, III., and some friends bought Yellow Jackets at a local store. Yellow Jackets contain ephedra, a chemical derived from the Chinese herb ma huang. Sean and his buddies...

Liar, liar! Do polygraphs tell the truth?(Life/technology)
December 5, 2003... THE TV DETECTIVE WAS FED UP. He had heard enough excuses from the suspect. He shook his finger and barked, "If you're so innocent, then prove it! Take a polygraph test." The suspect's eyes widened in panic. She knew that a polygraph was a lie...

Students break law--of gravity?(Technology)
December 5, 2003... DEARBORN, Mich.- Dearborn High School teacher Russ Gibb encourages his students to think outside the box.That encouragement has helped some of his students win prizes at the last four regional science fairs. Last year's award-winning...

Scientist to build 'boo!' house.(Physical)(researcher to build house that reflects changes in atmosphere present when people allegedly see ghosts)
December 5, 2003... HERTFORDSHIRE, England--Richard Wiseman doesn't believe in ghosts. But he still wants to design his own haunted house.The house won't have the dancing skeletons and bloodcurdling screams of a carnival creep show. Wiseman plans instead to adjust...

Ask professor Ossolotch.(Discoveries)
December 5, 2003... I used to wonder whether my own kids got wired on candy and cookies.Then I read a report by a team of psychologists who found that excess sugar consumption has no effect on children's behavior. Why do people continue to believe that sugar...

Death rays said to target earth.(Earth)
December 5, 2003... GAKONA, Alaska-At this moment, a top-secret U.S. military station in the Alaskan wilderness is beaming a death ray into Earth's atmosphere. The ray is powerful enough to have caused diseases, droughts, floods, and earthquakes. The ray can also...

Insight.(Earth)
December 5, 2003... What's wrong with this map? Absolutely nothing. Yes, the land masses are upside down--Australia, Africa and South America are situated at the top and North America and Eurasia are on the bottom. But why shouldn't they be? Earth has no natural...

Ghost are all in the head.(Life; people who believe in paranormal activity more likely to see patterns or relationships in unrelated things)
December 5, 2003... ZURICH-Have you ever thought you saw a ghost or a monster and then been told later by a friend that "it was all in your head"? Well, that friend might have been right. A Swiss scientist says that people who believe in the paranormal...

Mystery photos.(Optricks)
December 5, 2003... Don't believe everything you see. Nowadays, photographs can be easily doctored with the help of computers. This issue's, Mystery Photos are a departure from the ones the magazine usually runs of familiar objects photographed in close-up or from...

Have fun learning about science!(Sci-Triv Game)
December 19, 2003... Have fun learning about science! 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,...

Who? knew.
December 19, 2003... In September, Guinness World Records named basset hound Knightsfollie Ladiesman the dog with the longest ears. The ears, which each measure 29.2 centimeters (11.5 inches), are so long that the basset regularly stands and trips on them. The...

Bird man: sky flier Jari Kuosma is achieving the age-old dream of soaring like a bird.(Physical)(Cover Story)
December 19, 2003... Inside the airplane, Jari Kuosma looks overdressed. Whereas all the other sky divers resemble superheroes in their skin-tight ninja suits, Kuosma wears an outfit that has bizarre flaps of scarlet flowing from his armpits and between his legs....

Fished out: they can swim, but they can't hide. Are we taking too many fish from the sea?(Life)
December 19, 2003... Imagine a body of water so thick with fish you can almost catch them with your eyes shut. That's the way Earth's oceans used to be. The explorer John Cabot reported scooping cod with a bucket from the waters of the North Atlantic off North...

Shake, rattle and glow: will strange lights in the sky shed light on earthquake prediction?(Earth)
December 19, 2003... One night in 1999, the sky above Izmit, Turkey, came alive with floating balls of light. The following day, a huge earthquake hit the city. In 1995, in Kobe, Japan, residents reported seeing orange-white flashes in the sky shortly before...

Buried lake could blow.(Earth)(Lake Vostok, Antarctica)
December 19, 2003... VOSTOK STATION, Antarctica -- One of Earth's largest lakes has never been seen by a human being. As large as Lake Ontario, it hides from view under 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of ice. Called Lake Vostok, it is one of possibly 77 subglacial...

Comic wants clone of his own.(Life)(Rodney Dangerfield)
December 19, 2003... LOS ANGELES -- Comedian Rodney "I don't get no respect" Dangerfield is said to have recovered fully from recent brain surgery. Some may doubt how well his mind is working, however. Dangerfield, 82, recently contacted a company called Clonaid...

Roo to the rescue.(Too Weird)(kangaroo rescues owner)
December 19, 2003... MORWELL, Australia -- One day in late September, Celeste Richards, 17, heard a yapping sound outside her family's farmhouse. The noise continued for 15 minutes. Finally, she and her mother, Lynn, went outside to investigate. In a field...

Universe a giant soccer ball?(Earth/Physical)
December 19, 2003... PARIS -- You've no doubt heard it said that the universe is infinite--that it goes on forever. However, new evidence collected by French and U.S. researchers suggests that the universe is actually finite and, moreover, shaped like a soccer...

Roy's skull stored in stomach.(Health)(entertainer Roy Horn recovering from mauling)
December 19, 2003... LAS VEGAS -- Doctors trying to save the life of entertainer Roy Horn removed part of his head and put it in his abdomen. Horn, one-half of the popular animal act Siegfried & Roy, was mauled by a trained tiger during a show on October 3. ...

Rare critter found in Cuba.(Life)
December 19, 2003... HAVANA -- A farmer in eastern Cuba has found a live specimen of an animal that few humans have ever seen. The animal, an almiqui (ahl-mee-KEE), looks like a badger with a long, pink-tipped snout, a scaly tail, and a punk haircut. ...

Insight.(Discoveries)(hurricanes)
December 19, 2003... Where's willy-willy? Look to the left of the ship in this photo and you'll see what seems to be a willy-willy brewing in the distance. Willy-willy is the brewing in the distance. Willy-willy is the name for hurricane in Australia. The ship in...

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
December 19, 2003... The numbers in the middle section are related in some way to the numbers in the left and right columns. What number should replace the question mark? 4 61 4 7 24 6 5 54 9 3 42 8 7 ? 4 ...

Whatizit?
December 19, 2003... Sharks have two types of teeth. Like people, they have dental teeth. They also have dermal teeth, pictured above. Dermal teeth are made from bone and from the type of enamel found in dental enamel. Where would you find a shark's dermal teeth...

Discoveries.(Skillbuilders)
December 19, 2003... Fill in the Blank Find the word or words that best complete each sentence. Write the words in the blanks. 1. Bodies of water that lie under glacier-thick ice are called -- lakes. 2. The -- of an egg contains an individual's DNA....