Science World articles from October 2001

Science World archives from October 2001

Lie-Tech.(lie-detection technology from Brain Wave Science)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Terry Harrington has spent the last 23 years serving a life sentence in an Iowa prison for a murder he claims he did not commit. Now a revolutionary lie- detection technology called "brain fingerprinting" may prove him not guilty. Developed by...

FOR THE BIRDS.(penguins protection)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... No wonder tuxedos are called "penguin suits." Penguins are well-dressed birds. And topping the best-dressed list are sweater-clad fairy penguins in Tasmania, Australia. But the knitwear has more than style: It protects the smallest penguin...

AIDS in Africa.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... An estimated 36 million people worldwide are infected with HIV, the incurable virus that causes AIDS. And 25.3 million of these live in sub-Saharan Africa. At least 1 of every 10 adults is HIV-infected in 16 countries in the region. In 1999,...

MAMMOTH EXTINCTION.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Scientists suspect a fiery meteor crash drove dinosaurs to extinction. But what wiped out the woolly mammoth, 14,000 pound mammal (hair-covered animal that feeds its young on milk)? The beast may have vanished from Earth 12,000 years ago due to...

WASH-AND-WEAR VITAMIN C.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Getting your daily dose of vitamin C could soon be as simple as getting dressed in the morning. That's if you sport the Fuji Spinning Company's new vitamin C-soaked T-shirt, which hits stores in early 2002. It's made from a fiber containing a...

As the Wind Blows.(germs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Germs, like camels, travel upon Sahara Desert sand. But while the camels remain in North Africa, germs take to the air and are wind blown to North America! So says new research from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The microbes'...

SLEEP OFF STRESS.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... If next week's science exam has you stressed, new research may help you get a grip--and a good night's rest. "Teens often lose sleep because of anxieties related to school," says psychologist Avi Sadeh at Tel Aviv University in Israel. His...

AIDS AT 20 WILL WE FIND A CURED?
October 1, 2001... If you don't hear about it for a while, it's easy to forget that AIDS continues to be one of the world's stealthiest killers. It's been 20 years since mystified doctors recorded the cases of five men in Los Angeles who died from a rare...

Drilling Paradise DRY?
October 1, 2001... Ever think of polar bears when you drive past a gas station? If you're trying to make the connection, pass this through your pipeline: Gas, plastic, and other products you use every day are made in part from oil that flows from Alaska--home to...

TOUR DE LANCE: CYCLING PHYSICS.(Lance Armstrong)
October 1, 2001... What does it take to be the fastest and most resilient rider on two wheels? Sheer devotion to cycling and physics! Take a spin with Lance Armstrong as he speeds through a winning day in the 2001 Tour de France. On July 29, 2001,...

Explain This?(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Why is this woman driving a jumbo shopping cart? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWER While the 13-foot-tall "Big Cart" call hold 360 bags of groceries, don't hold your breath for the chance to zip it around on your next grocery run. It...

TEASE YOUR BRAIN.
October 1, 2001... If nine arrows hit this target, and the total score is 100, which part of the target did each arrow strike? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWER 2 arrows at region 8 7 arrows at region 12

GROSS OUT?(twin pigs)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Curiosity seekers have thronged a farm in the Philippines to wave hello to four-month-old Kambal--who has seven legs with which to wave back! How come? Kambal, which means "twins" in Tagalog (Filipino language), may be conjoined (physically...

WHAT IS IT?
October 1, 2001... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWER Plastic slinky toy

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING.(AIDS quiz)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... AIDS at 20: Will We Find a Cure? Directions: Match the word(s) on the left column with the correct phrase at the right. 1. vaccine a. virus that converts RNA into DNA to reproduce 2....

To Drill or Not to Drill.(classroom exercise)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2001... Do you think oil drilling should be allowed in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? Read "Drilling Paradise Dry?" Then follow the instructions below for a mind-opening classroom debate. First, divide the class into two groups, with one...

Youth and AIDS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 1, 2001... Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV kills or damages cells of the body's immune system, progressively destroying the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers. In its most...

Science in the News Quiz.
October 1, 2001... Directions: Read the late-breaking science news stories in our Science News section on pages 4-6. Then, test your knowledge by answering the questions below. Circle the correct letter. 1. "Brain fingerprinting" is more accurate than a...

Shower power. (Physical news).(why bath curtains billow inward)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... When a flimsy shower curtain "attacked" David Schmidt one morning, he peeled the sticky plastic off his bare thigh and decided to solve the mystery of clingy wet curtains. Schmidt, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of...

Micro-miracle. (Freeze frame).(human embryo, the first 8 weeks)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 15, 2001... No matter how big you get, in life everyone starts out small. So small, in fact, one could sit comfortably on the head of a pin, just like this human embryo, a baby in the first eight weeks of development (magnified 130 times). It's made of a...

Longest-living mammals. (Graph it!).(human beings)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 2001... All living things eventually grow old and die--a process called senescence. But for reasons scientists still don't understand, humans age more slowly than other mammals (animals that nurse their babies with milk). The average human life span in...

Pasta physics.(best way to eat spaghetti not making a mess)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... What's the best way to eat spaghetti without splattering the sauce? Physicist Colin Humphreys discovered the risk of sauce splash is greatest as you roll the last 4.33 inches of spaghetti onto a fork. "A final reckless flick of the wrist can...

Sparks fly.(lightning research)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... The odds of being struck by lightning are about I in 700,000. But University of Florida researchers claim those odds could increase as more lightning occurs due to warmer, wetter summers. The culprit may be global warming. Moist, warm air...

Sunken subways. (Life/earth news).(cars plunged into ocean waters, promote ecology)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... After more than 40 years of transporting New Yorkers around town, "Redbirds"--old, red-colored New York City subway cars--have a new job as artificial reefs! Last August, 27 of the 1,300 hefty 80,000-pounders were plunged 24.4 meters (80...

Bug appetit! (Nutrition news).(nearly 80 percent world population eats insects)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 2001... Before you bug out, hear this: Nearly 80 percent of the world's population relies on bugs for food. In Cambodia, for example, fried tarantula is considered a delicacy (poison-filled fangs are removed before cooking). Scorpions, crickets, and...

Waste war? (Earth news).(residents opposing radioactive waste dumping on Yucca Mountain, Nevada)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 15, 2001... The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) needs a permanent home for 77,000 tons of trash. Want to volunteer your backyard? Neither do the citizens of Nevada. But the DOE claims Yucca Mountain, which looms 5,000 feet above a remote range of Nevada...

The science of violence: As the toll of teen violence grows, scientists search for reasons why. (Life Science: Teen Health * The Brain * Hormones).(research)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 2001... A 17-year-old is shot and killed after an argument with a group of teens. A 16-year-old gang member slays a police officer. These two violent tales made headlines in America's heartland, Chicago, a steamy week last July. But they could--and...

The secret life of dinos: step back in time with the largest beasts ever to walk the Earth. (Earth/Life Science: Cretaceous Period * Dinosaurs * Fossils.(Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovery)(Statistical Data Included)
October 15, 2001... TIME: 67 million years ago PLACE: The North American West (now the badlands of South Dakota) A herd of hadrosaurs--hefty, duck-billed dinosaurs--wallow in a muddy river. They stir up sediment, sand and dirt carried by with their...

Wear the right stuff: spacesuit science. (Cover Story).(Cover Story)
October 15, 2001... If you had to install a new front door to your house, you'd probably pull on some jeans and a sweatshirt. In July, astronauts installed a new front door and airlock (pressure-regulated airtight chamber) on the International Space Station (ISS)....

Explain this! (You Can Do It).
October 15, 2001... Why is a mouse hiding inside this tennis ball? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer Explain This Balls used at the recent Wimbledon tennis championships were recycled as homes to protect endangered harvest mice.

Tease your brain. (You Can Do It).
October 15, 2001... Move only one coin to make both the row and the column contain four coins each. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer Tease your brain [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

What is it? (You Can Do It).
October 15, 2001... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answer What is it? CD cases

Gross out? (You Can Do It).(corpse flower)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... If you caught a whiff of this flower at the Fullerton Arboretum in Fullerton, Calif., you'd plug your nose too. The corpse flower smells like its name: rotting flesh. This smelly bloom, native to Sumatra in Indonesia, can weigh up to 375...

The lighter side. (You Can Do It).(chocolate flavored lettuce)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... "The focus group was vehemently opposed to genetically altered corn and wheat, but they loved the chocolate flavored lettuce." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Coffee-can "Astronaut". (Hands-On Activity).(heat experiment)(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... In space there is no temperature to speak of, because there are no gas molecules. Yet objects traveling in space can become extremely hot or cold, depending on how an object absorbs or radiates heat from the sun. One way to protect...

Dino debate: predator or scavenger? (Chart Reading/Critical Thinking).(tyrannosaurus rex)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
October 15, 2001... Scientists agree: Tyrannosaurus rex was a meat-eater, or carnivore. But they hotly debate how T. rex got its food. Was it a ferocious hunter? Or did it scavenge dead and rotting animal carcasses? The table below presents some opposing theories....

Science in the news quiz. (Reading Comprehension).
October 15, 2001... Directions: Read the late-breaking science news stories in our Science News section on pages 4-7. Then, test your knowledge by answering the questions below. Circle the correct letter. 1. Shower curtains cling because a "driven ...

How to talk about disaster: the tragic events and images from September 11 shook the nation. Dr. Bruce D. Perry, a specialist in child trauma, offers SCIENCE WORLD teachers advice on how to talk to students in times of disaster. (Special Report).(Brief Article)
October 15, 2001... The tragic events and images from September 11 shook the nation. Dr. Bruce D. Perry, a specialist in child trauma, offers SCIENCE WORLD teachers advice on how to talk to students in times of disaster. 1. Talk about the events in class in...