Goings Online
Impact of asteroids and meteorites on Earth
The Earth Impact Database website lists impact structures around the world which are the result of meteorites and asteroids striking the Earth. Data are available on 169 craters in the world. Criteria are listed for determining whether or not a geological feature is formed from an impact of an asteroid or meteorite. General information on meteorites supplement the description on the website.
The greatest engineering achievements
The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century website lists the top twenty achievements of the 20th century. The Top 10 include: electrification, automobile, airplane, water supply and distribution, electronics, radio and television, agricultural mechanization, computers, telephone, and air conditioning and refrigeration. Each of these achievements is described further on the website. For example, the first minicomputer kit shown in the 1975 issue of Popular Electronics was the Altair 8800.
Learn about energy
Energy Quest, the energy education website of the California Energy Commission, is geared for elementary and middle school students. The site’s goal is to show how energy is an integral part of daily life, and to teach an "energy ethic" to conserve finite resources. Energy Quest may spur creativity and imagination. Teacher resources, news, and other activities are available at the website.
Why we should listen to frog calls
Frog Calls are featured on this website as well as documentary video clips of scientists discussing frog issues such as the declining amphibians and malformed frogs. Watch a video or read a transcript of the documentary. The videos can be viewed only with Windows Media Video (wmv) unless a Mac has installed a program such as Flip4Mac.
Why is Earth's core so hot?
The solid core of Earth is about the same size as Pluto. There is an solid inner core and a liquid outer core, and together they are about half the size of the entire planet. The temperature at the core is between 7,000 and 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Why is it so hot? The answer involves radioactivity. To get a full explanation, listen to a podcast or read a transcript on NASA's The Space Place website. This site is intended for elementary-aged children.
Update on sea ice melt
Sea ice in the Arctic has melted substantially in the last thirty years. Sea ice also reflects sunlight keeping polar regions cool and moderating global climate. The status of sea ice in the Arctic is monitored daily and reported with a one-day lag on the Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis website. The status of sea ice melting is also available for previous years on this site.
The June sky at a glance
The June Solstice occurs at 1:46 AM EDT on June 21, as the Sun reaches its greatest celestial declination north. By convention, it is the first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. For the former, it is the day with the longest period of daylight. However, due to the Earth's inclination and the eccentricity of its orbit, the date of earliest sunrise is around a week earlier and the latest sunset is around a week later than the solstice. In Boston, for example, the earliest sunrise occurs at 5:07 AM EDT on June 14, while the latest sunset occurs at 8:25 PM EDT on June 27. Also in the June sky, look for the moon phases, the evening planet (Saturn), five morning planets, and meteors - but no comets. Find out more about the Night Sky on the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics website.
Listen to Nature
More than 150,000 sounds made by animals from all over the world can be heard online at the British Library Sound Archive. Browse the collection by location, animal group, or habitat. The web site includes birds, insects, mammals, and soundscapes.
Plant photo of the day
The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden website features a photo of a new plant each day with a description of interesting characteristics. The photo can be enlarged and printed for hanging if desired. Previous photos and information are available, as are images for free download as desktop wallpaper. A special section for kids is also available on the website.
Biological resource data
The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a broad, collaborative program to provide increased access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. The NBII Program is managed by the US Geological Survey's Biological Informatics Office. Keep current on topics such as developments on protected lands, the white-nose syndrome in bats, and Asian influenza; view an image library and aquatic data as well. A kid's page is included with activities.
West Nile Virus 2009
The West Nile Virus was first isolated in 1937 in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. It reached New York City in 1999. It has since been reported in forty-six states and has caused illness in 9,800 people. The virus is transmitted by mosquito bites but is not contagious from person to person. There is no treatment or vaccine for it. The United States Geological Service Disease Maps website has background information and a list of frequently asked questions; keep progress of the disease at this website.
Corals, hydroids, and jellyfish
A group of animals that consist mostly of clear, gelatinous material are known as Siphonophores and include corals, hydroids and jellyfish. They are colonial, exceedingly fragile and break up easily, many are bioluminescent, capture prey using their tentacles, and some are as long as 130 feet. There are two types of Siphonophores, the Medusae such as the jellyfish, and the Polyps, such as the sea anemone. Learn more about colonial organization, life cycle, body plan, and more at the Siphonophores website.
Worldwide volcano monitoring
The Puff-Volcanic Ash Tracking Model website predicts future activity for volcanoes all over the world. Look up current watches (January 2009) of volcanic activity. The website was created by the University of Alaska.
The Hayden Planetarium
The Hayden Planetarium operates out of the Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History. Its mission is to bring the frontier of astrophysics to the public via exhibits, books, public programs, and on-line resources. Watch a video on astrophysics, download a 3-D atlas of the universe from the website, or read about the recent (4/6/2009) crash of asteroids online.
Carbon Tracker
Carbon Tracker is a system that calculates carbon dioxide uptake and release at the surface of the Earth over time. It incorporates measurements taken from about sixty locations around the world. The website was created by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Learn about climate change, ozone depletion, and air quality on the website, and learn answers to questions such as "what is the greenhouse effect?" and "what is the carbon cycle?" and much more.
The world of DNA
Learn the facts about DNA and its many applications on the DNA Interactive website. Free registration on the site allows access many other resources for educators. The web site is loaded with graphics; download a teacher's guide with lesson plans for use in the classroom. Plans include objectives, national education standards, student worksheets, and more.
Fun features of science education
Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki of Australia has a web page full of educational and entertaining aspects of science. He looks into the ancient world, environment and nature, and space and astronomy. Did you know that ants carry an internal GPS in their antenna? Why do cats land on their feet? These and may other topics are discussed, some in depth. There is a teachers section which includes activities, lesson plans, resources and ideas, as well as a section for kids.
Blackholes relentless pull
The Black Holes website illustrates how black holes form and their relentless force of gravity. Take a journey to a black hole, and explore black holes in depth using the encyclopedia.
The dirt on dirt in gardens
The Science of Gardening is a colorful Exploratorium website illustrating the science of garden plants with photos and videos. Learn the secret life of flowers, bask in the beauty of the dahlia (photo), watch a Venus flytrap catch an insect, or click on any vegetable plant in a collection to get the background on the plant and get the dirt on dirt! This web site enhances interest in gardens and garden plants.
Poles in Space
The areas around the North and South Poles of planets, moons, and even the Sun are interesting and unusual places. Poles in Space is part of a section on "Windows to the Universe" website funded by NASA. Information and images of polar regions including Saturn's northern polar hexagon and southern polar vortex, methane lakes around Titan's North Pole, northern lights around poles of Jupiter and Saturn, and polar ice caps on Mars can be explored. The information can be viewed from a beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels of interest.
Ocean motion web site for grades 9-12
The ocean is in constant motion. Winds drive currents on the ocean surface and these currents in turn mix down into the ocean depths. Satellites provide data on ocean color, sea height, temperature, winds, speed and direction of currents, and about heat stored in the ocean. Remember the hundreds of sneakers that washed ashore along the Pacific Northwest in winter of 1990-1991? The phenomenon is explained by ocean currents. The NASA website Ocean Montion and Surface Currents contains a comprehensive review of the surface circulation of Earth's ocean and classroom investigations appropriate for various disciplines in high school. The site features a toolbox of satellite and model data, quick evaluation quizzes, and a timeline of ocean explorers to inspire investigation of ocean surface current patterns and how they relate to issues of navigation, weather/climate, natural hazards and marine resources.
Ocean surface features from space
On the Ocean Surface Topography from Space site, the latest information on the ocean is available, updated every 2 weeks. The Sea Level Viewer is a new feature at the web site. Besides views, there are resources available on weather, climate, and oceanic science. There are sections on "stuff for kids," altimeter basics, posters, CDs, and class activities. Background information on La Niña (1999), Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), Katrina hurricane (2005), and El Niño (1997). are reviewed and illustrated.
Ask a scientist
Scientists at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have a web page where they answer questions sent in by viewers. A list of questions and answers by category are listed. For example, what is the difference between stem cells generated from an 8-celled embryo and cells from an inner cell mass? (part answer: the inner cells give rise to an entire embryo). Or, how can scientists tell the difference between fresh and salt-water fossils? (One answer is to determine isotopes of oxygen). How can scientists tell whether fossil bones came from a dinosaur or some other animal? (mainly shape and size). Did fire-breathing dragons ever exist? The web page has sections also on science fair projects, homework help, personal health, and science careers.
Australian fire smoke goes up 12 miles
Bushfires in Australia during early February 2009 produced smoke plumes that reached an altitude of 20 kilometers (12 miles) which is unusually high and the smoke penetrated the lower part of the stratosphere according to Jennifer Collings at the NASA Langley Research Center. Smoke from wildfires usually reaches up to the lower troposphere. The CALIPSO satellite orbiting Earth recorded the rapid dispersal of smoke; CALIPSO can distinguish between smoke particles and cloud particles.and can also detect vertical distribution and altitude. Smoke particles are smaller than cloud particles and have a different shape. The altitude of smoke particles is important because if they reach the lower stratosphere, they can persist for weeks and travel far and can have an effect on cloud duration which in turn can affect climate.
Study of cells
The Virtual Cell Animation Collection was developed to introduce students to new concepts about cells. Processes can be viewed as still images or as a movie (movies require Windows). The site was created by North Dakota State University with funding from the National Science Foundation and others.
Molecular logic
MOLO is a Molecular Logic Project designed to improve the ability of students to understand fundamental biological phenomena in terms of interactions of atoms and molecules. More than 100 models of chemical and biological phenomena can be accessed from the database and software can be downloaded. Many activities guide students through the activity, challenge solving problems, and answering questions. Links to other models are also included on the website.
Flying snakes
Flying snakes are classified in a small group of tree snakes that live in south and southeast Asia. They are able to jump from tree to tree by flattening their entire bodies and gliding or parachuting to another tree or to the ground. The Flying Snake Homepage includes snake portraits, aerial images, and movies.
Frog Calls
A "webumentary" sponsored by the Chicago Herpetology Society can be found on the Frog Calls website. Included are documentary video clips of scientists discussing frog issues, declining amphibian populations, malformed frogs, and more.
Animations for physics and astronomy
The Animations for Physics and Astronomy website includes a catalog of nine animations: astronomy, mechanics, vectors, electricity and magnetism, waves, optics, modern physics, thermodynamics, and miscellaneous items. Most animations are 512 by 384 pixel avi files and are generally several megabytes long. Small screenshots are provided, and the user may view the animation in three different ways. There are two methods used to embed the animation because not all work equally well with any one method. The Firefox browser with quicktime is recommended. Download and save an animation to your own computer. The website is sponsored by Penn State Schuylkill.
European prehistory art show
RuroPreArt aims to establish a lasting database of European Prehistoric Art documentation. The purpose is to launch the base of a European institutional network devoted to this domain, and to contribute to the awareness of the diversity and richness of European Prehistoric Art, as one of the oldest artistic expression of humankind. The project focuses on selected clusters, from rock art to mobile art, from Palaeolithic to the Iron Age, from old stored records to modern field work studies.
Natural Hazards Gateway
In the United States each year, natural hazards cause hundreds of deaths and cost tens of billions of dollars in disaster aid, disruption of commerce, and destruction of homes and critical infrastructure. Seven natural hazards facing the nation are earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanoes, and wildfires. The Natural Hazards Gateway website includes fact sheets for each of these hazards produced by the US Geological Survey. Resources by school grade are downloadable for each kind of hazard for use in the classroom. For example, there are schoolyard geology projects and teacher packets available on the site.
Math Knowledge
PlanetMath.org aims to help make mathematical knowledge more accessible. PlanetMath's content is created collaboratively: the main feature is the mathematics encyclopedia with entries written and reviewed by members. There also are books, expositions, papers, and forums on the site. Basic mathematics continues through algebra, trigonometry, geometry, and calculus.
Bioluminescence is a marine event
Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction in an organism. It can be expected anytime and in any region or depth in the sea. Its most common occurrence to the sailor is in the often brilliantly luminescent bow wave or wake of a surface ship. In these instances the causal organisms are almost always dinoflagellates, single-cell algae, often numbering many hundreds per liter. Organisms are mechanically excited to produce light by the ship's passage or even by the movement of porpoises and smaller fish. Bioluminescence is essentially absent (with a few exceptions) in fresh water; it is mainly a marine event. On land it is most often seen as glowing fungus on wood (called foxfire), or in the few families of luminous insects. Read about the controversial discovery of an angler jellyfish—a siphonophore which uses light to lure fish. View a sighting of "milky seas" on Earth from space. All this can be found on the Bioluminescence webpage.
Threatened animals of the world
The Wasmoeth Wildlife Foundation (TWWF) was established in 2001 to help save some of the world’s animal species most threatened with extinction, such as the African elephant, the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and the macaw. Many of the threats to such species are caused by the actions of human beings. People cut down forests to clear land for crops or to build houses. In such places, TWWF works to relocate animals where they can live in peace. People poach animals, even threatened species such as the gorilla and African elephant, to sell the meat as a delicacy. TWWF tries to find other ways for these hunters to earn a living, for example, by finding crops for them to grow for cash. Learn more about this project on the website.
Mars Global Surveyor discoveries
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station on November 7, 1996, and was successfully put into orbit around Mars on September 12, 1997. On January 31, 2001, MGS completed the mapping phase of the mission, which lasted one Martian year (two Earth years). On November 2, 2006, mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft, ending the mission. However, the Thermal Emmision Spectrometer (TES) instrument on the Surveyor systematically measured and monitored the Martian surface and atmosphere throughout all phases of the mission. Fifteen major discoveries using TES are listed at on the website and include the discovery of hematite, igneous activity comparable to that on Earth, carbonate mineral formation, the first systematic study of Martian weather, global dust storms, and more.
Development of the dolphin
Dolphins, whales and porpoises are among the few mammals that have permanently exchanged the land environment for life in the water. The Digital Library of Dolphin Development website contains anatomical and morphological images of embryos and fetuses of the spotted dolphin. The embryos vary in length from approximately 4 mm (approximate age is three weeks after fertilization) to more than 10 cm (approximate is age four months). As such, this embryological series documents the complete development of all major organs in a dolphin.
Gallery of fluid motion
The award-winning photographs and videos on the Physics of Fluid website were selected from the Annual Gallery of Fluid Motion exhibit held at the annual meeting of the American Physical Society. The photographs and videos illustrate both experimental and numerical investigations of a variety of flow phenomena. Watch a video of a black hole nucleation in a splash of milk and other videos.
A portal to all living things
The Discover Life website has access to all plants and animals of the world. Go to the gallery and click on a photo of one of the forms of life and get its name and classification, natural history, distribution, abundance, and ecology. Everything from amphibians, to birds, mammals, fish, insects, snails, molds, plants, and more can be viewed. Browse by scientific name if desired. Other features include a list of guides, and resources and lesson plans for teachers.
What can tree rings tell us?
Tree-ring dating, known also as dendrochronology, has a variety of applications. A gallery of photos of trees and their rings can be viewed online at the Ultimate Tree-Ring Web Pages; some were used specifically in tree-ring research. The website may be useful for Arbor Day activities (April 24) with its list of conferences and events, books and other resources.
Microbiological Gardens
View photos of bacteria and fungi in the kitchen, on the skin, and in the lake at the Microbiological Garden. See many other microbes including yeasts and protozoa under the microscope. Watch how they swim. Some microbes cause diseases of humans, plants, and animals.
The Human Journey from the start
Where do we really come from and how did we get to where we live today? DNA studies suggest that all humans today descended from a group of African ancestors who—about 60,000 years ago—began a remarkable journey. The Genographic Project explores the migratory history of the human species by analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. Follow the atlas of the human journey. Trace the history in the Globe of Human History. A wealth of information is provided by the National Geographic Society site.
Why study the Sun?
The Sun is a source of light and heat. It is the source of solar winds; their disturbance shakes up the Earth's magnetic field and influences weather. The Sun is a star and it produces energy by nuclear fusion. Get an overview of solar physics, current and future projects of NASA involving the Sun, and keep up-to-date on future missions. Read news stories about the Sun such as how round the Sun is, super solar flares, the sun bristles with X-ray jets, and solar crown prominences. Visit Marshall Space Flight Center's Solar Physics site.
Satellite image of the day
Using its satellites, NASA has captured images of Earth on land, atmosphere, ocean, snow and ice, and much more. New images are posted every day or two on the Earth Observatory website. The photo above is a previous image of dust plumes blowing off the coast of Saudi Arabia on January 15, 2009. Past images from 1999 to 2009 can be retrieved via an index.
Current food security conditions
Information gathered from a large network of in-country obervers and from satellite observations has been synthesized to reveal food security conditions and weather hazards in Africa, Central Asia (Afghanistan), Central America (Guatemala), and the Caribbean (Haiti). A time line showing the seasonal calender of crop planting, crop prospects, and weather hazards is illustrated for each country or region. This Web site comprises a wealth of information on current food conditions in critical parts of the world, available at http://www.fews.net.
Historic Polar Images
The Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge has a collection of photographs illustrating polar exploration from 1845 to 1982. Freeze Frame is the result of a two-year digitization project that brings together photographs from both Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. Discover the polar regions through the eyes of the explorers and scientists. Detailed catalog entries are provided for each image; all image captions are taken from original sources, where known. Browse through thousands of photos of more than twenty expeditions date, expedition or photographer, or by searching the content directly.
Beyond the Arctic Circle
Explore resource use, land rights, and cultural identity in the land beyond the Arctic Circle. Norman Chance, a retired anthropologist, has prepared the site with links to exhibits, news articles, reports, and essays. Read about European explorers such as Henry Hudson, whose hunt for the mythical Northwest Passage provoked his crew to mutiny, and hear native views of colonization and its dismal aftereffects. Chance delves into controversial topics such as drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and plans to build part of a national missile defense system in Alaska. Asyllabus for classroom use is included on the website.
Mitochondria are energy cells
All living cells have mitochondria. Mitochondria are the energy factories of cells. The energy currency for the work that animals must do is the energy-rich molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The ATP is produced in the mitochondria using energy stored in food. Just as the chloroplasts in plants act as sugar factories for the supply of ordered molecules to the plant, the mitochondria in animals and plants act to produce the ordered ATP molecules as the energy supply for the processes of life. A typical animal cell will have approximately 1,000 to 2,000 mitochondria. Learn more about mitochondria on the HyperPhysics webpage hosted by the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Georgia State University.
The science hobbyist
The Science Hobbyist webpage features a great variety of topics on amateur and cool science, and even some weird science! Electronics, science toys and demonstrations, science fair ideas, magnetic levitation, are other topics described. There are several videos showing how to do some experiments such as making liquid nitrogen and making a bottle flatten in a microwave oven.
Celebrate Arbor Day on April 24
Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care. National Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872, and it is celebrated on the last Friday in April (April 24, 2009).The Arbor Day Foundation website contains much useful information, such as ideas for celebration in classrooms, history of arbor day, exploration, activities and downloads for teachers, and an online guide to tree identification.
Sun-Earth Day: 2009
Access NASA's Space Weather Media Viewer to view images of the sun, solar winds, solar fusion, coronal mass ejections, sunspots, solar cycles, and much more. An amazing view just got better - many of the images that appear in the new and improved viewer are "near-real time" and come from a variety of NASA Missions. Find information about Sun-Earth Day: 2009 (March 20, 2009) on this website as well.
Wild Things: Life as we know it
When two mosquitoes of the opposite sex approach each other, they synchronize the beating of their wings to create a unique love song. Watch a video and hear the sounds of this process on the Smithsonian.com website. Also view New Zealand flightless birds, pink lizards, and more "wild things."
Fascinating devices
The Museum of Unworkable Devices website is a collection of fascinating devices that don't work. It houses diverse examples of the perverse genius of inventors who refused to let their thinking be intimidated by the laws of nature, remaining optimistic in the face of repeated failures. Watch and be amazed as eccentric and even intricate perpetual motion machines that have remained steadfastly unmoving since their inception are revealed! Marvel at the ingenuity of the human mind, as it reinvents the square wheel in all of its possible variations. Exercise your mind to puzzle out exactly why they don't work as the inventors intended, and see what happens when principles of physics are ignored.
Listen to sounds of nature
About 400 sound recordings from the large collection of the British Library Sound Archive holds more than 150,000 sounds of every animal group, including birds, and habitat from all over the world. To find sounds, search the online catalog. You can listen to any recording on the premises of the British Library, but a selection is accessible from these pages. Listen to the sound recordings on these pages with the Windows Media Player.
Cassini-Huygens Mission Status Report
Cassini completed its four-year planned tour and is now in extended mission operations. The Cassini spacecraft will swap to a backup set of propulsion thrusters in mid-March due to degradation in the performance of the current set of thrusters. The thrusters are used for making small corrections to the spacecraft's course, for some attitude control functions, and for making angular momentum adjustments in the reaction wheels, which also are used for attitude control. The current set of eight thrusters, referred to as branch A, has been in use since Cassini's launch more than eleven years ago. The redundant set, branch B, is an identical set of eight thrusters. Mid-March is the earliest practical opportunity to make the swap. This allows time for the team to properly test and prepare the sequence of commands that will be sent to the spacecraft. Science planners have identified a period where no high-priority science will be lost during the switch, which will be done over a seven-day window. It also is a time when no navigation maneuvers are required to maintain the spacecraft's trajectory. More information on the mission is available on the NASA websites.
Rocks for kids
The Rocks For Kids website is for kids of all ages who love rocks; there is stuff about rocks and minerals and lots of resources. Find out where you can get more rocks, look at some super pictures of rocks, learn how to identify the rocks you already have and discover neat things you can do with rocks. Take a look at what Rockhounds do for a hobby. Information is available for school projects on rocks and minerals. Considerable information is available on how rocks and minerals are formed, identification, experiments, and collections. A teacher's corner is included.
Home for biological information
The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a program to provide access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. The NBII consists of twelve designated regions. Learn about the great diversity of creatures that inhabit the earth. The earth is host to a wide diversity of habitat types, each of which supports its own specialized plant, animal, and microbial species assemblages. The Earth, for example, is host to more than 400,000 documented species of plant life. A toolkit section includes a wide variety of tools and references to facilitate creation of and access to biological information on the Web. This website is administered by the US Geological Survey.
Update on genetic applications
The Genetic Science Learning Center encompasses everything you want to know about DNA, heredity, genetic traits and everything related to these topics. Take an animated tour to learn more about DNA and genes. Learn why researchers are so interested in stem cells, how genetics relate to addiction, or find out how people are tracking their ancestry by using genetic genealogy. Keep current on applications of genetics through this website.
Atmospheric optics
The Atmospheric Optics website has spectacular images of rainbows, halos, glories, coronas, and other images that are the effects of light playing on water drops, dust, or ice crystals in the atmosphere.
Darwin Day celebration
Darwin Day is a global celebration of science and reason held on or around February 12, the birthday of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin. This year marks the 200th anniversary of his birth. The Darwin Day Celebration website has all sorts of information about Charles Darwin and the anniversary celebration; locate Darwin Day programs near you by searching the event section. Resources for hosting Darwin Day events are also available, including promotional support and a list of potential Darwin Day presenters.
Famine Early Warning Systems Network
The goal of the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is to strengthen the abilities of foreign countries and regional organizations to manage risk of food insecurity through the provision of timely and analytical early warning and vulnerability information. The partners to this Network include USAID, NASA, NOAA, USGS, and Chemonics International Inc. USAID has been the principal United States agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. Click on a region for information: Africa, Afghanistan, Central America, Haiti, South Asia, Mexico, Iraq, or USA (rain or dry days, drought, irrigation).
The science behind food and cooking
Learn about the Science of Cooking on this Exploratorium website. What happens when you cook eggs, for example? Proteins in eggs change when you heat them, beat them, or mix them with other ingredients. Find out what makes a pickle a pickle, or how the ingredients in bread-making react chemically with each other in complex ways. What happens when you churn butter? Why do you salt eggplant? The science behind these questions and many others are dealt with on this website.
Naked Scientists report science news
The Naked Scientists online science radio show and science podcast are sponsored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). They use streamed audio and podcast technology to enable hearing science, medicine, and technology news, as well as discoveries and breakthroughs being discussed by scientists and researchers. The Naked Scientists science podcasts include interviews with famous scientists of world-class reputation. This site also contains an online science discussion forum, science, medicine and technology news, medical and health advice, science educational resources including the naked science articles, science experiments, science projects, science fair project ideas, science book reviews, and archived on-demand online internet science radio shows. They are in free podcast MP3 download format or MP4 enhanced podcast format. Check out the website for more information.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide
NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide is in final preparations for a February 23, 2009 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory will provide the first complete picture of human and natural carbon dioxide sources as well as their "sinks," the places where carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored. Of all the carbon humans have added to Earth's atmosphere since the start of the Industrial Revolution, only about forty percent has remained in Earth's atmosphere. About half of the remaining sixty percent can be accounted for in Earth's ocean. The rest must have been absorbed somewhere on land, but scientists cannot yet determine specifically where this is taking place or what controls the efficiency of these land sinks. Scientists refer to this as the "missing" carbon sink. For more information about the Orbiting Carbon Observatory visit the website.
Termites strike at bullet speeds
The Panamanian termite (Termes panamensis) can strike at speeds of 230 feet per second, the fastest mandible strike on record as reported by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. This speed is an advantage when termites fight in close quarters. The termites compress their mandibles together to build up energy like in a coiled spring, and then initiate the strike by releasing their mandibles. See striking termites in a video on Smithsonian.com.
Science bulletins from AMNH
The American Museum of Natrual History (AMNH) provides information online of current research about the natural world. After choosing a topic, choose whether to view text or media version. Topics include: telescopes, gamma-ray bursts, mapping the universe, the moon, interferometry, or asteroids. The video versions have subtitles to read in addition to the audio. Educational resources accompany the story.
About Saturn and its moons
The Cassini spacecraft entered the orbit of Saturn on June 30, 2004. It completed its four-year tour of the Saturn system and has extended its mission in 2009 which is called the Cassini Equinox Mission. The mission now focuses on the largest moon Titan and a video can be watched of the orbiting moons and the Cassini spacecraft. Pertinent information about Saturn and its moons provides background information for the video. Educational materials are available for secondary education, some for grades 5 to 8. A webplayer can be downloaded to watch the video on either Windows or Mac OS X operating systems. The next flyby of Titan will be February 7, 2009. Go to the NASA website for further information.
How viruses are made
Historical highlights, plant viruses, the influenza virus (see photo), polio, and some issues important in science and society are featured on the Viruses from Structure to Biology website, as well as links to illustrations of RNA and DNA viruses. Early on the crystallization of Tobacco mosaic virus in 1935 stimulated work on viruses. Read interviews with notable virologists.
Sixth grader's experiment
A sixth grader showed that navel orangeworms prefer to lay her eggs in pistachios (photo) instead of almonds and walnuts, contrary to earlier findings. Read eleven year-old Gabriel Leal's story of his experiments in the Sacramento Bee online.
The Year of Darwin
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is celebrating in Science magazine the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and the 200th anniversary of the author's birth with a variety of news features, scientific reviews and other special content collected on the website. The portrait of Darwin is by George Richmond from late 1830s. Also visit the Darwin Day website sponsored by Cornell University.
Butterfly site for kids
Look for the appearance, behavior, biology, and more on butterflies and moths. Find answers to frequently asked questions, e.g., are butterflies poisonous? See a gallery of beautiful butterflies from Asia, Europe, North America, and Central America. There is a section of teacher and student learning tools. Read stories of people's experiences with butterflies. Compare interesting life cycles. Visit The Children's Butterfly Site.
How the world works—physics central
What is chaos? Do you know about the little red spot on Jupiter? How is a chromosome put together? What should the president of the United States know about physics? Find answers to these questions and "learn how your world works" at the Physics Central website.
Biomaterials for body parts
The Biomat.net website introduces the latest in development of tissue engineering and use of materials in medical devices. Get the latest news in synthetic biology such as in the development of a fully artificial heart (photo), engineered skin, plastic joints, and more. Access links to events, popular articles, journals, and books that lead to further insights into the world of bioengineering and biomaterials. A free newsletter is also available.