Science World articles from April 2006

Science World archives from April 2006

Lego lab.(LEGO A/S)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Playing with Legos isn't just for kids: Two inventors from the Netherlands have snapped together 20,000 of the colored bricks to make a pinball machine. The game, which took 300 hours to assemble, works just like a traditional pinball...

Shrinking sharks.(GRAPH IT/LIFE)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Whale sharks can grow longer than a school bus. But the ones recently measured off the coast of Western Australia are shorter than those seen there 10 years ago. Tour-boat operators in the waters around Ningaloo Reef log the length of...

Next-door neighbors.(SPACE/STARS)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Scientists have long suspected that the brilliant star Polaris, or the North Star, is part of a triple star system. But until recently, researchers had only spotted one of Polaris's neighbors, which is clearly visible through a...

An elephant's tale.(PHYSICAL ISOTOPES)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... To discover the favorite foods of the world's largest land animals, scientists have plucked out the tail hairs of African elephants. As an elephant's hair grows, the strand incorporates chemicals from the animal's food. Each type of plant...

Peculiar pals.(LIFE/ANIMAL BEHAVIOR)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last October, a snake at a zoo in Tokyo, Japan, refused to eat frozen mice. So zookeepers offered it live prey--a hamster. Surprise! Rather than swallowing the rodent whole, the snake appeared to become pals with it. The two are now cage-mates...

Phony cloning.(LIFE/SCIENTIFIC METHOD)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... A scientist who wowed the world with breakthrough research is now making headlines for faking those experiments. Woo Suk Hwang, a biologist at Seoul National University in South Korea, claimed that he had cloned (created an exact genetic...

Cosmic clues.(United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last January, NASA's long-awaited Stardust capsule returned to Earth after traveling almost 3 billion miles in space. The spacecraft carried the first dust particles ever collected from a comet. Researchers are now studying the dust to...

A day in the life of a teen: decisions at every turn.(drug use by youth decreased)
April 17, 2006... On the way to school ... Wonder if I should go tonight? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Homeroom Connect with friends in between classes ... Should I finish studying for the quiz instead of talking with friends? [ILLUSTRATION...

The environment game: play this Earth day game to see how planet--friendly habits can make you a winner.
April 17, 2006... YOU'LL NEED: Two to four players, a die, a game piece for each player (for example: eraser, coin, and so on). HOW TO PLAY: Place game pieces on "start." Players take turns rolling the die. The rolled number indicates how many spaces across...

The case of the croaking frogs: a deadly fungus is spreading among frogs. Could warming temperatures be to blame?(amphibians disappearing from world)
April 17, 2006... When scientist J. Alan Pounds first visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica 25 years ago, a deafening chorus of frog calls filled the air. At night, frogs sat along stream banks, sounding off low, noisy croaks. Others belted...

Toxic water is poisoning the people of Bangladesh: can a student's science project help save their lives?(Katie VanderWeele does research for removing the arsenic naturally)
April 17, 2006... Water is dangerous for people living in Bangladesh. Not only does flooding obliterate crops and demolish homes each year during this Southeast Asian country's rainy season. But deadly microbes and killer toxins taint much of the country's...

Cool school: check out the most Earth-friendly middle school in the country.
April 17, 2006... Seventh-grader Lauren Haruno considers herself passionate about protecting the environment. The 13-year-old may be drawing inspiration from her school: Case Middle School in Honolulu, Hawaii. When the school opened in 2004,...

Eye ball.(contact lenses)(Brief article)
April 17, 2006... Last February, soccer fan Stephanie Berndt donned decorative contact lenses to support her favorite team. "Theatrical contact lenses are hot items, particularly with teens," says Dr. Thomas Steinemann, an ophthalmologist, or eye doctor, at...