Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from March 2002

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from March 2002

Snakerpillar. (insight).(what a caterpillar does to protect itself)
March 1, 2002... What is this critter? A rattlesnake? No. A cobra? No again. A boa constrictor? Wrong once more. It's not even a snake. It's Hemeroplanes ornatus, the caterpillar phase of a type of moth. When disturbed, it inflates its head and looks much like...

Yesterday once more: 75 years of Current Science.(brief notes on interesting people and animal research)
March 1, 2002... January 7-11, 1935. Seven-year-old Arthur Greenwood, from Brooklyn, N.Y., was reported to be the "smartest boy in the world." Arthur taught himself how to read at age 2 and how to play the piano at age 3. An IQ test revealed that Arthur had an...

Eyes on the fries: America needs a more nutritious french fry. (Health/Life).(Cover Story)
March 1, 2002... Americans love french fries. On average, each person in the United States eats 30 pounds of french fries every year. That adds up to a countrywide annual total of more than 8.5 billion pounds of french fries--a weight equal to about 18,889...

North to Mars: to prepare for a human mission to Mars, scientists have staked out the most Marslike frontier on Earth. (Earth/Life).
March 1, 2002... Ever since he was 5 years old, Robert Zubrin, 49, has dreamed of going to Mars. Last summer, his dream came true, sort of. He spent several weeks on the Haughton Crater, a cold, windy, dusty, barren plain in northern Canada that scientists say...

White Lightning: the world's fastest electric car runs on flashlight batteries. (Physical).
March 1, 2002... In October 1999, a 25-foot-long race car that looked like a gigantic pencil tore across the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Reaching 254.229 miles per hour, the car, named White Lightning, shattered a U.S. speed record for electric cars. ...

Surgical tool left inside patient. (discoveries).(Brief Article)
March 1, 2002... SEATTLE--Most patients feel better after medical surgery. Not Donald Church. Following a cancer operation last June at the University of Washington Medical Center, the simplest activities--walking, bending over, going to the bathroom--caused...

Atmosphere found on distant planet. (discoveries).
March 1, 2002... WASHINGTON, D.C.--In 1995, astronomers discovered the first planet outside our solar system. Since then, more than 75 other extrasolar planets have been sighted. Now, two U.S. astronomers have found evidence of an atmosphere around one of those...

Space gun restores painting's true colors. (discoveries).(use of atomic oxygen gun to restore damaged art works)
March 1, 2002... CLEVELAND--The Impressionist artist Claude Monet (1840-1926) is probably most famous for a series of large paintings of water lilies he created at his home in Giverny, France. Smoke damaged one of those paintings in a fire at New York's Museum...

Mental workout builds muscles. (discoveries).
March 1, 2002... CLEVELAND--How'd you like to be as strong as The Rock without having to exercise? An experiment by an exercise physiologist has shown that simply sitting back and imagining yourself exercising can pump you up. The experiment was conducted...

The sci-triv game: have fun learning about science.(science questions)
March 1, 2002... Want to play a game of science trivia? See how many points you can win by correctly answering the following questions. To find your score, give yourself 10 points each time you get the first question right, 20 points for each second...

Oh, snap! (insight).(Sarcosuchus imperator or SuperCroc giant reptile skeleton found in the Sahara desert)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... What a croc! Paleontologist Paul Sereno dug up the fossilized skeleton of this prehistoric species in the Sahara desert two years ago. Called Sarcosuchus imperator, or "SuperCroc," the giant reptile lived 110 million years ago, measured 40 feet...

Win a trip to Space Camp. (microscope).(news of film about International Space Station)
March 22, 2002... Departures to Alpha, the international space station, begin this spring with the launch of Space Station 3D, the first ever IMAX three-dimensional space film. Space Station 3D transports IMAX viewers from their seats to Alpha, which is orbiting...

Cave woman: Hazel Barton explores some of the most forbidding caves on Earth in her hunt for "extremophiles". (Earth/Life).
March 22, 2002... Objectives This feature is about a scientist who searches some of the world's most dangerous caves for exotic bacteria in order to study how such life-forms adapt to extreme environments. Critical Thinking * What other...

Brave heart: doctors without borders won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. Nurse Kathleen LeFevre describes her volunteer missions for the organization. (Health).
March 22, 2002... Objectives This feature, about a nurse who volunteers for the international relief agency Doctors Without Borders, describes some of the infectious diseases that are the biggest threats to human life. Critical Thinking * How might...

Sky walker: Daniel Tani makes really long-distance repair calls--to the international space station. (Earth/Physical).
March 22, 2002... Objectives This feature, about an astronaut's first trip to Alpha, the international space station, describes some of the challenges of traveling and working in space. Critical Thinking * What might be some other hazards of...

Cat man: zoologist Alan Rabinowitz is famous for his wild adventures and passion for protecting wildlife. (Life).
March 22, 2002... Objectives This feature, about a zoologist whose passion is big cats, focuses on endangered wildlife and ecosystems. Critical Thinking * How might the extinction of a big predator, such as a jaguar, change the structure of a...

Slime to fight crime. (discoveries).(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... SAN ANTONIO, Texas--Lawbreakers may soon have a harder time giving the slip to police officers and military forces. A laboratory here has concocted a new type of spray-on slime that makes the ground slipperier than a banana peel. Developed...

Pigging out for science. (discoveries).(chocolate research)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2002... CHICAGO--Dana Small had no trouble finding volunteers for her most recent experiment. Small, who conducts research on the brain at Northwestern University's School of Medicine, offered people all the chocolate they could eat. In return for...

Giant mystery cracked. (discoveries).(how Giant's Causeway formations in Northern Ireland were formed)
March 22, 2002... ANN ARBOR, Michigan--The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is one of the geological wonders of the world. About 40,000 natural stone columns stand packed together like fat, unsharpened pencils on the country's northwest coast. Legend...

Wacky world. (discoveries).(what owner of python needs to do to keep her snake and protect her children)
March 22, 2002... CANADA--Kerry-Ann Koop and Boaz, her pet Burmese python, went into hiding last fall after the British Columbia government threatened to remove the huge snake from the woman's home. Government officials had become aware of the snake's presence...

Robopillar wriggles to the rescue. (discoveries).(robot built in shape of caterpillar designed to rescue people in wreckage)
March 22, 2002... HONJO CITY, Japan--People trapped under fallen buildings might one day rejoice at the sight of a little plastic caterpillar crawling toward them through the rubble. The plastic caterpillar is a robot now being designed by Norihiko Saga at Akita...

Surgery fixes girl's face. (discoveries).(treatment for Apert's syndrome)
March 22, 2002... CHICAGO--Alyssa Parente spent all last summer with a face full of broken bones and didn't mind a bit. Doctors had broken the bones on purpose in an attempt to give her a new face. Alyssa was born with a rare disease called Apert's syndrome....

Ask Professor Ossolotch.(oceans and lips)
March 22, 2002... Dear Professor Ossolotch, Why are the oceans salty? --Melanie Markman Clifton Park, N.Y. Dear Melanie, As salty as seawater is, it is still mostly water--96.5 percent water, to be exact. The remaining 3.5 percent consists...