Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from March 2003

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from March 2003

Think pieces.
March 21, 2003... You are charged with the mission of saving Earth by battling either the Deadly Mantis or three Flying Eyes. The odds of defeating the Mantis are 1 in 7, and the probability of defeating each one of the Flying Eyes is 1 in 2. Which alternative...

The otter limits: what alien invaders are infecting and killing California's sea otters? (Life).
March 21, 2003... Otto, a sea otter, bobs belly up in his tank with all four paws in the air. "Look, Ma, no hands!" he seems to be saying. Michael Murray, a staff veterinarian at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, Calif., watches Otto in amazement....

Big bangs: scientists are making fireworks flashier and safer. (Physical).
March 21, 2003... On their ranch in Whitewater, Colo., Ken and Bonnie Kosanke maintain a lab filled with chemicals. In their spare time, they set things on fire and blow stuff up. Sometimes they invite friends to the ranch for a weekend retreat to collaborate on...

Mind over matter: Christina Santhouse is a straight-A student even though she has only half her brain. (Health).
March 21, 2003... Christina Santhouse isn't your average 15-year-old. She's a straight-A student, a high scorer in her bowling league, and a karate expert, working her way toward a black belt. Oh, and she has half a brain. When Christina was 8 years old,...

Treasure hunt: X marks the spot in New York's Central Park where Current Science editor Kirsten Weir played the game of geocaching. (Earth/Physical).
March 21, 2003... On a cool, sunny day in January, I embark on a treasure hunt in New York City, where I live. I don't have a map with dotted lines and an X marking the spot where the treasure is located. Instead, my guides are satellites circling 19,300...

Scientists say government suppressed research. (Life).
March 21, 2003... SAN DIEGO -- Two scientists have charged that the U.S. government squelched their research on dolphins because the results conflicted with the political aims of the Clinton and Bush administrations. The two scientists worked at the Southwest...

Gravity moves at speed of light. (Physical).
March 21, 2003... COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Albert Einstein was right. In 1915, the great physicist asserted that gravity moves at the speed of light. Today, 88 years later, two astronomers have found the first evidence supporting Einstein's assertion. Gravity is a...

Insight. (Discoveries).
March 21, 2003... This hot-pink bird looks like a cross between a chicken and a flamingo. It's really a featherless chicken that was bred by researchers at the Hebrew University School of Agriculture in Rehovot, Israel. The featherless chicken is a cross between...

Gene therapy trials halted. (Health).
March 21, 2003... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has put a temporary hold on 27 gene therapy experiments in this country. The action was taken after two children in France who had been treated with gene therapy developed a...

Who knew? (Discoveries).
March 21, 2003... Many birds use ants to fumigate their feathers. When attacked, ants release formic acid to protect themselves. The birds annoy the ants to get a dose of the formic acid and then use the acid to kill mites that have infested their feathers. ...

Bend your mind. (Optricks).
March 21, 2003... The hole in the piece of paper is the size of a nickel. How can a quarter be passed through the hole without cutting, tearing, or ripping the hole? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The quarter will slip through the hole if you (1) hold the paper...