Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from March 2001

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from March 2001

Private Chopper.(Solo Trek XFV)
March 2, 2001... A California company is developing the Solo Trek XFV, a one-person, strap-on helicopter that runs on gasoline and carries a rider as high as 2,440 meters (8,000 feet) at speeds of up to 128 kilometers (80 miles) per hour. Mindstretch: The two...

THORNY DEVIL.(lizard in Australia)
March 2, 2001... This bizarre critter is a thorny devil (Moloch horridus), a lizard that lives in the Australian desert. It looks fierce, but it's only 15 centimeters (6 inches) long and avoids confrontation by hiding in the shrubbery. The thorny devil feeds on...

HIGH SOCIETY.(International Space Station design problems)
March 2, 2001... Making the International Space Station a permanent address for humans has presented scientist with some big challenges. On Nov. 2, 2000, three astronauts, two from Russia and one from the United States, moved into the orbiting International...

SAVING STEPHANIE.(girl with visceral myopathy receives transplant)
March 2, 2001... A tricky transplant rescues a girl from a life-threatening condition. French fries, hamburgers, ice cream, pizza--all were once forbidden foods for Stephanie Singh, now 9 years old. In fact, until last year, Stephanie had never tasted a...

Robofish.(robotic fish used to evaluate how salmon pass through dams)
March 2, 2001... Robotic salmon take a ride on the wild side to save Pacific salmon. It's one of the hairiest water rides in the country. Millions of riders take the plunge every year. Be glad you haven't, though, because thousands don't survive the...

Southern EXPOSURE.(ozone layer depletion over Antarctica)
March 2, 2001... Was global warming to blame for the record size of the Antarctic ozone hole last fall? Last September, the city of Punta Arenas, Chile, went on red alert. Health officials warned residents to stay indoors between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Anyone...

Baseballs Getting Bouncier.(why new baseballs bounce further)
March 2, 2001... KINGSTON, R.I.--There's no doubt that major-league baseball players are hitting more home runs these days--twice as many as players hit 25 years ago. The question is: Why? Researchers at the University of Rhode Island (URI) say they have...

Student Wins $100,000 Prize.(for nanotechnology innovation)
March 2, 2001... WESTPORT, Conn.--A senior at Staples High School here has won first prize in the Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition. Mariangela Lisanti, 17, was awarded a $100,000 scholarship in December for her innovative work in...

What a Hoot! Space Alien Exposed as Owl.
March 2, 2001... "One of the most bizarre UFO encounters of all time." That's how The UFO Encyclopedia sums up an incident that happened in the woods outside the village of Flatwoods, W. Va., one night in 1952. A woman and six kids reported seeing a fiery...

ASK PROFESSOR OSSOLOTCH.(dog behavior)
March 2, 2001... Why do dogs turn in circles before lying down? Brittany Johnson, Pittsburgh, Pa. Dear Brittany, Having watched my own dog, Humphrey, exhibit such behavior numerous times, I put your question to him. Humphrey didn't answer. So I...

VOICE OF TOMORROW.(design of an Internet radio)(Brief Article)
March 16, 2001... This sleek piece of electronics, designed by the international design firm Pentagram, is an Internet radio. It isn't commercially available yet, but it will be able to pick up every radio station on Earth, including those broadcast solely on...

WEIRD WIDE WORLD.(venomous snake bites its owner; boys steal koalas from a zoo to impress a girlfriend)
March 16, 2001... UNITED STATES--The deadly snake population in Waverly, Va., fell sharply in january after a local pet owner almost died from a cobra bite. Tom Townsend, 42, kept between 50 and 60 venomous snakes, including vipers, puff adders, and diamond-back...

THE REAL `LOST WORLD'.(discovery of the remains of huge, previously unknown dinosaurs)
March 16, 2001... Fossil hunters are exploring places populated by monsters with more dino might than T.rex! Trees crack. The ground rumbles. A sail-backed monster with the head of a crocodile and a temper worse than that of Tyrannosaurus rex lumbers toward...

ALMOST FAMOUS. (evolution of the ichthyosaurs, a sea reptile)
March 16, 2001... Newfound fossils have shed light on a group of prehistoric monsters you might not have heard of: the ichthyosaurs. If the southern continents are the "lost world," then the oceans might be called the "forgotten world." The oceans were once...

you be the scientist.
March 16, 2001... [GRAPH OMITTED] 1. about 140 million years ago, 2. Gondwana, 3. Laurasia, 4. Asiamerica and Euramerica, 5. about 105 million years ago, 6. Late Cretaceous, 7. about 20 million years, 8. about 60 million years, 9. Antarctica and Australia,...

BLACK SATURDAY.(earthquake in El Salvador)
March 16, 2001... El Salvador suffered a major earthquake in January that killed at least 700 people, injured 4,000, and destroyed thousands of homes. At 11:33 a.m. Saturday, January 13, a huge wave of dirt and mud whooshed down a hillside into the town of...

SLEEPING SICKNESS.(a disease that sometimes afflicts teenagers is called Kleine-Levin syndrome, which brings about an urge to sleep for a long periond of time)
March 16, 2001... People with a rare disorder sleep for weeks at a time. Every now and then, Ted Bigatel falls asleep and doesn't wake up for a week. He sleeps all day and night, rousing himself only enough to eat and go to the bathroom. Even then, Bigatel...

`Lost City' Found on Ocean Floor.(discovery of hydrothermal vents and deposits in the Atlantic Ocean)
March 16, 2001... WASHINGTON--Sometimes scientists looking for one thing find another unexpected thing instead. That's what happened last December, when a group of American researchers exploring a seamount (underwater mountain) in the Atlantic Ocean rounded a...

Tomatoes Show Fighting Power.(lycopene in tomatoes found to help in treating mouth cancer)
March 16, 2001... JERUSALEM, Israel--One of the world's biggest food fights happens every year in the town of Bunol, Spain. The townspeople abandon their table manners and have a wild time throwing about 110,000 kilograms (242,500 pounds) of ripe tomatoes at one...

Dracula Ants Suck Their Babies' Blood.(Madagascar ants)
March 16, 2001... ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar--If you missed Dracula 2000 at the movies last year, here's another vampire story to gross you out. An American scientist exploring a high plateau in Madagascar has found a species of ant that lives off the blood of its...

Unvaccinated Kids Put Themselves And Others at Risk.
March 16, 2001... DENVER--A Colorado study has found that children who didn't receive vaccinations were more likely to become sick--and so were their vaccinated classmates. In Colorado, as in many other states, parents can refuse, for philosophical and...

Could Magnets Jolt Ships Through Space?(research to use superconducting magnets to propel spacecraft)
March 16, 2001... GERMANTOWN, Md.--Several issues ago, Current Science wrote about a plan to propel spacecraft with antimatter power. Now comes another far-out idea: judder drive. The word judder means "to vibrate with intensity." Judder drive is a form of...

Optricks.(math question; picture of vitamin C)
March 16, 2001... BEND YOUR MIND A hippo weighs 1,000 pounds plus half its own weight. How much does it weigh? Answer 2,000 pounds WHAT IZ IT? What you see here is a close-up of a nutrient that comes from oranges and tomatoes and helps...