Viruses and bacteria are the typical things that make us sick. But what are they? The first thing to know is that you can’t see them without a microscope. The second thing to know is that they find a great home in our bodies, where they can grow, reproduce, and spread to new hosts. But in the process, most of them make us very, very sick. Bacteria rots our food, too. What do viruses and…

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By Claire EamerAn atlatl is a throwing stick. It’s a tool used to extend the reach and flexibility of a hunter’s arm so that he or she can throw a light spear farther, harder, and faster. And very accurately. The word atlatl comes from the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, who used atlatls in hunting and war.A model at the Natural History Museum in Vienna, Austria, shows an ancienthunter using a simple atlatl and dart.…

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Protecting Elephants in ZambiaBy Margriet Ruursphotos by Margriet RuursIf you visit Africa, you need to go on safari!So when I toured international schools across Africa, I knew I’d want to see wildlife in the place where it belongs: the vast wilderness of the African continent.Driving across the Serengeti I spotted a lion crouched low in the grass – both painted orange by the rising sun.Seeing a white rhino in the Ngorogoro Crater was iconic and…

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If you ate like a bird, you'd take in more than 16 kg (35 lbs) of food every day!Saying someone "eats like a bird" is supposed to mean they eat very little, but that's based on a mistake: birds actually eat a huge amount. Up to half their body weight every single day! While you may see birds take one seed at a time from the bird feeder, they come back often, and keep eating…

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Did you hear the story of seven-year-old Sophia Spencer? Since she was a toddler, Sophia has loved bugs and learned about them. Her mother put out the call for... well, that would be telling.Don't expect me to tell more about the Bug Girl. Click on this link to find out about her BRAND NEW BOOK now available from Random House.(Kids these days! She's still in grade school but she's already friends with bug scientists and…

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By Simon ShapiroOne of the many things that can go wrong for novice bakers is that your oven can be inaccurate. Impress your family and friends by calibrating your oven using phase transitions. While you can't depend on your oven manufacturer, you can depend on the fact that sugar melts at 366°F (186°C). And since we're impressing friends and family, tell them that sugar transitions from the solid (crystalline) phase to the liquid phase at…

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By Claire EamerA vital component of a turkey dinner.Image by skeeze from PixabayI've been thinking a lot about food lately. One reason is that I have been auditing a university class on food and drink in the archaeological record. Somehow, ancient peoples seem much more real when you start to figure out what they snacked on during a workday and what they ate and drank at a feast.(Auditing classes, I've discovered, is a blast! All…

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posted by Paula JohansonWhat was your first job, fresh out of school? Something in retail, perhaps.Or if you're still in school, are you currently delivering newspapers or mowing lawns?Guess what job teenager Quentin Rae of North Spirit Lake First Nation has, right after finishing high school... has anyone guessed Water Plant Operator? Good golly, there's science technician work in northern Ontario!Ninteen-year-old Quentin Rae has been hired by his community to operate their new water treatment…

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"The capelin are rolling". That's what the lady in the fluorescent vest answered when we asked her what all the excitement was about. She was preventing cars from entering the already-full parking lot at the cove. Like a hundred others, I had parked along the highway and walked back to the cove.I had an idea of what capelin were: little silvery fish. Ten days earlier on our trip to Newfoundland, the skipper of our tour…

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By Claire EamerThe Garum Shop in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii was a small business that manufactured and sold a fish sauce called garum that Romans adored. The shop went out of business suddenly and permanently in 79 CE when the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted and buried it, the city, and several other communities under metres of volcanic rock and hot ash.This is the Triclinium or dining room of a wealthy familyin Pompeii.…

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