Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from November 2000

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from November 2000

HEAVENLY HORSE.(Horsehead Nebula)
November 3, 2000... Scattered throughout the universe are great clouds of gas and dust, called nebulae. The Horsehead Nebula, in the constellation Orion, is one of the most beautiful. The horse's head pictured here is just one feature in the cloud, which is about...

Fig Pig.(figs feed many animals)
November 3, 2000... This red-knobbed hornbill is just one of countless animals on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia that are totally hooked on figs. A single fig tree can supply some of those animals with as many as 600,000 figs at one time. Mindstretch: Figs are a...

WEIRD WIDE WORLD.(kite lifts boy, rabbits run loose at Leisure World)
November 3, 2000... England. Chris Grimes, 17, got the ride of his life when a freak gust of wind grabbed the big kite he was flying one afternoon near his home in St. Osyth, Essex. The kite lifted Chris 7.6 meters (25 feet) into the air and carried him over a...

Invisible Fire.(calcium treats chemical burn)
November 3, 2000... At doctor battles a fresh-eating monster that came out of a bottle. During a scene in the movie Alien, crew members are startled to see a fist-size hole in their spaceship's ceiling, still sizzling from a substance that has just burned...

TEEN'S SPIRIT.(British Columbia native Simon Jackson attempts to save the area's remaining 'spirit' bears)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... A young Canadian is trying to save a mysterious native bear from disappearing. If you ever happen to meet Simon Jackson, be prepared for a passionate lesson on a mysterious white animal that lives only in the Canadian province of British...

The Wave of the Future?(the possibility that a large wave may someday hit the east coast)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... A monster sea wave might have whacked North America's East Coast in prehistoric times. Could it happen again? You've just a heart-stopping ride on the Tidal Wave, the beachfront roller coaster in Ocean City, Md. You're feeling washed out...

Bones Support Bird-Dinosaur Theory.(birds may have evolved from dinosaurs)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... SEATTLE--Yet more evidence that birds might have evolved from dinosaurs has been uncovered by a team of Japanese and American researchers. The researchers found striking similarities in the bones of birds and the bones of those dinosaurs...

Coming Soon: Videos by Phone.(Blockbuster plans to rent video recordings through the telephone lines)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... DALLAS--Couch potatoes could soon become more rooted to their favorite viewing corners than ever. Later this year, Blockbuster, the world's biggest video store chain, will start making its movies available to homes over telephone lines. ...

Spin Doctors Could Make Aircraft Landings Safer.(Boeing engineers believe certain aircraft adjustments will do aways with wake vortices)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... SEATTLE--Engineers at the Boeing aircraft company have come up with an idea that could prevent some airline crashes and cut airport delays. The idea is a means of stifling deadly wake vortices. Wake vortices are powerful swirling streams of...

D0 Bad Teeth Drive Lions Wild?(indication that lion attacks on humans may be caused by bad teeth)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... CHICAGO--When people get bad toothaches, they often have to eat soft, easily chewed foods. When lions get bad toothaches, they eat people! That's the conclusion of a zoologist at the Field Museum of Natural History here and a dentist who works...

The sci-triv game.
November 3, 2000... HAVE FUN LEARNING ABOUT SCIENCE 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,...

BEND YOUR MIND.
November 3, 2000... * Which one of the choices below is the odd one out? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The answers are in the Teacher's Guide.

MUMMY DEAREST.(mummies of the Philippines)
November 17, 2000... This frightful creature is one of hundreds of mummies that lie in caves in the high forests of the Philippines. The mummies, which are ancestors of the native Ibaloi people, are thought to be more than 500 years old. The Ibaloi value the...

WHO KNEW?(odd facts about various plants and animals)
November 17, 2000... * Committing a crime would be especially risky for a koala. Koalas are the only animals besides humans and other primates that have fingerprints. * You would need 14,826 billion fireflies to generate as much light as the sun produces. ...

Cell Phone Hang-Ups.(research involving possible health hazards of cell phones)
November 17, 2000... Are cellular phones bad for your health? Kristin Smith, 17, just broke up with her boyfriend. Now her friends want to take advantage of her free time. They have no trouble doing that because Kristin has a cell phone. She can take their...

Dialing for Danger.(the possible danger of using a cell phone while driving an automobile)
November 17, 2000... Even if cell phones don't cause cancer, talking on a cell phone while driving can be lethal. Patricia Pena, 29, has a new aim in life: to keep drivers' hands on their steering wheels and off their cell phones. On November 2, 1999, Pena...

What Lies Beneath.(discovery of a Maya palace in Guatemala, and insights into the Maya civilization around Cancuen)
November 17, 2000... An archeologist stumbled into one of the biggest Maya archeological finds in recent history. Walking across a jungle-covered hillside in Guatemala last spring, archaeologist Arthur Demarest suddenly felt the ground give way beneath his...

Bringing Back the Dead.(plans to clone a Tasmanian tiger in Australia)
November 17, 2000... An Australian scientist hopes to resurrect the extinct Tasmanian tiger using advanced cloning. Things got way out of hand--twice!--in Jurassic Park. So how smart is the idea of bringing extinct predators back to life? An Australian...

Change for a Dollar.(planning a one dollar coin with the portrait of Sacagawea, a Native American woman, on it)
November 17, 2000... The new Sacagawea dollar is fitting right in--to vending machines. Sacagawea was a young Native American woman who guided the explorers Lewis and Clark across the United States in the early 1800s. Susan B. Anthony was a white woman who...

U.S. Student's Research Wins European Prize.(Stockholm Junior Water Prize to Ashley Mulroy who discovered harmful bacteria in local drinking water)
November 17, 2000... WHEELING, W. Va.--Ashley Mulroy, 17, no longer drinks water straight from the tap--not since she discovered it might contain superstrong bacteria that could leave her defenseless against illness. Last year, Mulroy, who is now a senior at Linsly...

Great Flood Evidence Found.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... SINOP, Turkey--A team of National Geographic explorers trolling the Black Sea, which is located between Europe and Asia, has found signs that people once lived in an area that is now deep under water. The discovery is the latest evidence...

Alien abductions diagnosed as a bad night's sleep.(a temporary condition called sleep paralysis may account for many of the reports of alien abduction)
November 17, 2000... Thousands of Americans say they've been kidnapped in their sleep by beings from outer space. What's the deal with these people? Are they crazy, or have aliens really abducted them? Neither, says Kazuhiko Fukuda, a Japanese psychologist....

ASK PROFESSOR OSSOLOTCH.(cats actually can survive many long falls because of their sense of balance, and the position in which they fall)(Questions and Answers)
November 17, 2000... Is it true that cats can survive falls from tall buildings? --Shannon Walsh, Albert City, Iowa Dear Shannon, Yes, it's true. Veterinarians have reported many incidents in which cats survived tumbles from 10, 20, and even 30...

Optrics.(Illustration)
November 17, 2000... MYSTERY PHOTOS BEND YOUR MIND These are two juice pitchers. The little pitcher can hold about 10 ounces. How many ounces can the big pitcher hold? The answers are in the Teacher's Guide. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHATIZIT?...