Science World articles from October 2002

Science World archives from October 2002

Anthrax update: germ-on-germ warfare. (Life News).
October 18, 2002... Until a year ago, most people thought of anthrax as the bacteria that lurked in soil and occasionally infected an unlucky farm animal that inhaled the microbes. But shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, anthrax panic swept the...

Crop circles: real or hoax? (Physical/Earth News).
October 18, 2002... They"--or "it"--flatten sprawling mysterious circular patterns in fields of barley, oats, or wheat, leaving surrounding plants untouched. But how? Explanations range from freak weather conditions to alien visitors. But as actor Mel Gibson...

Freeze frame. (Science News).
October 18, 2002... With its Pinocchio-like snout, scruffy white whiskers, and Arrest-Me Red lips, this rosy-lipped batfish couldn't look more bizarre. "Well, it would probably say the same thing about you and me," says ichthyologist (fish scientist) and batfish...

Too cool for teeth? (Short Take).
October 18, 2002... Unless dentures are this guy's idea of cool, he'd better lose the tongue barbell, say dental researchers at Loma Linda and Ohio State Universities. When they examined the mouths of 52 young adults with pierced tongues, the plump muscles looked...

Fighting fat: America's new health war. .
October 18, 2002... As a nation, almost two-thirds of us-an estimated 97.1 million adults and 6.7 million children and teens-are overweight, says the Centers for Disease Control and prevention. That's more than triple the number just 20 years ago. Why are...

The furious storm: one wild hurricane could drown a major American City. Can scientist prevent the disaster in time? (Earth science: marshlands/hurricanes).
October 18, 2002... Here's a tip from the experts: If you're in New Orleans when the "Big One" hits, have a lifeboat handy. Some scientist warn that the right hurricane--a tropical cyclone with at least 74-mile-per-hour winds--could strike the Gulf Coast in a way...

Name that element! It's the ninth most abundant element in Earth's crust. It's as strong as steel but half as heavy, and you might find it in your braces, bike, even candy! What is it? To find out, grab a periodic table and follow these eight clues. Then turn the page to test your chem IQ. (New Science Mystery Series!).
October 18, 2002... (CLUE 1) INSIDE SCOOP Like all elements, this one is composed of atoms, the basic building blocks of matter. Each atom's nucleus, or center, is packed with positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons. Outside the nucleus...

Gross out? (Activities & Oddities).
October 18, 2002... Some people decorate their office with photos, but Virginia Hunt adorns hers with a shrunken head. "It's about the size of an apple," says the assistant curator of the Warren Museum at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. The...

Explain this! (You Can Do It).
October 18, 2002... Why are they swimming buddies? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWERS What Is It: ice cream Explain This! This bullfrog and goldfish appear to be swimming together, but in fact they are struggling to survive in a rapidly diminishing...

Tease your brain.
October 18, 2002... Can you find five different ways to divide this grid into identical quarters? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWERS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Heads up real news about drugs and your body.
October 18, 2002... WELCOME TO HEADS UP: Real News About Drugs and Your Body, a drug education series from Scholastic and the scientists of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Our mission is to bring you real news about the effects drugs can have on your...

Meet your incredible brain: check out command central for everything you do. (Heads Up Real News About Drugs And Your Body).
October 18, 2002... What's that gray, wrinkled blob inside your skull? It's your brain the body's most amazing organ, a three pound factory for feelings, memories, ideas, and movement. It makes your heart beat, stores the beat to your favorite song, and prompts...

Smoking gun: cigarettes are addictive and deadly. So why are teens still smoking? (Close Up: Nicotine).
October 18, 2002... If you're looking for the Robinson Rams baseball team during fourth period lunch, don't bother searching the cafeteria or the practice diamond. On most afternoons, you'll find a handful of the top players from Robinson Secondary School in...

The lows of getting high: one teen's journey from street corner to jail to recovery. (Close Up: Marijuana).
October 18, 2002... At 18, Podolski was living a nightmare behind bars. He felt he was in constant physical danger. "I saw people get stabbed," Alby says. And he experienced daily indignities. "I couldn't eat the food they served. The potatoes were like blocks and...

Activities & resources. (Heads Up Real News About Drugs And Your Body).
October 18, 2002... * Review: "Meet Your Incredible Brain" TOTAL RECALL Which brain part do you need to remember what you learned from our diagram? The hippocampus. Put your hippocampus to work and see how much you can recall. Match each brain part with...

What's a healthy weight? (Math/Chart-Reading Skills).
October 18, 2002... Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and a healthy weight depends on an individual's height, age, sex, and fitness level. The most reliable tool doctors use to determine if a person is under- or overweight is the Body-Mass Index, or BMI. The...

Blown away. (Chart-Reading Skills).
October 18, 2002... All hurricanes are potentially dangerous to human life and property. But some are more dangerous than others. In the 1970s, the Saffir-Simpson scale categorized the destructive potential of hurricanes for the first time. To determine a...

Quiz. (Science In The News).
October 18, 2002... DIRECTIONS: Read the late-breaking news in our Science News section on pages 4 to 6. Then test your knowledge by answering the questions below. Circle the correct letter. 1. Anthrax is a(n) a. a single-celled bacterium, b....

Exploring ecoregions: if Earth were a giant jigsaw puzzle, one way to see its pieces could be as countries. But scientists also see the pieces as different ecological areas, or ecoregions.
October 18, 2002... Exploring ecoregions: if Earth were a giant jigsaw puzzle, one way to see its pieces could be as countries. But scientists also see the pieces as different ecological areas, or ecoregions. Ecoregions are large geographical areas defined by...