Science Surfing
- Health & Medicine
Medical Advice
Looking for medical advice? Medicine On-Line is one place to go. The site covers topics ranging from vaccines to snake bites to white-coat hypertension (the tendency for a patient’s blood pressure to rise in the presence of a doctor). Affiliated with the International Journal of Medicine, Medicine On-Line taps the knowledge and experience of physicians […]
By Science News - Earth
Sky Lights
Devoted to atmospheric optics, this Web site offers beautifully illustrated explanations of spectacular phenomena ranging from rainbows to ice haloes. Created by physicist Les Cowley, it features amazing images, along with explanations of how the imaged effects were created by nature. The ice halo section offers downloadable software for simulating various types of halos. Go […]
By Science News - Astronomy
Tracking Solar Activity
Part of the Student Observation Network, this NASA Web site offers information and activities related to solar flares and storms. Vividly illustrated online tutorials provide guidelines and background for observing sunspots, recording radio waves, collecting data from magnetometers, and viewing auroras. Learn how to make a sunspot viewer or magnetometer. See live images of the […]
By Science News -
Backyard Nature
Naturalist Jim Conrad has created a friendly, nicely illustrated introduction to studying nature, starting in your own backyard. The Web site features information on plants, animals, and fungi that might thrive in a backyard. It also provides basic information on ecology, geology, naming and classifying living things, and other topics. Look for the list of […]
By Science News - Physics
Light Projects
This colorful, interactive Web site provides a lively introduction to the nature of light and spectra. A product of Project LITE (Light Inquiry Through Experiments) at Boston University, the site offers a variety of applets, activities, and materials on topics ranging from color mixing and afterimage effects to moire patterns and geometrical optics. A fascinating […]
By Science News - Astronomy
Transit of Venus
On June 8, Venus will pass across the face of the sun (as viewed from Earth). Such a transit occurs rarely; the last one was in 1882. A variety of Web sites feature information about these transits and offer advice for observing and timing the 2004 event. Go to: http://www.venustransit.ie/ and http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/sunearthday/2004/index_vthome.htm
By Science News - Humans
Famous Engineers
Did you know that Scott Adams, cartoonist and creator of Dilbert, has an engineering background? Others who have been engineers or have an engineering background include astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, as well as film director Alfred Hitchcock, former Dallas football coach Tom Landry, and television talk show host Montel […]
By Science News - Chemistry
Home Experiments
Collapsing a soft drink can, fireproofing a balloon, creating cool light, and bending water are among the activities offered by Bassam Z. Shakhashiri, a chemistry professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His Web pages provide instructions for performing these and other experiments at home. Go to: http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/HOMEEXPTS.HTML.
By Science News -
Chem Demos
They may not be as dramatic as the real thing, but online video and descriptions of lecture demonstrations involving combustion and other chemical and physical effects still fascinate. The Chemistry Learning Center at the University of Illinois offers tantalizing glimpses of methanol combustion, electrolysis of water, hydrogen ignition, the effect of liquid nitrogen on a […]
By Science News - Humans
A National Science Museum
If you can’t make it to Washington, D.C., to visit the recently opened Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences, check out the museum’s online exhibits. Explore how DNA analysis can catch criminals and stop epidemics, witness the potential effects of global warming, and glimpse the frontiers of scientific research. Go to: […]
By Science News - Humans
Messing Around with Music
San Francisco’s Exploratorium offers an entertaining, multimedia excursion into the science of music. Visit a virtual kitchen to sample some appliance sounds. Use video of a step dancer to compose music. Discover how various cultures around the world create musical instruments out of everyday objects. Try out a sound mixer and much more. Go to: […]
By Science News -
DNA Day
Celebrate DNA Day on April 30, commemorating the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the description of DNA’s structure as a double helix in 1953. The National Human Genome Research Institute offers a variety of resources, including genetic education modules for teachers and other curriculum materials and teaching tools. Go to: http://www.genome.gov/DNAday/
By Science News