Science World articles from December 2003

Science World archives from December 2003

Couch-potato pets.(Freeze Frame)(preventing pet obesity)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Who's that reaching for the remote control--your cat? Meow TV, a show that aired on the Oxygen Network last spring, shows scurrying squirrels and celebrities reading poems about cats. But don't let Fluffy become a couch potato. New research...

China blasts off.(Space/History)(China's first astronaut )(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Li Ruihua (Lee Ray-Hwa), 13, a student in Beijing, China, felt proud as a rocket carried China's first astronaut into space. "Our teacher stopped class so we could see the launch," she says. When the 19-story-tall rocket took off from China's...

A punch in the gut.(Physical/Electromagnetic Radiation)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Have you ever been picked last in gym class? The disappointment might have felt like a swift punch to the gut. New studies show that the brain reacts to a social snub the same way it reacts to internal pain. Matthew Lieberman, a researcher...

Guinea-zilla.(Life/Fossils)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... If you cringe at the sight of a rat, imagine coming face-to-face with a cow-sized rodent. Scientists in South America recently discovered that a giant rodent closely related to today's guinea pig once roamed Earth 5 million years ago. They...

Chill out.(Physical/Temperature)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... The lowest temperature possible, absolute zero, is -459.67[degrees]F (-273.15[degrees]C), or 0 kelvin. Researchers at MIT recently chilled a sodium gas to the coldest temperature ever recorded--500 picokelvin. That's only one half of one...

Go, cubs!(Short Take)(panda populations)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... This fall was a record season for the world's panda population. Qing Qing (pronounced Ching Ching), a 19-year-old giant panda who lives at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in Southwestern China, gave birth to her 13th...

So, you want to go to Mars: sorry, you can't pack your toothbrush yet. But in January 2004, two NASA rovers will bring you closer than ever to our planet next door.(Earth/space science: Mars/exploration)
December 8, 2003... Pluto seems like a cool planet. So why are more people interested in visiting Mars? "Of all planets in the solar system, Mars is the most Earthlike," says planetary scientist Steven Squyres of NASA and Cornell University. "It's the one we can...

The past, present, and future of looking good: how far would you go to look your best? Discover the ultimate style-setter: chemistry!(Physical/life science: chemistry)
December 8, 2003... You roll out of bed and look in the mirror--think Scary Movie 3. On a scale of 1 to 10, this bad-hair day is a-20. What do you do? Well, if you were Cleopatra (Egypt's queen from 51 to 30 B.C.), you'd reach for bear-grease hair gel!...

Coral crisis! Humans are killing off these bustling underwater cities. Can coral reefs be saved?(Life science: corals)
December 8, 2003... Smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) south of Hawaii, scientist Jeremy Jackson dives beneath the clear, blue water. Rainbow-colored corals--tiny sea animals--sway below. Jackson is exploring the coral reefs...

Gross out?(Activities & Oddities)(world record for longest fingernails)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Call him Monster Claws. Romesh Sharma of India just nailed the record books with a combined left-hand fingernail length of 10 meters (33 feet)--scratching out the previous record of 6.15 m (20.18 ft). If you want to beat Romesh, plan on 50...

Tease your brain.(Activities & Oddities)
December 8, 2003... You're playing darts. Aim for the following scores on the target using the fewest throws: A. 25 B. 19 C. 47 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 25: 16, 8, 1 B. 19: 16, 2, 1 C. 47: 32, 8, 4, 2, 1

Explain this!(Activities & Oddities)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... HONEY, WHO SHRUNK THE HORSES? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] No one shrank the horses. But someone did enlarge the furniture. Three horses hide from the rain under a giant chair and table in a pasture near Doellstaedt, Germany. A local wood...

Science in the news quiz.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... Directions: Read the late-breaking news in our Science News section on pages 4 to 7. Then test your knowledge by answering the questions below. Circle the correct letter. 1 Which statement below is true? A. Obese pets tend to live...

Scaling mars.(Math and Graphing Skills)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... What's heavier: an elephant on Earth or one on Mars? The answer depends on gravity, the attracting force between two objects with mass. Not all planets have the same gravitational pull. The stronger the strength of the pull, the heavier the...

This looks amazing!(Vocabulary Builder)(crossword puzzle)
December 8, 2003... First, study "The Past, Present, and Future of Looking Good" (p. 12). Then solve the clues below to complete this crossword puzzle. To spell out the bonus * words, unscramble the letters in parentheses. (* A star on the grid marks a bonus...

Don't stop playing with your hair.(Hands-On Activity)
December 8, 2003... In "The Past, Present, and Future of Looking Good," (p. 12), you got the lowdown on hair. Here are two activities to see what your tresses can do. Part A: How strong is your hair? You Need: 3 strands each of the following hair...