Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from October 2002

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from October 2002

Have fun learning about science! (Sci-Triv Game).
October 25, 2002... Have fun learning about science! Below are the names of 25 comic book heroes and villains, but we have replaced one word or word part in each name with a scientific or mathematical equivalent in bold type. Give yourself 10 points each...

Who knew?(facts about insect behavior)
October 25, 2002... A cockroach can live for more than a week without its heads [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lime trees exude a sugary sap that often ferments in the open air. When bees consume the sap, they become drunk and collide with trees on their way...

Superhero science: what Spider-Man and other comic-book heroes can teach you about science. (Earth/Physical)(Cover Story).
October 25, 2002... Most science teachers would freak if they caught a student reading comic books in class. Not Jim Kakalios, a professor of physics at the University of Minnesota. Comic books are actually textbooks in his classroom. Kakalios uses comic-book...

Spider Pharm: Chuck Kristensen raises and milks 50,000 spiders on his Arizona ranch. (Health).
October 25, 2002... On a typical day at Chuck Kristensen's farm, he gets up, feeds the animals, and does the milking, just like on most farms. Except that Kristensen's animals aren't cows. They're spiders--50,000 of them--black widows and brown recluses and...

Star bugs: Steven Kutcher, Hollywood's top bug wrangler, trained the real spiders in Spider-Man. (Life).
October 25, 2002... In the Spider-Man movie, a mutant spider bites student reporter Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), giving him spiderlike powers that make him a superhero. The movie's director, Sam Raimi, knew he needed a cool-looking spider for the part. So he...

Locusts find Star Wars escapist entertainment. (Health).
October 25, 2002... NEWCASTLE, England--Did you see Star War's Episode 3: Attack of the Clones? Did you notice any locusts in the audience enjoying the movie? Locusts respond to Star Wars--it's a scientific fact. Researchers at Newcastle University strapped...

Lima, Peru--Beekeeper Arturo Huaman had everyone buzzing. (Too Weird).(beekeeper puts 30,000 bees on his body)
October 25, 2002... Lima, Peru--Beekeeper Arturo Huaman (left) had everyone buzzing recently when he put 30, 000 bees on his body to promote the consumption of natural honey.

Tsangrampur, India--A mysterious two-day shower of green-yellow rain panicked villagers who feared it might be an agent of chemical warfare or an attack by the gods. (Too Weird).(analysis proved it was bee excrement)
October 25, 2002... TSANGRAMPUR, India--A mysterious two-day shower of green-yellow rain panicked villagers who feared it might be an agent of chemical warfare or an attack by the gods. A subsequent analysis of the strange rainfall, which stained local vegetation,...

Whap! Splatologist studies windshield gunk. (Life).
October 25, 2002... GAINESVILLE, Fla.--Some biologists do their research in forests. Others work in scrublands or deserts or wetlands. Mark Hostetler hangs out at Greyhound bus depots. Hostetler, a biologist at the University of Florida, is the country's...

Goats milked for spider silk. (Physical).(bioengineering project)
October 25, 2002... PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.--Goats are supposed to give milk. But the goats that live on a former U.S. Air Force base here give something extra--silk! The goats have been bioengineered so that their milk contains the protein that spiders secrete to make...

Ask Professor Ossolotch. (Discoveries).(where house dust comes from)
October 25, 2002... Where does house dust come from? Lauren Wright Limerick, Pa. Dear Lauren, House dust is a mixture of many things--bits of soil, mold and fungus spores, particles of food, fibers from fabrics, cockroach droppings. But the major...

Whatizit? (Optricks).(scorpions)
October 25, 2002... This is a venomous telson in the tail of a certain type of arachnid. This creature can survive for more than a year without food. It can pack enough poison to kill a person. And its sting can be excruciatingly painful--like a dozen flaming...

Comic books in the classroom. (Features Plus).(New York City Comic Book Museum services)
October 25, 2002... Current Science gratefully acknowledges the help of the New York City Comic Book Museum in the preparation of this issue. The New York City Comic Book Museum is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. Founded in 1999, it has promoted comic-book...

Discoveries. (Skillbuilders).(quiz on scientific terms)
October 25, 2002... Fill in the Blanks Write the word or words that best complete each sentence. 1. An -- is a community of wildlife and its environment. 2. -- is the ability of a solid substance to resist being pulled apart. 3. The top layer of...