December 4, 2010
A scanning-electron micrograph image of arsenic-eating bacteria. (Science/AAAS)
Kids are asking a lot of questions this week. Like: What is all this talk about alien life being discovered? And: Why is NASA making the announcement, when the discovery is in California, not in space? Kids (and many adults) are wondering why this is such a big deal.
The simple answer is that we always thought there were six elements essential to all life as we know it till now: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. As we send probes to search the solar system looking for signs of life, we have been looking for the presence of these elements (including water, which is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, or H2O). Now, researchers have discovered microbes in a hostile environment called Mono Lake, which replace phosophorus with arsenic. If the claim holds up, it would support the idea that life as we know it isn’t the only way life could develop.
Felisa Wolfe-Simon (no relation), is an astrobiology researcher who originally proposed the theory, and she co-authored the paper that caused all the excitement this week. "If something here on Earth can do something so unexpected, what else can life do that we haven’t seen yet?" she asked. "Now is the time to find out."
If life is more adaptable than we previously thought, then it expands the possibilities for places that we might find life beyond Earth. That, in a nutshell, is what this week’s excitement is all about.
Mono Lake, 13 miles east of Yosemite National Park.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
December 1, 2010
An Amazon milk frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix) soaks up some rays on a flower in a zoo in Cleveland, Ohio.
Why are they called Milk Frogs? Because of the milky-looking fluid the frog excretes when it is stressed or threatened.
Photo by: Amy Sancetta/AP
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 30, 2010
Have you ever been drenched because you were standing too near a dog shaking water from her coat? It turns out that dogs (and other mammals including mice, tigers, and bears) really know how to shake.
Science News reports that researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology recorded video of 40 different animals, representing 15 different species. They wanted to learn about how wet, hairy mammals shake off water after they get drenched.
They learned that these animals are not only expert shakers, but they each do it at exactly the right speed to eliminate all those pesky water drops.
The bigger the animal, the slower it shakes. A mouse moves its body back and forth 27 times per second, but a grizzly bear shakes only four times per second. Why is it important for mammals to quickly shed excess water? Dr. David Hu, who led the study, told Science News: "If a dog couldn’t dry itself, we calculated that it would have to use 25 percent of its daily calories to heat its body to get rid of the water. Every time they got wet they would get hypothermia and die."
No wonder your dog is such an expert shaker!
Dog Photo: Alamy/guardian.co.uk
Bear Photo: Mike Dunn/NaturalSciences.org
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 18, 2010
Yesterday morning I was waiting for my wife Liz in my car and noticed a chickadee landing in a water-filled depression in the driveway. The chickadee was taking a bath in the shallow water and it looked like such fun with water flying everywhere. It reminded me of a kid in the bathtub just splashing around and squealing. If I was bird-sized (instead of only my brain being that size), I would have leaped in and joined the water fun!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 18, 2010
If the forecast is for clear skies tonight, set your clock for about 4:30 am Friday morning, grab a blanket and head outside to see this year’s Leonid meteor shower. Once the moon has set (early in the morning - click here to check the time for the moonset where you live), you may see as many as 20 or 30 meteors streaking through the sky before sunrise. They are still there after the sun rises, of course, but you won’t see them because of the brightness of the sunlight.
Look east, near the constellation Leo (that’s why they are called "Leonids").
The Leonid meteor shower happens every year in mid-November, because that is when the comet Tempel-Tuttle passes near our orbit on its regular trip through the solar system. Debris from its tail - gasses and dust - burns up when it enters our atmosphere, becoming flares in the night sky that we call meteors.
Here’s a tip from an experienced sky watcher. Either take a blanket and lie on the grass, or take a lawn chair that tips back. Otherwise, you’ll get a terrible stiff neck, which doesn’t make meteor viewing much fun at all!
Kids (and adults) who want to know more should go to Space.com, where they have a web page with the Top 10 Leonid Meteor Facts.
Happy meteor watching!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 13, 2010
A scientist was watching his cat drink water one day, and started to wonder why it was able to drink so neatly and quietly - especially because his dog made so much noise and mess slurping up water from its bowl.
So, he did what scientists do when they have a question - he called some friends and they decided to run an experiment. Drinking cats lap with their tongues so quickly - four times per second - that all our human eye can see is a blur. So, the scientists used high-speed cameras to capture a cat drinking. What they discovered was pretty amazing.
A drinking cat darts its tongue into the bowl so delicately that the tip just lightly touches the surface of the milk. When it pulls its tongue back, it is moving so quickly that a thin stream of milk gets pulled up behind it. Just at the moment when gravity is about to take over and cause the milk to fall…..SNAP! The cat closes its jaws over the stream of liquid and swallows it.
A perfectly neat solution!
Since I have written books about both DOGS and CATS, kids often tell me which one they really love, and which one they think makes a better pet. The truth is that both dogs and cats can each be good and loyal pets.
But when it comes down to who is a neater, more elegant drinker? Cats win, paws down!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 12, 2010
The kids at Starrett Elementary School in Arlington did wonderful art projects and book displays for my visit this week. Look at this great collage which they made to represent my latest book, TROPICAL RAINFORESTS. It was made with translucent tissue paper and placed in front of a window, where all those rich greens glowed as if we were in a real rainforest! It was very beautiful, and I liked it enormously.
I’d also like to say a special thanks to librarian Nancy Allmon for all the great work you and your colleagues did.
It really made for a memorable visit. And of course, we’ll remember all the great weather and Tex Mex food when we’re back in chilly New York.I will be back in Texas to speak in San Antonio schools the week of December 13, so kids in SA-Town, get ready for a journey to the end of the Universe!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 11, 2010
In case you didn’t notice, Jupiter’s great South Equatorial Belt (SEB) disappeared this year!
Don’t worry, though. The huge, gassy planet is going to be fine. That belt (which we see as a dark brown stripe but is actually a mass of dark clouds) has disappeared before.
When it has returned in the past, astronomers have described an amazing sight….and it appears that is starting to happen again. A high energy, white plume is pushing through the clouds on Jupiter, and this probably means that the stripe is coming back.
Since most of us don’t have high-powered telescopes, we can rely on the people at SpaceWeather.com, who love to record these things. There will be updates and plenty of images on their website, so keep checking in the coming weeks.
But in the meantime you can see Jupiter in the night sky. Look up overhead at night. Jupiter is the brightest object in the night sky after the moon this month. You can’t miss it. Just look up at night and look for the brightest "star" (really a planet and really Jupiter).
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 11, 2010
How do insects know when it’s time to take a bath? When their feet get dirty and lose their stickiness! Insects depend on their adhesive footpads to help them travel safely on leaves, along braches, even over craggy rocks. A new study of the behavior of beetles found that when they start to slip, they know it is time to stop and groom themselves!
Leaf Beetle photo: S.N. Gorb, University of Kiel, Germany
Posted by: Seymour Simon
November 10, 2010
I am speaking in schools throughout the Dallas/Arlington area this week, and as always, I am delighted to be with the kids, and to meet such dedicated teachers, librarians and principals.
I know fellow authors share my view that a school gets the most out of an author visit when the kids have been prepared by reading my books, going on my website, even doing research on topics that interest them. I’ve seen some great examples of that this week.
At Christ the King School in Dallas, librarian Leslie Garnett had all the fourth graders do research projects based on my book, ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES. 
Leslie told me that she was amazed to see every kid dive into research about the animal they had chosen. I guess that’s what a book about gross, yucky, and misunderstood creatures will do for you!
Another librarian, Jennie Jackson at Lynn Hale Elementary School in Arlington, had arranged for two kids in every class (chosen randomly) to win a copy of my book EARTHQUAKES. I loved what she said to the kids before the drawing started. "Now, no groaning. I want you all to share in the happiness of the people who win." And indeed, every winner was loudly applauded by these students, who were also very enthusiastic participants in my talks - many hands in the air and great answers, all around!
I am also pleased to see that both educators and kids had prepared by coming to my website and using the resources that we have created here. As long as people keep using the free Teacher Guides, Project Ideas and other supplemental resources to extend the learning from my books, we’ll keep putting them up there. It is all free, so if you haven’t already, register as a member of the website in the Educators & Families section. We respect your privacy and will never sell or misuse your personal information - we simply ask you to register to ensure that it is adults - not kids! - using these educator resources.
People often ask as I miss teaching, and my answer is always that I’ll never stop teaching, as long as I’m writing for and speaking to kids. And I don’t intend to stop anytime soon. It’s too much fun!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
