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26th November 2004 Issue: 11

Greetings Hay-Wire member! Here’s your weekly treat of everything new in the world of science... So what’s on the menu?

  1. THE BUZZ – honeybees put the buzz into ‘The Buzz’ this week!
  2. SCIENCE NIBBLES – I spy superheroes from the animal world...
  3. WEB WATCH – Extreme Science has the answers...
  4. PLANET PALS – stumped on a science question? THEN ASK HAY-WIRE!
  5. WINNERS – have you won the Logiblocs Alarm Kit?
1. THE BUZZ – Science news delivered to your inbox...

As you know, Hay-Wire is celebrating the release of the film ‘The Incredibles’. Last week we looked at superhuman powers. This week we’re looking at the superheroes of the animal world. First up are tropical honeybees...

Scientists have announced that the tropical honeybee may have survived the asteroid impact thought to have killed the dinosaurs. 65 million years ago a massive asteroid hit the Earth causing a huge amount of dust to fly up into the air. Scientists believe there was so much dust that it blocked out all the light from the Sun. The dinosaurs could not live without sunlight so scientists think this is the reason they died out.

Some honeybees were trapped in amber before the asteroid hit the Earth. Scientists have studied these bees and say they are nearly identical to the tropical honeybees alive today. They believe this proves that some honeybees survived the impact when the dinosaurs didn’t. At a time when dinosaurs ruled the planet, it seems honeybees were just that little bit tougher!

Want to meet some more superheroes of the animal world?
2. SCIENCE NIBBLES – Science facts to chew on...
  • The rhinoceros beetle is the strongest creature in the world. It can carry up to 850 times its own weight on its back!
  • Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards.
  • The deadliest creature in the world is a jellyfish called a sea wasp. The venom (poison) from one single sea wasp can kill up to 60 adults.
  • A giraffe can clean its ears with its tongue, which is around 50 cm long!
  • The only two animals that can see behind without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot!
  • A hippopotamus can run faster than a human.

Although, I’m sure if a hippopotamus was chasing you then you might run a little faster than normal!
3. WEB WATCH – For great science websites you’ve come to the right place...

If Science Nibbles has given you a taste for amazing animals then you can find out more on the Extreme Science website, here: http://extremescience.com/

This is the website for you if you’ve ever wondered what’s the biggest, smallest, fastest or scariest in the world. It promises bizarre facts, extreme creatures and plenty of earth science fun. By clicking on Creature World you’ll find lots of facts and photographs of the animal superheroes of the animal kingdom. There’s the Largest Ocean Carnivore, where you’ll come face to face with a great white shark, or the Biggest Spider, where you’ll learn about the goliath bird-eating spider.

Another interesting part of the site is Earth Science where you can investigate the extremes of nature, from the highest waterfall to the deepest cave. From here you can also go back in time to discover the History of the Earth – just how old is it anyway? There’s links on this page to Fossils so you might even find your parents here!

Please don’t tell them I said that!
4. PLANET PALS – It’s your corner of the Hay-Wire Club...

Is there is a science question nagging at the back of your brain and you can’t find the answer anywhere? Or have you recently tried an exciting experiment and you want to share your results with other club members? Look no further – Planet Pals is your corner of the Hay-Wire Club and we want to hear from you!

If you want to be a Planet Pal then email your science questions or comments to this address: Hay-Wire.Clubhouse@nesta.org.uk

Look out for your email in future issues of Hay-Wire!
5. WINNERS – Has your name been picked out of the bag?

Last week we offered Hay-Wire members the chance to win a super piece of kit. The prize was a Logiblocs Alarm Kit and the lucky winner is:

Milly Smith from Hastings.

Congratulations and look out for your prize in the post soon!
INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Planet Science has gone Hay-Wire and now you have too!

Until next week, why not ask your friends to join the Hay-Wire Club? They can visit the Clubhouse for more details at:
http://www.planet-science.com/wired/hay-wire/clubhouse

We still have some Frisbees left for the new members!

Bye for now!