Science World articles from April 2009

Science World archives from April 2009

Up, up, and away.(PHYSICAL/FLIGHT)(car that flies for Giles Cardozo)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new invention could have teens someday asking, "Hey mom and dad, may I fly the car?" That's because a British engineer, Giles Cardozo, has built a roadster that can also take to the skies. "As a kid, I thought...

Mistaken identity.(EARTH/FOSSILS)(Texas, Pleurocoelus or Paluxysaurus jonesi as state dinosaur)
April 6, 2009... Do you know your state flower, tree, and bird? What about your state dinosaur? Texas chose the Pleurocoelus to represent its state after the dinosaur's bones were discovered there. But when Peter Rose, who at the time was a graduate student in...

Picky eater.(LIFE/INSECTS)(Dung beetles)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dung beetles are named for their unappetizing eating habits. The insects are coprophages (kop-RAH-fa-JUHZ), or animals that feed on other organisms' waste. But scientists have found at least one member of this group,...

Superbug.(GRAPH IT/HEALTH)(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus )
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The spread of a potentially deadly strain of bacteria is on the rise among teens. Bacteria are one of the main causes of human illness. But since the 1950s, germ-killing drugs called antibiotics have helped...

Eco-bottles.(GRAPH IT/RECYCLING)
April 6, 2009... Soda is going green. Or at least its plastic bottles are. The Coca-Cola Company recently opened the world's largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new plant is able to...

Coconuts to car parts.(PHYSICAL/MATERIALS)(husks as car parts)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With more than 50 billion coconuts harvested every year, shelling the hairy fruit can result in a heap of husks. Normally, this outside covering is discarded, but Walter Bradley, an engineering professor at Baylor...

Numbers in the news.(SCIENCE NEWS)
April 6, 2009... 1,000,000,000 is the estimated number of wild frogs that end up on people's dinner plates each year. Scientists worry that eating the amphibians may contribute to frogs' worldwide decline. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] $5,000 in scholarship...

Wheelchair wheelies: a Las Vegas teen breaks skate-park records--in a wheelchair.(PHYSICAL: FORCES AND MOTION)(Aaron Fotheringham )(Cover story)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wearing a dirt-bike helmet and elbow pads, 17-year-old Aaron Fotheringham pulls up to the lip of a curved ramp at Doc Romeo Skate Park in Las Vegas, Nevada. He pushes off and heads for the ramp on the opposite side....

Hands-on science: (no lab required).(how Aaron Fotheringham spins his wheelchair to complete a backflip)
April 6, 2009... After reading "Wheelchair Wheelies" (p. 8), try this activity to learn more about how Aaron Fotheringham spins his wheelchair to complete a backflip. PREDICT In order to make a complete revolution during a backflip, Aaron has to...

Name that element! Our popular mystery series returns! This element can improve your dart game or reveal the microscopic world. It helps race-car drivers and cancer patients. What is it? Follow these eight clues to find out.(PHYSICAL: CHEMISTRY)
April 6, 2009... CLUE 1 SPLIT PERSONALITY The mystery element has a reputation for being tough. That's because it usually contains small amounts of other elements, which turn it hard end brittle. In fact, its name means "hard stone" in Swedish. But in...

I want that job! Pandas, elephants, and lions, oh my! As a zoo nutritionist, Karen Lisi helps feed them all.(CAREERS)
April 6, 2009... WHAT DOES A ZOO NUTRITIONIST DO? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I work at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. We have more than 400 different species and 2,000 individual animals at the zoo. It's my job to formulate diets to meet each of...

Bats striking out: breaking bats and a wood-eating pest spell serious trouble for baseball.(EARTH: TREES)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A baseball game last spring turned dangerous when Pittsburgh Pirates' player Nate McLouth drove a ball into right field with a loud "Thwack." The hit had snapped his bat in two and sent a shard of wood hurling...

Not so sweet potato.(GROSS OUT)
April 6, 2009... Last December, Khalil Semhat caused a commotion when he discovered a monster veggie on his farm in the country of Lebanon. While harvesting one of his fields, Semhat dug up what looked like an 11.3 kilogram (24.9 pound) potato. The super-size...

The truth about: "rehab" & drug addiction: the reality is far from glamorous.(HEADS UP: REAL NEWS ABOUT DRUGS AND YOUR BODY)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Popular culture is filled with stories about the glitzy lives of celebrities, from the designer clothes they wear to their latest romances. It's easy to assume that everything they do is glamorous--including going to...

Mystery photo.(YOU CAN DO IT)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S THIS? The first mass produced one of these had a bone handle and boar bristles. Answer Key: Toohbrush

Explain this!(YOU CAN DO IT)(gorilla easter egg hunt )
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Egg Hunt? Answer Key: This gorilla is strutting its stuff while searching for eggs at the Cincinnati Zoo's annual Easter egg hunt. Though it's not unheard of, gorillas rarely walk with an upright, bipedal (using...

Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(matches)
April 6, 2009... Can you add an odd number of matches to the inside of this giant square to divide the square into four sections of equal area? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer Key: Nine matches are added to the square: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Why is a tomato considered a fruit?(ASK Science World)
April 6, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Any plant structure containing seeds is technically a fruit, says Marvin Pritts, a professor of horticulture (the science of growing plants) at Cornell University In New York. The plump, red part of the tomato plant...

Tips for using Science World in the classroom.(Teacher to Teacher)
April 6, 2009... Maureen Van Ackooy, this Teacher's Edition's contributor, suggests: Try this activity that stretches the imagination, increases vocabulary, and familiarizes your students with the element symbols. Using the periodic table on p. 14 from "Name...

Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
April 6, 2009... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 3 to 7. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letters of the correct answers below. 1. The engineer who designed the Skycar took his invention on a "test drive" from--. (A) the...

I'm melting!(CHART-READING SKILLS)(chemical elements)
April 6, 2009... One of the clues that helped you determine the mystery element in "Name that Element!" (pp. 12-14) was the element's high melting point. An element's melting point is the temperature at which it changes from a solid to a liquid. Complete the...

Maple versus ash.(CRITICAL-THINKING SKILLS)
April 6, 2009... In "Bats Striking Out" (pp. 16-18), you read about the problems facing bats made from the wood of maple and ash trees. Use the information from the article to answer the following questions about the characteristics of each wood, and then use...

The truth about "rehab" and drug addiction.
April 6, 2009... Dear Teacher: "Rehab" is a commonly used term that can refer to a range of drug treatment options. Teens who read about celebrities checking into residential drug treatment centers--places that look a lot like five-star resorts--may have a...

Lesson plan and worksheet.(juvenile drug addiction)
April 6, 2009... NATIONAL STANDARDS Science (NSES): Life Science: Regulation and Behavior; Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Personal and Community Health Language Arts (IRA/NCTE): Evaluation Strategies KEY CONCEPTS * "Rehab" is a...

What do you know about "rehab" and drug addiction?(STUDENT WORKSHEET)
April 6, 2009... Answer the questions below to find out what you know about treatment for drug addiction. 1. Drug addiction is a short-term illness that is cured with medicine. (A) True (B) False 2. People who are addicted to drugs have a...

Swarm!(LIFE/INSECTS)(locusts)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Locusts normally avoid one another. But occasionally, the grasshoppers gang together and go on a feeding frenzy. Researchers in England have discovered what triggers the animals to swarm: a neurotransmitter, or...

Fowled-up flights.(GRAPH IT/WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT)(a collision with Canada geese crippled both engines of a U.S. Airways jet Flight 1549)
April 20, 2009... Last January, a collision with Canada geese crippled both engines of a U.S. Airways jet Flight 1549. The quick-thinking pilot saved everyone onboard with a miraculous soft landing in New York's Hudson River. Bird strikes, which have more than...

Super slitherer.(EARTH/CLIMATE)(Titanoboa cerrejonensis, monster snake)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If an average-size snake gives you the shivers, imagine spotting one the size of a school bus. Scientists recently unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13 meter (42 feet)-long snake in South America. The snake,...

Tough tissue.(PHYSICAL/MATERIALS)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... Extra-strength paper that's harder than a cast-iron frying pan could give the game of rock, paper, scissors a whole new outcome. Using proteins called enzymes, scientists have broken down wood's cellulose, or material in a plant's cell walls,...

Numbers in the news.(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... $79,000,000,000 will fund renewable energy and public transportation as part of a new act signed by President Obama to boost the economy and create green jobs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 37,964 planets our galaxy could support alien life....

Protected paradise: the creation of three new marine monuments has turned a huge swath of Pacific Ocean into a safe haven for sea life.(EARTH: OCEANS)
April 20, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In a remote part of the Pacific Ocean, you can find the deepest spot on Earth, pristine coral reefs, and erupting underwater volcanoes. Millions of nesting seabirds, giant coconut crabs, rarely seen beaked whales,...

So long to sorting: a new trend in recycling is spreading across the United States.(PHYSICAL: TECHNOLOGY)
April 20, 2009... One bin is for paper; a second for plastic, a third for glass, and a fourth for metal cans. Sorting has been at the heart of recycling since its beginning. But many communities across the United States are adopting a new, simpler system called...

Farm-fresh perspective: new England kids get back to the roots of their food.(LIFE: FARMS)(The Farm School)
April 20, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thirteen-year-old Ella MacVeagh grabs a shovel. The bleating of sheep isn't all that fills the air. There's also the pungent smell rising from the barn she's about to muck out. But Ella isn't a farm kid doing her...

Rough waters: one of the world's most turbulent rivers is home to a wide array of fish species. Now, large dams are threatening their future.(EARTH: RIVERS)
April 20, 2009... For most of its length, Africa's Congo River is calm. The continent's largest river slowly meanders over a high, flat plateau, collecting water from 3.6 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) of land. Near the cities of Kinshasa...

How do moons comes into existence?(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moons form in one of three ways, says Mark Sykes, director of the Planetary Sciences Institute in Arizona. The oldest moons were born alongside the planets. Bits of gas and dust that didn't join to form the...

Explain this!(YOU CAN DO IT)(Beppu is Japan's hot spring capital)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... Buried Alive? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWER YOU CAN DO IT The city of Beppu is Japan's hot spring capital. Much like the geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles (steam and gas vents) at Yellowstone National Park, the...

Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
April 20, 2009... Here are views of six cubes. Which one of the cubes can not be made up from the unfolded cube at the bottom? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Brain Teaser: Die number 3 cannot be flattened into that shape

Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
April 20, 2009... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 3 to 5. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letters of the correct answers below. 1. A spike in serotonin levels drives locusts to --. (A) mate (B) swarm (C)...