Science World articles from January 2004

Science World archives from January 2004

Brrr ... Manatees catch cold.(Life/Metabolism)
January 12, 2004... When winter rolls around, tourists flock to Florida's warm coastal waters. But for one giant bather--the Florida manatee--the sunshine state's winter waters simply aren't warm enough. In fact, when Florida's water temperature dips below...

Home away from home.(Physical/Space)(search for stars that might support places sustaining life)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Call her the galaxy's real-estate agent. Maggie Turnbull, a graduate student in astrophysics at the University of Arizona, is scanning the universe for places that could sustain fife. She's compiled a fist of more than 17,000 stars that might...

Five-second rule?(Life/Bacteria)(food dropped on the floor)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Ever dropped a cookie on the floor, yelled "five-second rule," then quickly picked it up and popped it into your mouth? You hope that five seconds on the floor wasn't long enough for your food to collect harmful bacteria. Jillian Clarke, a...

Volcano season.(Graph It!)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Seasons can affect your moods, but can they uncork a volcano? Geologist Ben Mason, from the University of Cambridge in England, tallied 300 years' worth of monthly eruptions from the world's most active volcanoes. Result: These sporadic...

Diet fact or fiction?(Life/Nutrition)
January 12, 2004... A diet helps you lose weight, right? Not if you're a teen or preteen, says researcher Alison Field of Harvard University. In a study of 15,000 youths, ages 9 to 14, she found that those who dieted gained about two pounds more per year than...

Megastorms.(Physical/Solar System)
January 12, 2004... Last fall, the sun unleashed a series of powerful storms. The fiercest of the bunch turned out to be one of the strongest solar flares (eruptions of energy from the sun) ever recorded. And even though the sun is about 150 million kilometers (93...

Get a grip! Junior climbing champ Scott Cory built his iron grip clinging to rock walls. Find out why certain kinds of rock make his favorite climbing spots so challenging.(Earth/Physical: Rock Cycle/Forces)
January 12, 2004... Scott Cory, 13, is tough. The 8th grader from Brentwood, California, recently took only 14 hours to climb Half Dome, Yosemite National Park's famous 2,000-foot-high wall. The massive rock typically takes skilled climbers three days to scale....

Advice for the love & struck: think dating and the flood of emotions that come with courtship are reserved for humans? Think again. Science World's advice column helps animals work out their dating dilemmas.(Life science: courtship behavior)
January 12, 2004... You may think dating is all about dressing up, seeing the latest movie, and impressing that special someone. But for animals, "dating" is serious business. That's why they turn on the charm. And if their attempts at seduction fail to woo a...

Name that element! Our popular mystery series returns!(Physical science: chemistry)
January 12, 2004... Stop: Without this element, you'd be paralyzed. It helps move muscles and builds strong bones. It also forms gross soap scum in your shower. What is it? Grab a periodic table (next page) and follow these eight clues to find out. Then turn the...

No-lab hands-on Science.
January 12, 2004... Check out these two hands-on experiments after you've read "Megastorms" (p. 8) and "Advice for the Love Struck" (p .14). They're fun, easy, and foolproof! FINDING LOVE As "Advice for the Love Struck" shows, animals have tricks they...

Gross out?(You Can Do It)(insect eating)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Scorpion scallopini, yum! Biologist and chef David George Gordon enjoys eating bugs so much, he recently wowed crowds at a Singapore food festival with a cooking demonstration. To turn the stinging scorpion into a snack, Gordon first froze...

Explain this! What on earth is this?(Activities & Oddities)(World's first runway for extraterrestrial cultures)(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Artist Martin Riebeek, in collaboration with the city of Houten in central Netherlands, designed the "World's first runway for extraterrestrial cultures." They hope that if a UFO ever visits Earth, it will hover...

Tease your brain.(Activities & Oddities)
January 12, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Can you place the numbers 1 through 16 on the grid so that each row, column, and diagonal add up to the same number? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Make your own sedimentary rock.(Hands-On Activity)
January 12, 2004... In "Get a Grip!" (p. 10) you learned that it's challenging to scale cliffs made of sedimentary rocks because the rocks tend to crumble. How easily the rocks break apart depends on what types of sediment the rocks contain, and how the grains are...

It's elemental!(Vocabulary Builder)
January 12, 2004... First, study "Name That Element!" (p. 18). Then solve the clues below to complete this crossword puzzle. To spell out the bonus words, unscramble the letters in parentheses. A * on the crossword grid indicates a bonus word. 1. Layer of...

Science in the news quiz.
January 12, 2004... Directions: Read the late-breaking news in our Science News section on pages 4 to 9. Then test your knowledge by answering the questions below. Circle the correct letter. 1 Which statement about manatees is false? A. Manatees prefer...

Dear teacher.(Heads Up: Real News About Drugs and Your Body)
January 12, 2004... One of the most important things you can do as a teacher is to give your students information about the health effects of drug abuse. Together with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), we've put together this 16-page book of...

Your brain at-a-glance.
January 12, 2004... There are no two ways about it--drugs change the way the brain works. And the brain has some pretty heavy responsibilities, controlling body functions such as breathing, walking, and thinking. Here is a brief overview of the major parts of your...

The word on marijuana.
January 12, 2004... Here are some of the key words you need to understand to discuss the drug marijuana and its effects. Review the glossary. Then, fill in the blanks in the article below. Finally, circle the words you filled in within the word search. ...

Top 10 things you need to know about inhalants.
January 12, 2004... Educate yourself about this dangerous class of drugs with our Top 10 list below. Then, make your way through the "Find the Facts" maze on the next page. 1 Household products can be dangerous. Inhalants are breathable chemical vapors...

Find-the-facts maze.
January 12, 2004... After reading "Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Inhalants," make your way to the end of this maze by following the facts. You can only go through spaces with true statements. Turn around and try another route when you find a lie. The...

Nicotine news.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Good news about cigarettes and teens: Fewer 12th-, 10th-, and 8th-graders lit up in 9002 than in 2001. This continues a downward trend that's been going on fop about five years. Maybe young people are getting better information about the health...

Steroids: all-over horror.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Some people take anabolic steroids Illegally as a way to increase their muscle mass. But steroids affect more than muscles. Read below how steroids wreak havoc with brain and body. Then, finish the diagram. Write either how steroids affect the...

Rave realities: the truth about club drugs.
January 12, 2004... Some teens go to all-night dances, called raves or trances. Some like to party at clubs. Many of the young people who are into the club and dance scene don't do drugs. But some do. They may be attracted to club drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) because...

Club-drug cheat sheet.
January 12, 2004... Now that you've read the facts on club drugs, how will you remember them? One helpful way to process new Information Is to use a graphic organizer, called a web. Use the "Rave Realities" page to fill in the specific types of club drugs, than...

The cocaine course.
January 12, 2004... Your teacher is about to give you as many important facts about the drug cocaine as can fit on one page. But first, write down what you already know about the drug in the first column of the chart below. Some sample facts are already listed....

FAQs on cocaine.
January 12, 2004... 1. WHAT IS COCAINE? Cocaine is a very addictive stimulant that is generally sold on the street in the form of a fine, white, crystalline powder. This drug's many street names include coke, snow, blow, toot, and rock. 2. WHERE DOES IT...

Mixed-up about heroin.(Brief Article)
January 12, 2004... Here are one student's notes for a report on the drug heroin. But, somehow, they got out of order. Can you put the notes for each paragraph into a logical sequence? Write the correct number on each Index card. We've done the first paragraph for...

Outsmart the chart.(major drugs of abuse)
January 12, 2004... Outsmart the Chart Use the chart below to review the facts about major drugs of abuse. Then, test your knowledge with the accompanying Jeopardy-style quiz. NAME OF STREET NAMES HOW IT'S USED DRUG Cocaine ...

This is real Jeopardy!
January 12, 2004... For each answer, create the correct question. The Information you need Is on the page "Outsmart the Chart." We've done the first one for you. 1. Answer: Drugs that are sometimes injected Question: What are steroids, heroin, and...

A prescription for pain.
January 12, 2004... Most people who take prescription drugs do so in the form and dose prescribed, under a doctor's supervision. But some people take medicine for non-medical purposes. That's drug abuse, and it can have serious health consequences. Here's some...