Science Buddies Blog (4 results)

Which way does your house face? In which direction do you sleep? Your school is which direction from your house? Learning to read a pocket compass - a long-lost art? (Image: Wikipedia) If you don't know the answers, offhand, to those questions, you are likely not alone. We all know the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. And if you live on a coast and within view of the water, you can probably orient your sense of cardinal direction based on the water. Beyond… Read more

When you're an element - even a "super-heavy" one - getting an official name and spot on the Periodic Table isn't easy. A chemical element, Element 112 was first fusion-created more than a decade ago but only recently found a spot on the table. It was originally known as eka-mercury but has since been going by the temporary name "Ununbium" with a symbol of UuB. The scientists who discovered Unumbium have proposed to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) that it be… Read more

                Michael Jackson, 1984, Wikimedia Commons If you can remember the first time the Moon Walk was performed on stage (and I don't mean anything related to Neil Armstrong) and know the words to "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and "Beat It" even if you haven't heard them in years, you might be of a certain age. Or not. Often hailed as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson's popularity spanned many decades. His death in June took the music… Read more

CNN Health reported last week on a woman who saved her husband's life by using the rhythm and pacing of the Bee Gees 1977 classic "Staying Alive" as a metronome for performing CPR. With no prior CPR training, she kept the song in her head and performed chest compressions for 15 minutes until the paramedics arrived. Statistics show that 95% of people who suffer cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital. Rapid chest compressions, however, can make a difference, as the woman… Read more