Science World articles from February 2000

Science World archives from February 2000

Special Report: Floyd Update.(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... Amy Salter, 15, grew up swimming and fishing in North Carolina's Neuse River. Now, she says, "I'm afraid to even stick my toe in the water." In the aftermath of last September's Hurricane Floyd, the Neuse River is the color of diluted blood....

HAPPY SPIDER?(spider markings)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... Why does this spider look so happy? This and other Hawaiian happy-face spiders (Theridion grallator) are famous for remarkable face-like markings on their abdomen, or lower body segment. Happy-face spiders inherit different red, white, or black...

TOP PEAKS.(Mount Everest measuring project)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... Mount Everest, undisputed mountain king, just got taller. Last May, a team of climbers reached and measured Everest's summit at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) above sea level--two meters higher than the last measurement conducted in 1954. Is...

Eye Contact.(conjunctivitis and contact lenses)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... What do Marilyn Manson, Star Wars' Darth Maul, and many teens have in common? Weird eyes--or costume (appearance altering) contact lenses, to be exact. The lenses can turn baby blues into wild cat eyes or those of an alien. But since many teens...

Canal Party.(Panama Canal)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... Where was last New Year's "Party Central"? Maybe Central America--in Panama. On December 31, 1999, after more than 80 years of governing the Panama Canal, the U.S. handed the reins of authority over the canal to Panama. Panamanians wildly...

The Hole Story.(body piercing)
February 7, 2000... You're sitting in a body-piercing studio, extremely psyched; you've finally gotten your parents' permission to get your tongue pierced. When it's your turn, you grip the chair, squeeze your eyes shut, and stick out your tongue. Suddenly you...

Nuclear Energy Safe or Deadly?
February 7, 2000... A recent accident casts a grim shadow over nuclear energy. You can't see it or smell it. You wouldn't know if it wafted through the window while your family ate dinner. But if radiation (radiating waves or particles emitted by some...

Antarctica Melts.
February 7, 2000... Scientist want to know why Earth's frozen continent is vanishing. Imagine sailing through dark, frigid Antarctic waters. In the distance you spot an iceberg, a floating chunk of ice, creeping toward you. Only this monster is the size of...

You Can Do It.
February 7, 2000... Explain This! What in the heavens is going on? TEASE YOUR BRAIN Move one toothpick to make this giraffe face another direction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What is it? Answer You Can Do It German high-wire...

'NET Raves.(science web sites)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... Log on to some amazing science Web sites: ! The Science Behind The X-Files You've watched the TV show and seen the movie. Now check out the real science principles behind one of America's hottest sci-fi adventures: The X-Files. ...

FAST FACT.(Tlingit culture)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2000... In the Alaskan Tlingit culture, the number of ear piercings once determined your social rank

Wild Jazz!(house cat serves as surrogate mother to African wildcat)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... Cayenne, a gray tabby house cat, has one wild kitten. He spits and swipes at anyone who comes near his cage and constantly harasses his mom. But it's no wonder Cayenne has her paws full. She gave birth as a surrogate, or substitute, mother to a...

PHYSIC'S TOP 10.
February 21, 2000... Last year, 250 of the world's top scientists were asked by Physics World magazine to pick the 10 most influential physicists, scientists who study energy and matter, of the last 1,000 years. Can you match each of the top 10 with his biggest...

Short Takes.(research on mussels, time, sense of smell)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... [] MUSSEL GLUE Searching for a source of strong waterproof glue, Department of Energy scientists have synthesized, or artificially created, the protein Mytilus galloprovincialis (MIT-uh-lis gal-uh-proh-vinchee-AH-lis), which sea mussels...

Sky Doctor.(satellite to monitor Earth's climate)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... Getting a physical check up may be routine for you, but what about for planet Earth? It's not easy to examine more than 2 billion square kilometers (770 million square miles) of land, ice, and sea! Now Terra, NASA's newest satellite, may be...

Leap Year bug.(computer bug)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... So your computer survived Y2K. Well, get ready for the next millennium bug: the Leap Year Bug! February 29, 2000 will actually be an extra leap day--the first in 400 years. Could your PC take one flying leap and crash? Leap years have an...

SURF THE DUNES!(the sport of sliding down sand dunes)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... If you ache for the thrill of downhill racing but don't live where it snows, forget sledding. But if you live near a desert, you may be in luck. Why not hit the dunes, or sand hills, and surf the sand? Speedsters from New Zealand to New Mexico...

DANGER: Inhalant Hazards.(teenagers and the use of inhalants)
February 21, 2000... One teen's struggle with the deadly fumes of inhalants As elementary school kids, Amy(*) and her friends used to laugh at the strange sight of "Huffer." He was a wiry man with long black hair who lived in a rickety cabin on the Standing...

THE SMART GENE.(locating the genes that affect intelligence)
February 21, 2000... Having Scientists Fount It? Meet "Doogie," an ordinary-looking, furry brown mouse. He scurries around his cage, eats, sleeps, and burrows in cedar shavings on his floor. But give him a series of "rodent SAT" tests that judge his ability to...

Superstar Search.(astronomical observations)
February 21, 2000... Planet hunter Geoffrey Marcy has paved his way into the superstar Hall of Fame. Since 1995, Marcy and a team of astronomers at the University of California at Berkeley have sleuthed out 25 extrasolar (outside our solar system) planets (see SW...

'NET Raves.(science web sites)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... Log on to some amazing science Web sites: ! Webcytology Get the inside scoop on unicellular biology--you can even create your own single-celled organism and see if it lives or goes extinct! library, thinkquest.org/27819 ! Oceans...

Do fish pass gas?(Questions and Answers)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2000... We answered! Experts reveal the shocking truth behind the mysteries of science. Laryssa Tartt, II Bamberg, Germany Yes, in a sense some fish do pass gas, though not in the same way humans do. The bubble trail from the back end of a...