Discusses how the celebration of the centennial of the electric lamp raises the claim of the supporters of Sir Joseph Swan in England that Swan not Edison was the first inventor of the light bulb. (HM)

Presents a strategy for encouraging children to ask questions with the aim of raising their awareness of how questions may be used as starting points for scientific investigations. (Author/JRH)

Presents an account of one university's experience in conducting an investigation into possible steroid use by student athletes and the development of a program to deal with the problem. Discusses why athletes use steroids and how steroids are taken. Concludes it is likely many steroid-related deaths of athletes go undetected. (Author/ABL)

Attempts an explanation of how "ice spikes" are formed. The spikes are upward protrusions of ice that occur when water expands as it cools in a rigid container of low thermal conductivity. Describes the results of an investigation and includes color photos. (LZ)

Effective problem solving depends on adopting the appropriate frame of reference to guide the search for solutions. If the problem is mislabeled or the wrong frame of reference used, the chances for success are lower. (SK)

Presents investigations of leaf surface wetness that provide ideal opportunities for students to explore the relationships between leaf form and function, to study surface conditions of leaves and plant physiology, and to make predictions about plant adaptation in different environments. Describes simple procedures for exploring questions related…

Presents a set of case studies in which students create, customize, and personalize their own scientific instruments. Finds that students become engaged in scientific inquiry not only through observing and measuring, but also through designing and building. (Author/CCM)

Velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) is caused by a micro deletion of chromosome 22q11 and associated with multiple system abnormalities. There is an increasing recognition of associations with psychiatric disorders. Neurological and brain abnormalities have been reported but to date no association with generalized epilepsy has been reported in…

This study investigated whether brain neural activity that accompanied the processing of previously learned map information was influenced by the modality in which the spatial parameters of the maps were originally learned. Participants learned a map by either viewing it directly or by reading an equivalent verbal description. Following learning,…

The author, an elementary school teacher, describes a way of incorporating an inquiry approach to teaching by refining a crayfish unit originally found in an ESS (Elementary Science Study) module. She used a "coupled-inquiry" approach, a combination of guided-inquiry and open-inquiry, with an application used for assessment purposes. In five or…

The investigation of photochemistry and photophysics of individual quantum systems is described with the help of a wide-field fluorescence microscopy approach. The fluorescence single molecules are observed in real time.

Complexes of pyrazole-derived ligands are very popular due to the ability of the pyrazolato anion to form bridged polymetallic compounds in which the metals are held close enough to react with small molecules or facilitate magnetic exchange. The preparation of monodentate pyrazole and 3,5-dimethylpyrazole (DMHpz) nickel species and the…

The two things that usually attract students include sports and observing the unexpected. These activities which can be adapted for any class investigating the physical property of density, addresses both using an interactive, cross-disciplinary, open-ended investigation centered on determining mathematically whether a bowling ball will sink or…

This study examines science teachers' thinking on the nature and purpose of practical work in the context of the National Curriculum for Science in England. There is a particular focus on investigations (enquiry in the science classroom), which have been a statutory component of the curriculum since 1989. Data were collected through individual…

Using PsychInfo review of rape and sexual assault publications, the period of greatest fertility coincided with the establishment (1975) and demise (1987) of the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape. To document what has been learned and when, the era in which new rape concepts entered the literature is summarized and important…