Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2022 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

Launched at Last On Christmas Day, 2021, astronomers got a gift they’d wanted for a long time—a big, new space telescope. After 25 years of hard work and setbacks, the James Webb Space Telescope finally launched into space and headed toward its permanent home on the far side of the Moon. The giant telescope will collect light from distant stars with 18 gold-plated mirrors. The mirrors join together like a honeycomb. To fit into the launch rocket, the telescope’s mirrors were folded up. So launching was just the first challenge. Once the telescope was out in space, it had to unfold each big mirror piece and latch them into position. The telescope also unfolded a giant shade that protects it from the sun. All these tricky moves went off without…

Some kinds of fungus like to infect insects, including mosquitoes and bugs that eat crops. Scientists think this might make fungi a great natural pesticide. When researchers spread spores of a mosquito-killing fungus in test houses, they later found many fewer mosquitoes there. Unlike bug-killing poisons, fungi can spread on their own and don’t harm people or animals. Scientists hope that studying fungi’s tricks will give them new weapons against all kinds of insect pests.…

Armed with a magnifying glass, pocketknife, and fishing tackle box, mushroom scientist Greg Mueller sets out on a treasure hunt. “I never know what I might find,” he says, striking out along a woodland path at the Chicago Botanic Garden. “And what I find today may be different four days from now.” After decades as a mycologist (a scientist who studies fungi), Mueller knows that mushrooms are here-today, gone-tomorrow treasures. He jokes about becoming a geologist some day, “because rocks never move.” But he isn’t really discouraged. He knows that forests are full of fungi. A World of Fungi Fungi (one fungus, many fungi) are living things that are not animals or plants. They take many forms. They include the yeast that makes bread rise, the fuzzy mold on an…

Build a Planet Fungi are very ancient. They have been around for at least 800 million years—possibly longer. Fungi were among the first living things to move out of the ocean to live on land. Lichens are still often the first life to colonize new volcanic islands and bare rock. They break up rocks to make soil, so plants can later grow. Eat Them Mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of fungus, and like other fruits, many are good to eat. Edible mushrooms are high in protein and vitamins, and many people find them tasty. TASTY TREATS Truffles The world’s most expensive mushrooms are truffles. These lumpy balls are the fruit of fungi that grow around tree roots. Truffles have a strong, musky flavor that some people (and animals) find irresistibly…

In the early 1900s, hopeful foresters planted hundreds of pine seeds in western Australia. The seeds soon sprouted. But the seedlings grew only a few inches tall. Then they stopped growing, turned yellow, and died. The sickly pine seedlings puzzled the foresters. Vegetables and flowers planted in the same soil grew well. And pine trees grew fine in other parts of Australia. None of the dying seedlings had any diseases or parasites. None of them showed signs of insect attack. One team, led by S. L. Kessell, tried planting seeds in different seasons. They gave some seedlings more water. They tried shading some seedlings during the hottest weather. But none of these changes helped. The seedlings still died. They next tested the soil—it seemed fine. Still, they tried adding different…

Humongous Fungus by Lynne Boddy This excellent guide to fungus covers all the basics: what fungi are, how they work, their history, and all the fun things they can do. A great book for anyone who has fallen in love with fungi and wants to know all their secrets. Plus the pictures are very beautiful! The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel Elise Gravel likes to write funny books about all sorts of odd creatures. She also loves mushrooms. So she wrote a book about some of her favorites, and hunting for them in the woods. She draws her mushrooms with little eyes, so they look extra jolly. A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer A great oak tree stands in a forest. One day, a storm blows it over—but that…

Is it OK to eat those white mushrooms in the front yard that look just like the ones from the store? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! Although some wild mushrooms are delicious, many others are poisonous and can cause sickness or even death. And many deadly mushrooms look exactly like harmless ones. The only way to know if a mushroom is safe is to have an expert identify it (or to buy it from the grocery store). An expert will look at its shape, color, stem, gills, spores, and other characteristics. There is no danger in touching poisonous mushrooms—they are only harmful if eaten. Just remember, NEVER taste even a tiny bit. As mushroom expert Mueller says: “No mushroom in the world is so delicious that people should risk their lives eating a…

In a forest in Thailand, a Camponotus ant crawls around the forest floor. She does not know it, but she’s doomed to become a zombie. A few days ago, while she was foraging for food, a fungal spore stuck to her leg. Spores in fungi work like seeds in plants. As the spore began to grow, it pierced the ant’s hard exoskeleton. Now it spreads through the rest of her body. Over several days, the fungus releases chemicals that change how the ant behaves. Thin fungus threads, called hyphae, grow around the ant’s muscles. When the fungus is ready to reproduce, the ant’s transformation into a zombie will be complete. The fungus releases chemicals that give the ant an urge to climb up a plant and bite into the underside…

Dear Pluck and Sis, I have an idea. Sometime could you do a magazine about sea creatures that aren’t known as fish? Seahorses for instance. I think that they are more interesting than normal fish. Thanks! Evelyn L., Illinois Dear Evelyn, Why are some fish not called fish, like seahorses and sharks, while other creatures are called fish that aren’t fish at all, like jellyfish, which are cnidarians, or starfish, which are echinoderms? The whole name situation is very fishy, if you ask me. But seahorses are fascinating, whatever they are called. We call ours “Bob.” Swimmingly, Puck and Sis Dear Marvin, Have you tried putting rockets on your skateboard? Sincerely, Lyle, Virginia Dear Lyle, Battery powered skateboards are pretty swift, but rockets would be way cooler. As soon as…