Science World articles from September 2008

Science World archives from September 2008

Splat!(GRAPH IT/AMPHIBIANS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Roads can be a deathtrap for animals trying to hop, fly, or crawl across the blacktop. To find out just how dangerous roadways are for wildlife, scientists from Purdue University in Indiana took on a gross job. For...

Vanishing act.(SPACE/PLANETS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] During the last couple of years, astronomers have noticed Saturn's rings appearing to grow thinner and thinner. But the rings, made up of billions of tiny ice particles, aren't really going anywhere. As Saturn...

Bigmouth bats.(GRAPH IT/SOUND)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Researchers have crowned the greater bulldog bat the loudest known flying animal; it can shriek 100 times louder than a rock concert. Bulldog bats use their intense cries to echolocate, or bounce sound waves off objects to locate food and...

Seashells in the desert.(EARTH/ROCKS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Scientists have long debated how Egyptians built the Great Pyramids more than 4,000 years ago. Did workers carve stones into blocks and then hoist them into place? Or did they create the slabs on the spot by pouring...

Safe to drink?(LIFE/HEALTH)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Just how safe is your water bottle? Scientists are taking a closer look at hard polycarbonate plastics like those used to make reusable water and baby bottles and the lining of food cans. That's because these products contain a chemical called...

Catching zzz's.(LIFE/ANIMAL BEHAVIOR)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Slow-moving sloths get a bad rap for being lazy. In captivity, these animals can spend two thirds of the day dozing. But not so in the wild. Scientists used portable electroencphalograms (instruments that detect...

Ancient chute.(PHYSICAL/FORCES)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian painter of the Mona Lisa, first dreamed up the idea of drifting through the sky with a parachute more than 500 years ago. Recently, a Swiss skydiver made a successful 610-meter...

Number in the news.(SCIENCE NEWS)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... 31,500,000,000 square meters is the size of the world's largest lake, Scientists discovered that global warming is causing Siberia's Lake Baikal to heat up, affecting its unique plant and wildlife species. 50,000 dollars to name a worm?...

Submerged city: is it only a matter of time before a nightmare storm strikes New York City?(EARTH: HURRICANES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Howling winds rush between New York City's skyscrapers, shattering windows and uprooting trees. A 7.6 meter (25 foot) wall of water sweeps over Lower Manhattan, submerging the financial district and popular...

Hands-on science: no lab required.
September 1, 2008... After reading "Submerged City" (p. 8), try this activity to learn what helps protect a building during a hurricane. PREDICT Does a building's design affect how well it withstands a hurricane? MATERIALS pencil * graph paper *...

The scoop on oil.(EARTH: NATURAL RESOURCES)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If you've pulled into a gas station lately, then you know drivers are forking over more cash than ever to fill their tanks. What's fueling the recordhigh gasoline prices? The world's ever-increasing demand for...

Bionic animals: learn how high-tech prosthetics fop animals are helping humans.(LIFE: BODY SYSTEMS)
September 1, 2008... A Dolphin named Winter lost her tail in a crab trap. Motala the elephant stepped on a landmine. Beauty the eagle had her beak shot off. In the wild, this dolphin, elephant, and eagle would probably die. But in each of these cases, kind people...

I want that job! Vickie Kloeris is a food scientist. It's her job to put food on astronauts' plates while they're in orbit.(CAREERS)(Interview)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... WHAT IS YOUR JOB? I work for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). I am the manager of food systems for the International Space Station (ISS). SO YDU ARE A FOOD SCIENTIST? Yes, I develop foods and plan meals...

Whiz kid: a teen uses his science smarts to develop a card game based on chemistry.(PHYSICAL: CHEMISTRY)(Anshul Samar's Elementeo)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While most other teenagers were hanging out at the mall or playing ball outside, Anshul Samar spent his free time thinking about ways to combine fun and education, and whether he could start a company based on that....

Flipped feet.(GROSS OUT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] She wears shoes, just like most people. But unlike the average person, Wang Feng puts her footwear on in the opposite direction. That's because the 27-year-old from Chongqing, China, was born with feet that point...

Mystery photo.(YOU CAN DO IT)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S THIS? Hint: This engineering marvel made its debut at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. ANSWERS Ferris wheel

What causes you to blush?(ASK)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... Your body automatically reacts to feeling embarrassed, self-conscious, or nervous. Thumb-size glands on top of each kidney produce adrenaline, which is a hormone, or chemical messenger that regulates body functions. Adrenaline makes you alert...

Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A farmer raises pigs and chickens on his farm. While cleaning out his pigpen and chicken coop, the farmer noticed that altogether, his animals had a total of 24 legs and 12 wings. How many pigs and chickens does the...

Perpendicular parking?(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... EXPLAIN THIS! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ANSWERS No, a car did not really smash into the sidewalk. Last April, this creative sculpture designed by an advertising company to promote an online company made a visual impact in Berlin,...

Teacher to teacher.(Brief article)
September 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Tips for using Science World in the classroom Melinda Mills, this issue's contributor and a Iongtime Science World subscriber, suggests: One excellent way to get the most out of the magazine is to create...

Science news.(CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING)
September 1, 2008... DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 3 to 7. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letters of the correct answers below. 1. Saturn's rings are made up of (A) clouds of hot gases. (B) billions of tiny ice...

Oil aboard!(CHART-READING SKILLS)
September 1, 2008... In "The Scoop on Oil" (p. 12), you learned that the United States regularly imports oil from foreign countries, and oil tankers are usually used to deliver the crude oil to our shores. Although all oil tankers are jumbo, some classes of tankers...

Build a bionic foot.(HANDS-ON ACTIVITY)
September 1, 2008... In "Bionic Animals" (p. 16), you learned about animal prosthetics. Now, try your hand at creating an artificial foot for a perching bird that has lost its foot. MATERIALS: cardstock * scissors * glue stick * 1 plastic straw * metric...

Eye-popping discovery.(PHYSICAL/LIGHT)(shrimps)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mantis shrimp have oddball vision. Turns out, they can see a type of light no other animal has been known to detect. Light waves are made of vibrating particles called photons. Mantis shrimp see a special type of...

Milky way remapped.(SPACE/GALAXIES)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Astronomers have created a new map of the Milky Way galaxy that changes the way we look at our galactic neighborhood. The Milky Way is a collection of more than 200 billion stars, including our sun. It was long...

Baby talk.(LIFE/ANIMAL BEHAVIOR)(crocodile babies)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... Call them crybabies, but yelling out for mom from inside their eggs could ensure baby crocodiles' survival. A new study has found that the unborn reptiles sound off to tell their mother and siblings it's time to hatch. Researchers from...

Numbers in the news.(SCIENCE NEWS)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... 130,000,000 is the number of bikes produced in 2007--more than twice the number of cars made during the same year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 1,500,000-to-1 is the ratio of bugs to people, The Insectarium, the largest museum in the U.S....

The path to a winning science project.(INTRODUCTION)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... This Science World game can put you on the path to science-fair success! Place a game piece (a coin will do) on the START. Then, follow each squarer's directions to move your piece toward a super science-fair idea. START 1 Any...

Breathe easy: one teen's science project helped pass a law to protect people from invisible danger.(LIFE SCIENTIFIC METHOD)(Otana Jakpor's research on air purifiers)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WINNING SCIENCE PROJECT GUIDE True or false: An air purifier can help you breathe easier. You might think the answer is a no-brainer, especially since advertisers claim that these machines improve air quality....

Chill out: in a world filled with worries over global warming, one teen searches for ways to help cities keep their cool.(EARTH WRITE A PROCEDURE)(Ryan Wham)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WINNING SCIENCE PROJECT GUIDE It seemed like climate change was on everyone's mind. Ryan Wham felt surrounded by news stories about global warming. After watching former Vice President Al Gore's documentary about...

Crime tracker: one teen used police methods to sleuth out a contaminant that lurks on paper money.(PHYSICAL: ORGANIZE YOUR FINDINGS)(Connor Ivens)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WINNING SCIENCE PROJECT GUIDE Two years ago, Connor Ivens was stumped for an idea for a science-fair project. The eighth-grader from Newaygo, Michigan, flipped through numerous books on the topic, but he didn't...

Bear market?(YOU CAN DO IT)(Giant Panda)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] EXPLAIN THIS Explain This: No, these pandas are not the latest offering on the pet market. The endangered species can't be sold because they are highly protected by law. Today, approximately 1,600 pandas remain...

Why does a bee die once it has stung someone?(ASK Science World)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... Honeybees die after stinging someone because, unlike other bees, a honeybee's stinger is lined with barbs that cause it to lodge in a person's flesh. When the bee pulls free, the stinger rips out some of its internal organs and the bee dies....

Tease your brain.(YOU CAN DO IT)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... The weight of one brick equals one pound plus the weight of half a brick. How many pounds would two bricks weigh? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Four pounds

Science fair 101.
September 15, 2008... In "Breathe Easy" (p. 6), you learned about the basic parts of a science project. Test your understanding by completing this worksheet. Part A: Vocabulary Check DIRECTIONS: Match the word(s) in the left column with the correct phrase...

Recipe for a successful experiment.(CRITICAL-THINKING SKILLS)(Brief article)
September 15, 2008... In "Chill Out" (p. 10), you learn about the importance of writing clear steps for an experiment. This activity will help you hone your procedure-writing skills. YOUR MISSION: Write a procedure for making a root-bear float. PART A:...

Your guide to a winning display.(TABLES, CHARTS, AND GRAPHS)
September 15, 2008... 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 "Crime Tracker' on p. 13. Then, follow this step-by-step...