Science World articles from September 2005

Science World archives from September 2005

New neighbor.(grizzly bears in Arctic)
September 5, 2005... Move over polar bears. An oddball grizzly has invaded its northern cousins' high-Arctic neighborhood. Scientists believe no other grizzly has ever been spotted so far north. Last summer, geologists from the University of Alberta trekked to...

Stressed out?(stress and immunity)
September 5, 2005... Could back-to-school jitters actually be good for you? New research on mice suggests that short-term stress boosts the body's disease-fighting immune system. To find out how the immune system responds to temporary anxiety, like being...

Digging deep.(Earths crust)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... A journey to the center of Earth may be out of the question. But scientists recently pulled off an equally tall task: They have punched through to the bottom edge of Earth's outer layer, or crust. Researchers with the Integrated Ocean...

Fuming buses.(pollution)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... In addition to hauling you and your friends, your school bus may be carting around pollution. School buses are some of the top polluters on the road, says Arthur Winer, an environmental-health scientist at the University of California at...

Perfect pop!(pressure influence)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... You're gorging on popcorn when--CRACK!--you bite into a rock-hard, unpopped kernel. At last, scientists have discovered why these kernels fail to pop. Popcorn bursts into a fluffy treat when fluid in the kernel heats up. The moisture...

Mouth music.(toothbrush)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... Here's a toothbrush that does more than just brighten your smile. Tooth Tunes, made by Hasbro, plays a two-minute-long song to jazz up your brushing routine. Press "play," and a tiny computer chip in the toothbrush generates sound waves....

Bumpy ride: sporty four-wheelers are all the rage. Discover how physics know-how keeps one teen safe on the racetrack.(PHYSICAL: FORCES AND MOTION)
September 5, 2005... Veiled by a glossy helmet, 13-year-old Brittany Snider arts forward on a four-wheeled dirt racer. She's lined up next to 19 other teen riders waiting at the starting gates. The light turns green and Brittany's off: The ground trembles, and...

Koala chaos! Pest or victim: koalas living on one Australian island are caught in the center of a heated debate.(Cover Story)
September 5, 2005... Each year, thousands of tourists flock to scenic Kangaroo Island in Australia. For many, the trip's highlight would be spotting a fuzzy koala, "A koala's gentle presence seems to melt even the hardest human heart," says Deborah Tabart,...

Hands-on science (no lab required).
September 5, 2005... After reading "Koala Chaos!" (p. 10), try out this activity to learn how koala populations change over time. PREDICT What would you expect to happen to an animal population if it lacked predators? YOU NEED large space (gym or...

Taming the storm: a hurricane's violent winds can ravage coastlines. Can scientists find a way to stop these devastating storms?(EARTH: HURRICANES)
September 5, 2005... Last year, 12 hurricanes hammered the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts. That's more than double the number normally seen in these regions in one season. The storms' flooding rains and fierce winds flattened buildings and lolled more than 1,700...

Name that element! Which element on the periodic table turns a white car brown, keeps notes stuck on the refrigerator door, and holds up the world's skycrappers? Follow these eight clues to find out. Then turn the page to test your chemistry IQ.(OUR POPULAR MYSTERY SERIES RETURNS!)
September 5, 2005... CLUE 1 FOOLED YOU! The mystery element is rarely found in nature by itself. When combined with sulfur (S), it forms a mineral called pyrite. This mineral's yellow-gold color and sparkly surface can fool people into thinking they've found...

Strike a pose.(GROSS OUT)(embalming)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2005... This monkey hasn't moved an inch in 3,000 years. That might sound like a long time to keep from squirming. But this animal is a mummy, or a preserved body. And currently, it's sitting behind glass at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. In...

Tennis, anyone?(EXPLAIN THIS!)
September 5, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Tease your brain.(Activities & Oddities)
September 5, 2005... Look at the figures above. Can you find the pattern and then figure out what the fourth figure in the series should look like?

Nose guard.(LIFE/ANIMAL BEHAVIOR)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Bottlenose dolphins in Australia's Shark Bay like to accessorize: They sport sponges (a type of sea organism that lacks a backbone) over their snouts. Scientists have recently discovered how dolphins acquired this odd behavior. Why would...

Peak performer.(GRAPH IT/EARTH)(mountain climbing)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Last summer, 20-year-old Danielle Fisher became the youngest person to have climbed all of the "seven summits," or the highest mountain on each of Earth's continents. Her most recent feat--ascending Mount Everest, the world's highest...

Techno tunes.(PHYSICAL/SOUND)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Trying to create the ultimate assortment of songs on your portable music player? A new computer program can help. To start, select a song from the list of digital music files on your computer. Then the program, Predixis MusicMagic Mixer,...

Hidden treasures.(EARTH/CAVES)(Snowy River - a crystal river)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... A team of scientists and cave explorers recently made a dazzling discovery: a two-mile-long "river" of crystal. Nicknamed Snowy River, the formation lies deep within the twisty hollows of New Mexico's Fort Stanton cave. Fort Stanton cave...

Power plant.(PHYSICAL/ENERGY)(speediest flowering plant)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... Scientists have crowned the "speediest flowering plant" on Earth. The bunchberry dogwood flower blasts open in 0.5 milliseconds to fire pollen into the air. That's 300 times faster than a Venus flytrap's speedy snap. The dogwood's...

What's your style? Discover yourself ... and a science project you'll love.
September 19, 2005... The school bell is about to ring. You've spent the class period racking your brain for a science-project idea, but you have drawn a blank. Is it time to throw in the towel? No way! Take the personality quiz shown here. After filling out...

Water saver: could a population boom cause a decline in one bay's water quality? An environmentally concerned teen finds out.(EARTH: SCIENTIFIC METHOD)
September 19, 2005... Barnegat Bay was once a sleepy body of water by the New Jersey shore (see map, right). Then, more and more people discovered the bay's natural beauty. They began settling around this estuary, where freshwater from rivers and streams meets...

Under pressure: how does the amount of air inside a football affect its performance? One teen kicks his way to an answer.(PHYSICAL: WRITE A PROCEDURE)
September 19, 2005... Dan Whiteman is a diehard football fan. Nothing comes between this Pennsylvania native and his favorite team--the Pittsburgh Steelers. "I've been a Steelers fan all my life," he boasts. That's why this 14-year-old was quick to believe his dad's...

Skeeter slayer: an award-winning teen uses charts and graphs to search for a natural mosquito killer.(LIFE: ORGANIZE YOUR FINDINGS)(Cover Story)
September 19, 2005... In Adam Tazi's home state of Florida, summer's warm weather brings more than just tourists flocking to the state's sunny beaches. May through October is also a time when mosquitoes start multiplying. That ballooning population can cover your...

Twisted act.(GROSS OUT)(body flexibility)
September 19, 2005... Looks like "Elastic Girl" from The Incredibles has some competition! Last spring, a young girl twisted her body into a pretzel shape while practicing for the Mongolian National Circus in Ulan Bator. What is her supple secret? This...

Jolly green giant?(EXPLAIN THIS!)(green clothing)(Brief Article)
September 19, 2005... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWERS This guy surely has a green thumb. Last spring, Eli Aderi of Ramat Gan, Israel, created a jacket, tie, and hat out of real grass. How did this landscaper sprout a grassy suit? He started by sowing grass...

Tease your brain.(Activities & Oddities)
September 19, 2005... Can you make a third arrow the same size as the arrows shown by adding only two straight lines? ANSWERS [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Science project success guide designing and conducting experiments.(LESSON PLANS)
September 19, 2005... ARTICLE RESOURCES Page 10 Water Saver * You can find more information about the Barnegat Bay estuary at this Web site: www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/programs/barn.htm Page 14 Under Pressure * From the science of baseball to the...

Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
September 19, 2005... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 5 to 7. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letter of the correct answer below. 1. Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay use sponges to help them (A) disguise their voice to better...

Your guide to a winning display.(TABLES, CHARTS, AND GRAPHS (1))(managing experiment data)
September 19, 2005... How do you keep track of the data from your science experiment? And how do you turn the collected information into something visually interesting, such as charts and graphs? First, read "Skeeter Slayer" (p. 18). Then, follow this step-by-step...