Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from February 2005

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from February 2005

Sci-triv game.
February 11, 2005... 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,...

Chicago--Maggie the orangutan is feeling like a contestant on Extreme Makeover these days.(Who? Knew)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2005... CHICAGO--Maggie the orangutan is feeling like a contestant on Extreme Makeover these days. Maggie, 43, used to be pale, listless, and overweight and had dry hair, bad skin, and chronic flatulence (gas). She also had severe headaches. "She would...

Salt Lake City--Ben Cook, 17, is all thumbs--and that's a good thing.(Who? Knew)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2005... SALT LAKE CITY-Ben Cook, 17, is all thumbs--and that's a good thing. After owning a cell phone for a little more than a year, he set the world record for text messaging last fall. In a contest sponsored by the wireless phone service provider...

Crazy in love: beyonce and anthropologist Helen Fisher agree: love is an obsession.(Life)
February 11, 2005... What do you think, about when you re feeling romantic? Bouquets of roses? Boxes of chocolates? Handmade paper valentines? When Helen Fisher thinks about love and romance, she pictures neurotransmitters, the caudate nucleus, and the ventral...

Good dirt: germs are gross, right? Not the ones that may protect the body against disorders such as asthma and diabetes.(Health)
February 11, 2005... Two years ago, David Bird, 19, found himself unable to sit down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. He had a lump on his rear end that became so painful, he had to be taken to a hospital. In the months that followed, other symptoms, including...

Sweet science: making and savoring fine chocolate is a lesson in chemistry.(Physical)
February 11, 2005... Jesse Davis, 12, likes to hang out after school at a bar in New York City's Greenwich Village. He's there so often, in fact, that everyone knows his name. He often brings along his brother Josh, 13, and their friend Nico, 15. They sit around,...

Pipe dream: this winter, Icelanders begin drilling for a strange phase of matter that could yield a gusher of clean, renewable energy.(Earth)
February 11, 2005... Although the island of Iceland sits just below the Arctic Circle, it's a hotbed of scalding springs, steaming geysers, and smoldering volcanoes. Iceland is one of the world's richest sources of geothermal energy--power generated from Earth's...

Humans: born to run.(Life)
February 11, 2005... CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--When the final results for last year's Boston Marathon were announced, no cat was listed among the finishers. No chimpanzee was either. No wonder. Cats, chimps, and many other mammals are excellent sprinters. But humans...

TV cries wolf.(Physical)(TV emitting an errant radio signal used for international distress call)
February 11, 2005... CORVALLIS, Ore.--Chris van Rossman got an unexpected knock on his door one Saturday night last October. He opened the door and found himself standing face-to-face with a local police officer, several U.S. Air Force men, and a deputy from the...

Dog nurses kittens.(Discoveries)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2005... EDWARDSBURG, Mich.--Jean and Bill Schirf's pet Shih Tzu, Geisha Girl, has always longed to be a mother. Every year, after having been in estrus (heat), she has taken her toy stuffed dog to bed with her, wrapped herself around it, and babied it...

Nouse follows nose.(Technology)(nose-driven computer mouse)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2005... OTTAWA, Ontario--The computer mouse is no longer so mighty. A Canadian engineer has invented a system that enables a computer user to push a cursor across a screen simply by moving his or her nose. He calls his nose-driven mouse a nouse. ...

U.S. life span falls behind.(Health)
February 11, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS--Twenty years ago, Americans lived longer than people in any other country in the world. Today, American women rank 19th in life expectancy, and American men rank 31st. The United States is the world's richest country. It also...

Ask professor Ossolotch.(Discoveries)(about lemurs)(Brief Article)
February 11, 2005... What is a lemur? Jason Carter, Baltimore, Md. Dear Jason, Several years ago I attended a conference at which a scientist gave a talk about lemurs. As she spoke, two lemurs from a local zoo roamed through the audience. The lemur...

Mystery photos.(Optricks)
February 11, 2005... Top: pencil sharpener Middle: St. Louis Gateway Arch Bottom: tree bark [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
February 11, 2005... These two numbers are what mathematicians call amicable numbers. What is the relationship between them that makes them amicable? (Hint: The answer involves the divisors.) Two numbers are amicable if the sum of the divisors of one number...

What iz it?(Optricks)
February 11, 2005... This is a close-up of a structure made of calcium carbonate that serves a protective function in nature. The living thing that it protects absorbs calcium from it and transforms the calcium into a strong, flexible framework. What is this...