Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from October 2005

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from October 2005

Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!
October 7, 2005... 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 the first question right, 20 points for each second question, and...

Tsavo, Kenya--Mlaika is an elephant, not a parrot.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... TSAVO, Kenya -- Mlaika is an elephant, not a parrot. Yet the 10-year-old tusker that lives in Tsavo National Park has amazed her keepers with her talent for mimicry. At night, she imitates the sounds of the trucks that rumble along a nearby...

Townsville, Australia--what would Mlaika do if she heard a musical furry lobster?(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... TOWNSVILLE, Australia -- What would Mlaika do if she heard a musical furry lobster? Fishermen recently reeled one in off the coast of northeastern Australia, Discovered in the 1980s, the species is exceedingly rare. Like an Asian elephant or a...

The changeling: meet the mimic octopus, nature's great impostor.(Cover Story)
October 7, 2005... AT A GLANCE Critical Thinking * Besides the animals mentioned in the story, name some organisms that use mimicry. * What are some other tools that animals use to defend themselves against predators? (defensive horns and plates,...

A star is born? An international team of scientists is trying to harness the power of the sun in a new breed of nuclear reactor.
October 7, 2005... AT A GLANCE Critical Thinking * Discuss the risks of nuclear power and how to manage them. * Besides nuclear power, what are some ways people make electricity? National Science Education Standards * Earth in the solar...

Hot date: a U.S. spacecraft is heading for a rendezvous with the sun's next-door neighbor.
October 7, 2005... AT A GLANCE Critical Thinking * What other planets have been visited by space vehicles recently? (Mars, Saturn) * Given that space exploration is very expensive, are the benefits worth the cost? Explain why or why not. ...

In his skin: while doing research for a middle school assignment, John Buehler learned about a treatment for his rare skin condition.
October 7, 2005... AT A GLANCE Critical Thinking * What can you do to learn more about the illnesses that you get? What resources can you use to help you understand a disease? * Name some other genetic disorders. (sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis) ...

Periodic table turned.
October 7, 2005... OXFORD, England -- A British scientist has put a new spin on the periodic table. He has rearranged the elements so that they radiate from a central point against the backdrop of a spiral galaxy much like our own, the Milky Way. The...

Triplet born 13 years late.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... SAN FRANCISCO -- You wouldn't guess by looking at them that Carleigh, Jeffrey, and Laina Beasley are triplets. Carleigh and Jeffrey are teenagers, but Laina is a 7-month-old baby. Their mother, Debi Beasley, 45, has difficulty conceiving...

Cats lack sweet tooth.(too weird)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... PHILADELPHIA -- Did you find yourself wondering why no cats, only scads of squirrels, appeared in the summer movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? There's an answer: Cats literally have no taste for chocolate and other sweet foods, according...

New planet(s) found?(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... PASADENA, Calif. -- Quick: How many planets are in the solar system? If you said 9, you're right. If you said 8 or 10 or 11, you might be right too. In late July, a team of U.S. astronomers announced the discovery of an object at least one...

New York student wins top prize.(David Vigliarolo Bauer wins scholarship at Intel Science Talent Search)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... NEW YORK -- The events of 9/11 had a unique effect on high school student David Vigliarolo Bauer. They inspired him to devise a way of detecting poisonous agents in emergency situations. In March, David's idea won him top honors and a $100,000...

Mystery photos.
October 7, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answers: Top: seashell Middle: compact, energy-efficient fluorescent lightbulb Bottom: exploding fireworks

Bend your mind.(optical illusions)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... * Starting at the upper left corner, move your eyes from one intersection point to the next across and then down the page, counting the flashing dots as you go. How many do you count? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answers: This illusion...

Whatizit.(stitches)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2005... This microphoto is a close-up of a stitch on a skin wound. What good do stitches do? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answers: Stitches are usually made to large cuts to promote healing. They help stop bleeding, prevent infection, and make...

Sci-triv game: have fun learning about science!
October 21, 2005... 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 the first question right, 20 points for each second question, and...

Who knew?(psychic Gene Emery's forecasts)(Brief Article)
October 21, 2005... AMHERST, N.Y. -- The world's best psychics blew it again last year. A survey done for the Skeptical Inquirer magazine found that the psychics' record for accuracy in 2004 was "abysmal." Gene Emery, a writer for the magazine, has been analyzing...

Engulfed: how nature and human neglect drowned New Orleans.
October 21, 2005... Millions of Americans watched in horror and astonishment as Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath devastated the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi and drowned the city of New Orleans. Sadly, many scientists and engineers were not so surprised....

Bay watch: teens tackle pollution with the help of a little friend.(waste water management at Wilson Bay in Jacksonville)
October 21, 2005... A pontoon boat glides through Wilson Bay in Jacksonville, and pulls alongside a water-quality sensor. Bryan Goldman leans over the side of the boat and snags the metal cylinder. He takes it apart and cleans it with an alcohol swab before...

Speed trap: users of the drug methamphetamine get caught in a downward spiral.
October 21, 2005... Six years ago, David Geres, a high school sophomore from Vernon, Conn., accidentally took a double dose of a drug he'd been prescribed to control hyperactivity. The extra pill gave him a shot of energy and a huge boost in self-confidence. "I...

Rappin' bird lost and found.(rare ivory-billed woodpecker spotted at Arkansas)
October 21, 2005... CACHE RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Ark. -- Good news rang out from an Arkansas bayou in April. Biologists announced that they had spotted the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird long thought to have died out. But then in July the sighting was...

Helmets off, fatalities up.(Health)(Brief Article)
October 21, 2005... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- yet another study has highlighted the danger of riding a motorcycle "topless"--biker lingo for riding without a helmet. In 2000, the Florida legislature struck down a mandatory-helmet law. In the three years that followed...

Did doctors drive King George crazy?(arsenic prescription caused him porphyria)(Brief Article)
October 21, 2005... KENT, England -- Americans know King George III (1738-1820) best as the monarch who lost the Colonies in the American Revolution. But he is also remembered for bouts of madness so severe he had to be put in a straitjacket and chained to a...

Siberia is melting.(Brief Article)
October 21, 2005... TOMSK, Russia -- Last month, Current Science reported on an effort to save a Swiss glacier from melting by wrapping it in a big blanket. No blanket is big enough, however, to cover the latest target of global warming. In August, scientists...

Battery runs on urine.(Technology)(Brief Article)
October 21, 2005... SINGAPORE -- A scientist here has invented a tiny battery that is powered by the same body fluid that it examines for signs of disease: urine. Urine, of course, is a fluid produced by the kidneys that carries dissolved body waste. Doctors...

Mystery photos.
October 21, 2005... Answer: Top: strawberry

Bend your mind.(Optricks)
October 21, 2005... What number should replace the X? Answer: 2. The X appears within two boxes.

Whatizit?(diatoms)
October 21, 2005... These fan-shaped cells are living Licmophora. They belong to a large group of microscopic algae that live in almost every environment that has water and is exposed to sunlight, including clamp rocks and icebergs. What is the name of this group?...