Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from January 2004

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from January 2004

Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!
January 2, 2004... SCI-TRIV GAME 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...

Who? Knew.(birdsong, two-headed snake, food contamination after falling on floor)
January 2, 2004... A wild blackbird in Stroud, England, recently began whistling the theme from the 1967 Clint Eastwood spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Local residents think the bird has been mimicking a townsperson who frequently hums the same...

Tower of power: what happened to engineer Greg Leyh when he climbed to the top of a giant electrical transformer that throws lightning bolts into the sky?(Physical)(Electrum, world's largest tesla coil)(Cover Story)
January 2, 2004... Greg Leyh stands calmly at the ground-based controls of a four-story tower that looks like the scepter of a giant king. He takes a deep breath, throws the switch, and--zap!--the metal sphere atop the tower throws out dazzling 12-meter (40-foot)...

Not guilty: a DNA test frees a young man wrongly convicted of murder.(Life)(Hector Gonzalez)
January 2, 2004... WHEN HE WAS JUST 18 YEARS OLD, Hector Gonzalez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. After six and a half years behind bars, Gonzalez was escorted to a small courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y. There, the same judge who...

Cold tows: how can an iceberg be stopped from becoming a titanic threat? Round it up the old-fashioned way.(Earth)
January 2, 2004... Jerome Baker doesn't look like your average cowboy. He doesn't wear a Stetson hat, and he doesn't ride dusty trails. But he does swing a 1,200-meter (4,000-foot) lasso and harnesses the power of 9,600 "horses"! Baker is an iceberg...

High hopes: the government has approved a growth medicine for healthy kids who are short. Would you take it?(Health)(human growth hormone)
January 2, 2004... Inna Kaminer hates getting her daily shots. The 13-year-old is not sick. She is taking medicine for being short. Two years ago, she measured a mere 4 feet 3 inches. Her doctor predicted she would grow up to be 4 feet 7 inches tall. Inna...

Electricity made from water.(Physical)
January 2, 2004... EDMONTON -- For the first time in 160 years, scientists have found a new way to generate electricity. The new method is simple and clean and involves no machinery. It takes advantage of electrokinetics, the ability of moving substances, such as...

Was president sleep deprived?(Health)(William Howard Taft)
January 2, 2004... BELMONT, Calif. -- The presidency of William Howard Taft (1909-1913) is considered one of the least successful in U.S. history. Did an undiagnosed medical condition contribute to Taft's failure in office? John Sotos, a California...

Navy limits sonar to save whales.(Life)
January 2, 2004... SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Navy has agreed in federal court to restrict its use of a powerful new underwater detection system that conservationists say could kill whales, dolphins, and other marine animals. The Navy was taken to court by a...

Ask Professor Ossolotch.(Discoveries)(Bok globule)
January 2, 2004... Dear Professor Ossolotch, What is a Bok globule? Jessica Hurley, Seattle, Wash. Dear Jessica, If you had access to a powerful telescope in the summer, you could see a dark patch in the constellation Ophiuchus. That patch is a...

Teen told to pig out on burgers and chips.(Health)(vasovagal syncope syndrome case)
January 2, 2004... LEEDS, England -- Earlier this year, Ashley Clarke, 18, heard three words that few teens ever do: Eat junk food! The order came from his doctor. Clarke has an extreme case of vasovagal syncope syndrome. That is a condition in which drops...

Insight.(Discoveries)(solar flares cause aurora borealis)
January 2, 2004... The sun fired two huge bursts of charged particles at Earth two days in a row in late October. The eruptions came from solar flares--sudden, violent releases of matter and energy from the sun's surface. The charged particles reached Earth soon...

Giant guinea pig found.(Life)(discovery of new prehistoric species, Phoberomys pattersoni)
January 2, 2004... URUMACO, Venezuela -- An international team of fossil hunters has announced the discovery of a new prehistoric species, Phoberomys pattersoni. The name means "Patterson's fearful mouse," although the creature probably had little to be afraid...

Artificial blood: add liquid and transfuse.(Health)
January 2, 2004... STOCKHOLM -- Doctors at a hospital here have for the first time treated patients successfully using artificial blood. The blood is a powder to which a liquid is added before being given to a patient. The dried blood, called Hemospan, was...

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
January 2, 2004... The distance between the triangle's base and its top peak is 7 centimeters. Without using a measuring tool, estimate how high the red dot is above the base. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The answers are in the Teacher's Guide.

What iz it?
January 2, 2004... These filaments are part of one of the major causes of respiratory allergies, such as hay fever and asthma. The filaments belong to a living thing that isn't a plant or an animal. The organism is commonly found in carpets, textiles, soil, and...

Have fun learning about science!(Sci-Triv Game)
January 16, 2004... What to play a game of science trivia? See how many points you can win by correctly answering the question right, 20 point for each second question, and so on. Any question in a red bonus square is worth double the points. Good luck! ...

Who? knew.(unusual news)
January 16, 2004... The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) proposed that the town of Hamburg, N.Y., change its name to Veggieburg, N.Y. PETA said the town's name was offensive because it "conjures up images of ground-up dead...

Quad King: skating champion Timothy Goebel's quadruple jumps are stunning displays of physical in action.(Physical)
January 16, 2004... The first time I spotted Timothy Goebel flying across the ice, I could scarcely believe my eyes. "This guy can skate!" I gasped as he zoomed around the rink, a blue streak in a fleece jacket. It turns out the world champion skater was just...

Slippery science.(ice)
January 16, 2004... Why is ice slippery? That might seem a simple question, and until recently it had a simple answer: The pressure of skates or shoes on the surface of the ice makes it melt, creating a thin lubricating layer of water to slide on. Recent...

Creature comfort: the doctors are vets and the patients are pets at this New York City hospital.(Life)(Column)
January 16, 2004... I am about to witness a delicate surgical procedure in a busy New York City hospital. I pull disposable scrubs over my clothes, tuck my ponytail under a hairnet, strap a surgical mask to my face, and step into the operating room. The patient is...

Zapped! What happens to people like 12-year-old Juan Duarte, who survive getting hit by lightning?(Earth/Health)
January 16, 2004... One evening last July, 12-year-old Juan Duarte of Los Angeles was watching TV when the sound of a brewing thunderstorm distracted him. He ducked outside to get a good look. Juan's mother thought nothing of his disappearance until she spied...

'Weird stuff' found in India.(new frog species)(Nasikabatrachus sahydrensis)
January 16, 2004... KERALA, India-Last fall, Current Science ran a story about a polar bear that accidentally turned purple when zookeepers in Argentina sprayed it with a solution to keep it free of germs. Here's another story about a purple animal--this time it's...

Harry hurts heads.(Health; increasing size/length of Harry Potter books thought to cause "Hogwarts headaches" in children)
January 16, 2004... WASHINGTON, D.C.--The three Harry Potter fans who visited pediatrician Howard Bennett's office last summer did not have lightning-bolt scars on their foreheads. Still, each child complained of a dull headache, and one child also suffered from...

Cat man cured by thrill ride.(Health; damaged artificial lens put right by roller coaster)
January 16, 2004... ZURICH, Switzerland--A young man with an unusual condition recently visited Michael Thiel, an eye surgeon at the University of Zurich. The young man looked like a cat. The pupil of his right eye was slit-shaped instead of vound. Thiel arranged...

Math profs invent new guitar.(Physical; guitar with three necks: tritar)
January 16, 2004... MONCTON, N.B.--Two Canadian mathematicians trying to find the answer to an age-old math puzzle have come up with a new musical instrument instead. Called the tritar, the instrument is a sleek, Y-shaped guitar with three necks and six networks...

Disaster critic to be fired.(Earth)
January 16, 2004... INEZ, Ky.--Spillover continues from one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history. The U.S. government has informed a top employee who criticized its investigation of the disaster that it plans to fire him. The disaster happened...

Delivery shocks zookeepers.(giraffe born at Milwaukee County Zoo)
January 16, 2004... MILWAUKEE--What at first seemed like a Halloween trick turned into a treat for zookeepers at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Giraffe keeper Rich Schweitzer arrived at work the morning of October 31 to find an extra animal in the giraffe barn. "I...

Insight.
January 16, 2004... If you could see as well as hear a cough, this is what it might look like. Gary Settles, a chemist at Pennsylvania State University, took this photo, which is one of many amazing shots in the new book Super Vision: A New View of Nature. Settles...

Mystery photos.(Optricks)
January 16, 2004... Mystery Photos Top: radiator Middle: fireworks exploding in the sky Bottom: Gateway Arch in St. Louis

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
January 16, 2004... * With one hand, hold a rolled piece of paper to one eye. Hold your other hand several inches in front of your other eye, with the palm facing that eye. What do you see? The answer in the Teacher's Guide. Mindbender: You should see a...

Whatizit?(Optricks)
January 16, 2004... What looks like a bouquet of strange flowers is really something scientists call an egg "raft," caught hatching into larvae. A raft is a clump of eggs that can float in still water. The egss were laid by a type of whining insects that transmits...