Science, Nature and Tech

SCIENCE NEWS – What is Dengue Fever and Could Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Prevent It?

Dengue (pronounced den-gee) fever affects between 50-100 million people each year, with around 25,000 people dying from the disease. It’s most common in south America and parts of Africa, and is also known as breakbone fever because it causes such intense pain in the bones. Dengue fever is a virus that’s spread by mosquitoes, and there is no vaccine or effective drug treatment to prevent or cure it.

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Science, Nature and Tech

Is The Great Wall of China Visible from Space?

The idea that the Great Wall of China can be seen from space has been around since at least 1938 and is still popular today. It certainly seems plausible that such a large, linear structure would stand out from the surrounding landscape, but it’s actually not true.

Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on the moon, said in 1969

“The only thing you can see from the moon is a beautiful sphere, mostly white, some blue and patches of yellow, and every once in a while some green vegetation. No man-made object is visible at this scale.”

But if you can’t see the Wall from the moon, how about somewhere closer to Earth? The International Space Station (ISS) maintains a low earth orbit of between 330-435 km above our planet’s surface.

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News & Politics

Let Toys Be Toys

Have you ever noticed that children’s toys are often labeled as “Boys” or “Girls” toys?
Very often, the girls’ toy area will be a sea of pink and glitter with a lot of beauty, cooking, fashion and baby doll items.  The boys’ area will have action figures, construction and science kids, plastic guns and dinosaurs.  Even board games can sometimes be separated in this way. Tina takes a closer look at why this is unfair for all kids, and what a group called Let Toys be Toys are doing about it.

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News & Politics, Popular

The US Election – An Explainer for Kids

US Election

The voting system in the US election often confuses people. What is an Electoral College, and what is the difference between the ‘popular vote’ and the ‘electoral college vote’? Who are the people who work in Congress, and what is the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives? We take a closer look and answer these and other questions, in a kid-friendly way.

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Science, Nature and Tech

Fact or Fable? Most body heat is lost through the head

Many people believe that you should keep your head covered during cold weather, as most body heat is lost through the head. It’s certainly true that any part of your body that’s exposed to cooler air will lose warmth; heat always moves from something warm to something cooler (that’s called the second law of thermodynamics). And our heads and faces are more sensitive to changes in temperature than other parts of the body.

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