Science World articles from April 2003

Science World archives from April 2003

Navy seals. (Life/Animal Behavior).(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... He may have fish-breath, but that won't stop the U.S. military's new secret agent in the Persian Gulf. Zak, a 375-pound California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), is one of an elite cadre of 20 sea lions and 70 dolphins trained by the Navy...

Chicken defense. (Debate It!).(Marines using chicken to serve as a low-tech chemical detection system)(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... Marines stationed in Kuwait recently purchased 43 chickens--and not for a barbecue. The live chickens were to serve as a low-tech chemical detection system, like the canaries coalminers once used to detect poisonous gases underground. "While...

Leafless wonder. (Earth/Global Warming).(to slow global warming use a synthetic (fake) tree)
April 18, 2003... The latest brainstorm in the struggle to slow global warming: a synthetic (fake) tree! The leafless wonder soaks up thousands of times more heat-trapping carbon dioxide gas (C[O.sub.2]) from the air than any real tree. "It looks like a goal...

Hey, baby! (Space/Big Bang Theory).(the universe in its infancy )(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... What if you shot a Polaroid of your grandma and the camera spit out her baby picture? Sound impossible? NASA astronomers have designed such a gadget--it's a satellite called the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). And it just snapped a...

Oil spill! A marine calamity raises the burning question: how to prevent a repeat disaster? (Oil/Oceans).
April 18, 2003... It was a routine voyage for the oil tanker Prestige last November--until it glided into a savage storm. The 26-year-old ship, bound from Latvia to Gibraltar, hauled some 77,000 tons of heavy, tarlike fuel oil. PETROLEUM or crude oil, is a...

Fuel for debate: gas guzzlers are an environmental hazard. Can car engineers clean up their act? (Technology/Chemistry).
April 18, 2003... 1 Then: Muscle Mania More than a century ago, in 1886, the world celebrated an invention that would transform history--the modern gasoline-powered car, developed by German engineers. "Streets were filled with horse waste," explains...

Recharge! In a polluted world, can nature provide cleaner energy? (Renewable Energy).
April 18, 2003... What's the number-one cause of air pollution in the U.S.? Electricity production, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Combusting (burning) fossil fuels--like oil, coal, natural gas, and gasoline--to generate electricity spews...

Close-up: steroids: www.scholastic.com/headsup. (Heads Up Real News About Drugs And Your Body).
April 18, 2003... Behind the Bulk One young man's story of steroid addiction, body obsession, and getting clean Every time he passed a mirror, Craig Costa flexed his muscles. He wanted to look "insanely big--like an action figure." "When I walked...

Close-up: heroin: www.scholastic.com/headsup. (Heads Up Real News About Drugs And Your Body).
April 18, 2003... Hooked on Heroin For a Baltimore teen, one experience with heroin led to a living nightmare Judy was no stranger to drugs. By the time she was 15, she smoked pot on a daily basis. She even tried ecstasy at a party or two. The...

Rest in fleece. (Activities & Oddities).(Dolly (1996-2003))(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... Dolly (1996-2003) Her life was brief, but never short of stunning. Born on July 5, 1996, at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, Dolly's questionable parentage catapulted her to instant media superstardom. Dolly--named after...

Explain this! (You Can Do It).
April 18, 2003... What are these policemen doing? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] No, a police car didn't break down. Last February, Ukrainian police installed the first wooden police vehicle by a road near Kiev. They hope the lifelike decoy will prevent...

Tease your brain. (You Can Do It).
April 18, 2003... Here are three drinking glasses. Glasses 1 and 3 are upside down. Can you use three moves to get all the glasses to stand upright? Rule: For each move, you must flip over two glasses--not one--at a time. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Here's...

It's your choice: after reading the feature articles in this environmental theme issue, choose the correct answer to each question.
April 18, 2003... 1 Petroleum is a liquid mix of A. hydrogen fluorides. B. hydrocarbons. C. hydrogen sulfates. D. hydrogen chlorides. 2 Which one of these strategies is not used to remove an oil spill from seawater? A. lassoing a spill...

Be earth wise!(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... Here are five simple ways to cut back on energy use: 1 Turn out the lights when you leave a room. And choose fluorescent light bulbs--they use one-quarter of the energy and last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. One fluorescent...

Chocolate oil spill: big tankers don't cause all oil spills--many smaller accidents occur during recreational boating. But regardless of size, a leak still impacts local fish and wildlife. What's the best way to clean up an oily mishap? Find out with this activity. (Hands-On Activity).
April 18, 2003... YOU NEED: large rectangular glass baking dish (or equivalent) * tablespoon * measuring cup * medium mixing bowl * spoon or stir stick * tap water * 2- to 3-inch squares of absorbent materials (cotton balls, styrofoam, paper towels, sponge,...

Recycling power! Sure, recycling saves landfill space--but it also saves energy. (Critical-Thinking And Math Skills).
April 18, 2003... Creating a new aluminum can from melted recycled cans consumes just 5 percent of the energy it takes to make one from scratch! What would you do with the energy leftovers? Follow the steps at right to calculate what appliances you could power...

All about energy: power up your vocabulary with this crossword puzzle! (Vocabulary Builder).(Brief Article)
April 18, 2003... 1. Crude oil: -- 2. Lightest element on the periodic table: -- 3. A combustion engine -- gasoline. 4. Carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping -- gas. 5. Fuel cells convert -- energy to electrical energy. 6. Alternative energy...

Steroids and heroin: review and resources. (Reads UP Real News About Drugs And Your Body).
April 18, 2003... Show What You Know! Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions after reading "Behind the Bulk" and "Hooked on Heroin." 1. Anabolic steroids are a. derived from the male sex hormone testosterone. b. illegal...

Heads up poster contest winners!
April 18, 2003... Last fall, we challenged our readers to come up with the next great concept for a drug-education poster. Over 1,000 of you responded! We received so many terrific entries that choosing one Grand Prize winner and 25 Runners-up was hard work for...