Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from March 2009

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from March 2009

Sci-triv game.(Science Trivia)
March 13, 2009... 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 a first-row question right, 20...

Eberswalde, Germany--this photo might look like a hoax-like one of those fake postcards of giant jackrabbits or fur-bearing trout.(ANIMAL SPOTS)(Photograph)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EBERSWALDE, Germany -- This photo might look like a hoax-like one of those fake postcards of giant jackrabbits or fur-bearing trout. But it's real. The animal is a German giant rabbit, a breed that can reach 1 meter...

Tusk, tusk: meet the Arctic's toothy music makers.(LIFE)(Walruses)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Walruses don't always make good first impressions. When Chadwick Jay saw them for the first time, he was taken aback by their size and odor. "They smelled like hogs," he says. And when Colleen Reichmuth encountered...

Plastic rap: how dangerous is a common chemical in food and drink containers?(HEALTH)
March 13, 2009... Your health teacher has probably given you plenty of reasons to avoid consuming too many soft drinks. The sugary beverages are high in calories and low on nutrition. Now there's another reason to avoid them--not the drinks themselves, but the...

Pop rocks: having a blast at Yellowstone.(EARTH)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Some 14,000 years ago, a burst of hot water and steam, broke through Earth s surface. The explosion shot mud, clay, and rock fragments about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) into the air. A large apron of debris surrounded...

Ion flux: will a new flying saucer design take off?(PHYSICAL)(Cartoon)
March 13, 2009... A TOY FLYING SAUCER! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WOULDN'T THAT BE SO GREAT? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I THOUGHT YOU TWO WEREN'T GOING TO NERD IT UP IF I LET YOU SIT WITH US? UNLESS YOU CAN HAVE NORMAL CONVERSATIONS, LIKE ABOUT...

City is back in the grooves.(technology)
March 13, 2009... LANCASTER, Calif. -- This city on the edge of the Mojave Desert has gotten its grooves back. Last summer, the Honda Motor Co. filmed a TV commercial on a stretch of city road built to play music when cars drove over it. Some residents...

Did termites add to Katrina's punch?(life)(Hurricane Katrina )
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NEW ORLEANS -- For decades, New Orleans has been battling an invasion of Formosan termites. The voracious insects have chomped their way through the city, eating trees, telephone poles, and whole buildings. Now, a...

Boy sees color.(health)(Nathaniel Brantley)(Brief article)
March 13, 2009... BLUE ASH, Ohio -- For the first time in his life, Nathaniel Brantley, 7, sees true blue. He sees it in the water and the sky and Superman's suit. When he looks in a mirror, he sees it in an unfamiliar ring of tissue in his fight eye. ...

Ocean quickly growing acidic?(earth)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] TATOOSH ISLAND, Wash. -- Timothy Wootton and Cathy Pfister made a surprise discovery when they crunched the data they had collected on this tiny, windswept island in the Pacific Ocean. Since 2000, Wootton and Pfister...

Bend your mind.(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers from Current Science[R])
March 13, 2009... Hold this page in both hands, and move it gently from side to side. What do you observe happening to the central squares? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer The central squares, which are shaded differently from the outer squares, will...

Whatizit?(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers from Current Science)(memory foam)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is a close-up of memory foam, a plastic substance developed by NASA, the U.S. space agency. It reacts to changes in temperature. How might that property be useful in mattresses and pillows made of memory foam?...

Mystery photos.(OPTRICKS: Brain Teasers from Current Science)
March 13, 2009... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Mystery Photos: Shutterstock (3) Whatizit: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy; Background: Shutterstock Answer Top: screwdriver handles Middle: egg carton Bottom: underside of a mushroom cap

Take the acid test.(HANDS-ON ACTIVITY)
March 13, 2009... The Discovery story "Ocean Quickly Growing Acidic?" describes the increasing concern among scientists that the oceans are becoming more acidic and endangering marine life. How can scientists tell when something such as ocean water is acidic? A...