The Evening Standard (London, England) articles from February 2008

The Evening Standard (London, England) archives from February 2008

This month in Odyssey.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Wouldn't it be wonderful if a scientist superhero like the one pictured on our cover could save planet Earth from the effects of global warming, pollution, over-development, depleted resources, and the many other...

Next stop: nuclear.(Science Scoops)
February 1, 2008... Molten-salt reactor. Supercritical water-cooled reactor. Lead-cooled fast reactor. If those sound like names out of a sci-fi movie, think again! They are only three of six super-cool new nuclear power plant designs being researched by the...

Blood power!(Science Scoops)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your heart pumps as much as five quarts of blood per minute through the network of tiny veins in your body. What if that energy could be used to run machines? If you saw the movie The Matrix, you may be imagining...

Trash treats.(Science Scoops)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Vegetarians give up meat. Vegans give up all animal products. Freegans give up money. If you went without your allowance for a few weeks, it would be tough. But what would you think if your parents all of a sudden decided to stop earning a...

Straws, storms, & salps.(Science Scoops)
February 1, 2008... Deep below the surface of the ocean lurks a layer of cold, nutrient-rich water. What would happen if scientists built millions of huge straws to suck up this water and spit it out at the surface? Maybe the measure would halt global warming....

Combating climate change: can China help beat the heat?
February 1, 2008... Competing athletes will likely set new sports records at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. But host country China is already setting a new environmental record. The Beijing games will be the "greenest" Olympics to date. [ILLUSTRATION...

Saving the world begins at home: meet the cools! Can ordinary people like the carbon-neutral family, the cools, help stop global warming?(Cartoon)
February 1, 2008... THE COOLS ARE AM IMAGINARY (BUT TYPICAL) AMERICAN FAMILY, INCLUDING LIBBY AND PETE COOL AND THEIR TEENS, JOHN AND KATHY. THEY ARE LIVING IN THE YEAR 2020 AND ARE USING CUTTING-EDGE SCIENCE (BEING DEVELOPED RIGHT NOW) IN THEIR HOME TO HELP STOP...

And the final jeopardy answer is: "he is the only scientist currently serving in congress." The correct question: "who is Rush Holt?".(People to Discover)(Interview)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] If science can "save the world," what can happen when scientific know-how is backed by political muscle? These two forces are joined in the career of Rush Holt. Serving New Jersey's 12th District in the U.S....

Teens taking the challenge: making the world a better place.
February 1, 2008... There are everyday heroes among us--young people who look at their future and their world and want to make it better. They seek solutions to some of the planet's most vexing problems--disease, hunger, and the eroding environment, to name just a...

One acorn at a time: understanding the spread of infectious diseases.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dutchess County, New York, leads the nation in cases of Lyme disease. The research team of Richard Ostfeld and Felicia Keesing focused on forest patches in the area to show that ecology can help stop the spread of...

Searching for clean water.
February 1, 2008... Don't drink the water; you'll get sick!" That's what people warned us before we traveled last summer in Kenya. Emma, 16, and Abigail, 16, are friends. Emma moved from Richmond, Indiana, to Kenya when her parents took positions as teachers...

Water, water, everywhere?(Activity to Discover)
February 1, 2008... Can science solve the problem of worldwide thirst? Discover three amazing technologies that could help. Then try them yourself! IT'S A SCENE THAT PLAYS OUT DAILY across the globe: villagers, traveling for miles to gather precious water for...

Ending the atmospheric car-nage ... with a car race!
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] BUS ROARING UP A HILL. Horns blasting outside a window. Brakes squealing. Farting trucks. If global warming sounded like something, then it probably sound like the noises made by cars and trucks. The vans and sedans...

Biofuels: fuel for the future or foolishness?
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WE'RE HEADED FOR A DISASTER- GLOBAL WARMING! OR ARE WE HEADED FOR A DIFFERENT DISASTER GLOBAL COOLING? Recognized scientists hotly debate these questions, but there is one thing that everyone agrees on: The...

Can Carl survive?(Brain Strain)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Your pet giraffe, Carl, is buried in the sand alongside the Atlantic Ocean. Only his head sticks up so that he can study the ocean level. The fiendish aliens who buried Carl are about to melt the polar icecaps. What...

Sowing better weather.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] NOT ENOUGH RAIN, power outages from storms, crop damage. Does science have a solution for these problems? Maybe Take a look up the next time you're outside. If you happen to see tall, white, fluffy clouds,...

Gray skies over Utopia.(Short story)
February 1, 2008... JAKE AWOKE IN A STRANGE BED. The sweet smell of antiseptic cleansers engulfed him like an unwanted but reassuring hug. His mind was in a fog. As it lifted, he remembered what had happened to him. Yesterday, Jake had awoken in his own bed....

Wishing on a star.
February 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Imagine a world where water is fuel. Imagine a world where power stations produce, as their only pollution, a harmless gas that makes balloons float. Imagine a world where the energy of the stars is harnessed here on...

Star chart.(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... The monthly All-Sky Chart depicts the sky (minus the Moon) as it appears at 6 p.m. on Feb. 15. Useful all month (except for planet positions), the chart is also accurate for 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 and 5 p.m. on Feb. 29. To use the All-Sky Chart,...

Stargazing with Jack Horkheimer: a great big red star for Valentines Day.(Stargazing)(Cartoon)
February 1, 2008... GREETINGS, GREETINGS, FELLOW STARGAZERS! SINCE THE COLOR RED IS ASSOCIATED WITH VALENTINE'S DAY, I THOUGHT I'D TELL YOU ABOUT A SPECIAL COSMIC RED VALENTINE THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH ALL YOUR LOVED ONES. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IF YOU GO...

Cats & nails.(Ask Dr. Cy Borg)
February 1, 2008... Dear Dr. B, [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Why do male lions have manes but female lions (lionesses) do not? Matthew, Concord, NH Male peacocks have fancy tails, male deer have large antlers, and male lions have manes--all to get the...

You've got mail!
February 1, 2008... In the October 2007 issue in "Science Scoops," we reported that some schools are using the science of biometrics--in this case a finger scanner--to keep track of when and what kids eat in the cafeteria and perhaps even allow parents to monitor...

The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming.(Brief article)(Book review)
February 1, 2008... The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon (Orchard Books, 2007) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Have you ever wondered about global warming? Well, hotter summers, warm winters, and higher water levels...

Poison power.(Animal Angles)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Just look at that beautiful shell. Would this little guy ever hurt anyone? You bet! If you ever go swimming in the Philippines, a country in eastern Asia, you'd better stay away from the cone snails (family Conidae). Packed into this predatory...