Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication articles from September 2000

Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication archives from September 2000

MAN MEETS MANATEE.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... A West Indian manatee nuzzles a diver in the Crystal River on Florida's west coast. The river's waters attract as many as 100 manatees during the winter months. To protect the friendly, endangered mammals from harassment, parts of the river...

Cracking the Code.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... Scientists recently mapped you body's blueprint for life, the human genome. Here's what that feat means for science and for you. Where were you June 26? That day marked a milestone in science, one that future historians may compare to the...

Visiting the Gene Doctor.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... Tanisha Daniels, 12, is a happy, energetic girl who likes going to the mall and gabbing on the phone--when she's not sick. Tanisha has sickle-cell anemia, a disease that causes normally round red blood cells to become sickle-, or crescent-,...

Make a Banana Split into DNA.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... You've read all about it. You know your body is full of it. Your destiny is written in it. But what does DNA really look like? Try this demonstration and get your hands on some real DNA. WHAT YOU NEED * a banana * a teacup *...

KIDNAPSTERED!(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... Is downloading music from the Internet for free sharing or stealing? Learn how this new system works and then decide. Matt Lucas, 14, digs Powerman's song, "Supernova Goes Pop" and Rage Against the Machine's "People of the Sun." Matt added...

The Coming Storms.(climatic changes could change face of storms around the world)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... Get ready for a couple of decades of ugly hurricanes. Here's why. Did that humongous wall of water in this summer's hit movie The Perfect Storm blow your mind? Well, that's entertainment. No wave that size was actually recorded during the...

`Big Mamma' Found.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... CHURCHILL, Manitoba -- The biggest fossil of a trilobite (TRIGH-le-bight) ever found has been recovered from the rocky shores of Hudson Bay here. Trilobites were sea creatures that lived throughout the Paleozoic Era, which lasted from about 570...

`Female Impersonator' Beetles Trick Bees.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... MOJAVE DESERT, Calif.--To be a bee or not to be a bee? That is the question facing young beetles trying to survive in this hot, parched environment, according to two researchers from San Francisco State University. The researchers, John...

Kids' Invention Helps Hearing-Impaired Athletes.(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--When Michael Marsal attended hockey camp last summer, he noticed that one of the boys on his team was having problems on the ice. "He would sometimes keep skating when they blew the whistle," said Michael, 12. It turns out...

Dog Bone in Orbit?(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... A dog bone the size of New Jersey--that's what 216 Kleopatra looks just like. But 216 Kleopatra is an asteroid, a small, rocky, celestial body. Astronomers first spotted 216 Kleopatra in 1880 but didn't know its exact shape until the...

Do Birds Freeload on African Mammals?(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... CAMBRIDGE, England--"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." In a nutshell, that's what biologists mean when they say that two species have a mutualistic relationship. Both species benefit by living together. For years, biologists...

Perfect Pitches Start from The Mound Up.(Baseball report)(Brief Article)
September 8, 2000... BALTIMORE--The results of a new biomechanics study could give a leg up to baseball pitchers aiming to improve their throwing. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University here have found that strong legs are almost as important as strong arms in...

the sci-triv game.(Brief Article)
September 8, 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,...

Pigs in the City.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... These two cuties are a pair of potamocheres, or red river hogs. Native to the rain forests of Africa, the two pictured here were recently transplanted to the Bronx Zoo in New York City. Mindstretch: Adult potamocheres have lustrous orange...

MARS MYSTERY.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... This satellite photo of a Martian crater, taken by the Mars Global Surveyor, blew many people away when it was released last spring. Note the long channels that descend into the crater. Those channels could be gullies formed recently by flowing...

AUSSIE ODDITIES.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... * Dinosaurs ruled Earth during the Jurassic Period. A type of tree that was common during the Jurassic Period still grows in Australia. * A mild electric current 6,035 kilometers (3,750 miles) long runs underground through Australia. One...

Sleep High, Train Low.(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 22, 2000... Earlier this year, American runner Suzy Favor Hamilton held the world's records in the women's 1,500-, 3,000-, and 5,000-meter races. Now she is dreaming of Olympic medals. And where this 32-year-old speed demon sleeps could make those dreams...

Compete Against The Computer.(computerized boxing bag)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... U.S. flyweight boxer Jose Navarro, 18, packs a powerful punch in his 112-pound body. And he knows just how powerful because, while training for the Sydney Olympics, he hit a computerized boxing bag that measures the force, or push, of his...

Ride like The Wind.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... U.S. cyclist Erin Hartwell, 31, was riding the fastest bike ever tested in a wind tunnel when he captured a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. That bike was the ultra aerodynamic Superbike II. Aerodynamics is the study of objects...

Swim Like Sharks.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... When Canadian swimmer Joanne Malar gets set to dive into the pool at her third Olympic Games in Sydney this month, check out what she's wearing. From her neck to her ankles, Malar, 24, will be covered in a new artificial sharkskin suit, the...

The Real Dopes?(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... In their quest for success, many athletes are abusing science by taking banned drugs. During the 1997 Tour de France bike race, officials tapped French cyclist Erwan Mentheour (at right) for a random drug test. Just before the race,...

MIND GAMES.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Sports are as much a mental game as a physical one. Here's what scientists know about one key skill--reorienting. Have you got what it takes to become an Olympic contender? Take this simple test. Hold out a hand. Position the tips of your...

Lost in the Outback.(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... OUR WRITER TRAVELED TO THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK FOR A LOOK AT ONE OF EARTH'S MOST UNUSUAL LANDSCAPES. The Olympic Games in Sydney are turning the world s eyes on a continent that seems strange and mysterious to many people. Even to native...

Did a Mass Murderer From Space Hit the Aussie Outback?(ancient crater in Australia may have resulted from a meteorite that destroyed prehistoric life forms)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... WOODLEIGH, Australia--Long before the dinosaurs lived, Earth crawled with a horde of other prehistoric species. Things went badly for those species, though, about 250 million years ago. Almost all of them suddenly died out. No one knows...

Who Would YOU Choose.(2000 Weekly Reader National Presidential Election Poll)
September 22, 2000... Cast your vote in the 2000 Weekly Reader National Presidential Election Poll. Kids and teens from all over the country are filling out their secret ballots for president. Ask your teacher for instructions on completing your ballot--then make...

Headless Chicken is Honored at Last.(rooster that lived for 18 months without a head)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... The United States has many magnificent monuments. There's the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota--and Mike the Headless Chicken in Fruita, Colo.! Sculpted from 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of old metal farm...

ASK PROFESSOR OSSOLOTCH.(the color of leaves)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2000... Why do the leaves on trees change color in the fall? -- Lauren, Dickson Des Moines, Iowa Dear Lauren, Leaves get their green coloring from chlorophyll, a pigment (coloring agent) that traps the sun's energy and uses it to...

BEND YOUR MIND.
September 22, 2000... * The towns of Lumberton and Yahk are connected by parallel eastbound and westbound railroad tracks. Trains run 24 hours daily. Trains depart Lumberton for Yahk every hour on the hour (5:00, 6:00, 7:00, etc.).Trains depart Yahk for Lumberton...