Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

April 13 We set sail this morning and are headed to the Antarctic. It was a beautiful day as we traveled through the Magellan Straits. Lots of birds followed us for a bit, and some Commerson’s dolphins zipped alongside the boat. April 17 We arrived at Palmer Station today and got to work unpacking supplies. Palmer Station can house about 46 people. It’s very cozy. Along with icefish team, there are scientists here studying birds, ocean worms, Earth’s magnetic field, ocean microbes, and more. Everyone’s projects are so interesting, I want to check them all out! Tomorrow we head out for our first fishing expedition. April 20 Today we set fish traps. We put a little bait in each. The fish can swim in, but they can’t get out. Then…

Yawn... Yo, Jimmy! Elena H. of Wisconsin asks: Why can’t people sleep with their eyes open? Some people do sleep with their eyes open—sleepwalkers. They can get up, climb stairs, even fix snacks, yet they’re fast asleep. When they wake, they remember nothing. Do they walk around all night? No, usually only about 10 minutes. Scientists still aren’t sure what causes this rare problem. Other people snooze with their eyelids slightly open. In this case, it’s just weak face muscles that prevent their eyelids from closing completely. But most of us sleep with our eyes shut tight. Why? Closed eyelids keep our eyes moist. But there may be more to it than that. Scientists think sleep is a time when the brain sorts and processes the day’s information. So shutting…

What’s so special about the red stuff? Try this: press two fingers gently against the side of your neck, below your chin. Feel the little thump-thump? That’s your heart pumping blood through your veins. Your blood is always on the move. Once every minute it travels all the way around your body and back again to your heart. Your heart pumps all that blood around. Today, every school kid knows that. But for thousands of years, even the greatest doctors in the world didn’t know why the heart beat or what flowed through the body’s many tubes. (Some thought veins also carried air or even your spirit.) What goes on inside the human body was just as mysterious as the stars. Gladiator School That’s really not too surprising, once you stop…

You’re going to need some blood. Preferably, blood as fake as your vampire’s removable fangs. Real blood is no good. It starts to clump and thicken the minute it meets air. Plus it smells, attracts flies, and is hard to clean up. And, eeewww! So what’s a poor actor to do? In the early days of movies, before color film was invented, the favorite fake blood was chocolate syrup! Filmed in black and white, it looks just like blood. Modern movie magicians buy their fake blood by the gallon from special effects companies. There’s blood specially made for spattering, or sword fights, or a fake bloody nose. It even comes in green. But for home theatricals, it’s easy to make your own splendid gore. Here’s one favorite recipe you can…

It’s a warm summer day, perfect for a dip in the pond. But when you come out of the water, you notice a small, worm-like creature stuck to your foot. As you watch, it swells in size—filling up with your blood. Congratulations! You’ve just met a leech. Don’t worry, it won’t drink much. Meet the Blood Eaters The leech in your pond, like mosquitoes and vampire bats, is a hematophage, which means “blood eater.” Eating blood might seem unusual to us—and maybe a bit icky—but for some insects and animals, it’s a clever way to get a good meal full of protein without the trouble of hunting. Blood eaters prefer to be sneaky, not scary. Some, like vampire bats, hunt at night when their prey is asleep. They nip gently,…