Wintering Mosquitoes
Where do mosquitos go in the winter? (Some freeze then thaw out, some hide in warm places.)
Big Dipper
How big is the Big Dipper? (size of 50 full moons or 276 trillion miles, depending)
Pudgy Pets
The National Research Council released a report on pet nutrition and obesity.
Fall Roundup
Bright leaves warn bugs away; the Òhot plateÓ -- a new, high-tech rain and snow gauge
Old Beer
Does beer go bad, or does it age like a fine wine? (most beers don't go bad, but the taste suffers... some high alcohol beers age well)
Herpes Vaccine
A large-scale trial of a herpes vaccine that only works in women
Tracking Crickets
Entomologists use tiny radio transmitters to track Mormon cricket outbreak
Forgive and Reject
Rejection really hurts, and a conference on the science of forgiveness
Root Beer Foam
Why does root beer foam when you drop ice cream into it? (the protein in ice cream stabilizes the bubbles in root beer -- so they act just like the …
HIV Hibernation
A way to flush out and kill HIV virus particles hiding in immune cells.
Hybrid Lighting
Research on hybrid lighting devices -- fibre optic cables that capture sunlight and transmit it to indoor light fixtures
Birdbrain Roundup
Chickadee's brains grow in the autumn and shrink in the spring, and being happy can prevent the flu.
Hot Pepper Receptor
Capsaicin receptors on the heart are responsible for heart attack pain.
Plant Punishment
Soybean plants cut off the oxygen to symbiotic bacteria if they stop producing nitrogen.
Red Seafood
Why do shellfish turn red when you cook them? (Releases a red pigment that's usually bound to a protein)
Personalized Smell
Different combinations of genes make people sensitive to different smells.
Fun with Fiber
A moldable material made out of hemp fiber, and making superfine threads out of cotton waste.
Age of a Tree
How do you count a tree's rings without cutting it down? (Take a core sample.)
Pizza Cheese
Why does the cheese taste funny in reheated pizza? (Moisture loss changes its texture.)
Salmon and Pollutants
Spawning salmon bring pollutants called PCBs into the freshwater lakes of Alaska.
Pain Roundup II
Caffeine relieves the muscle pain of exercise, and music eases pain during childbirth.