OUD Sete Wate cen amy a RCL ae |) pe SCIENCE a , a rs TH LYDOWNLOAD NOW! ems Bring SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED magazine to life with the iPad* digital edition and enioy the convenience of having your favorite magazine on demand! Discover shocking revelations, incredible findings, startling breakthroughs, and sensational new research. Get SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED, the ultimate science and discover guide. SAVE 50% when you purchase a one year subscription. Download the SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED App today in the App Store”. APP FEATURES: «Free Sample Issue | * Save Images "Social Sharing | » And More + Email Articies Prrrrrrr SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED ncrIVE INTEREST NETWORK cast mcrR He FOE PPaNEUCNONDRGETOR EF SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED OEMUARK BONNIER Corporation| Forcustomer service and subscription questions, a: Renewals, address Changes, EmollPreferences ling and ‘Youcan alo cll 386-597 4388 orwrteto 0.80 420235 Palm Cont, FL32142-0235 ‘ DY wrenThe immortal flatworm ‘The Schmidtea mediterranea flatworm is harder to illthan an action hero. And now Scientists know why:Some 30 percent of Its body is made up of supercells that constantly regenerate tissue, Page 60 Page 26 Iceland and Great Britain hook up {A930-mile-long submarine cable wll supply the United Kingdom with surplus pow er from Ielands bountiful natural supply. Page 48 The lightning masters ‘team of scientists in central Florida’ Lightning Alley are making ight mand — a dangerous task hat aight finally reveal the secrets of natures potent electri. SCIENCE . hs) UN 01) ail, OBSOLET:: \ CONTENTS | Volume 6, Issue 2 ‘An amazing mage worth athousand words ‘Ansers to questions from readers 12 Findings from around the world 18 Intriguing inventions and products 62 Travaquestons math and loge purates 20 New evidence s shaking up an old theory on who firs settled the Americas — and when, 26 Scientists in central Florida are making lightning strike on demand, 30 TOP 10:The world’s costliest materials ‘might surprise you. ‘32. From clicks and grunts to snaps and songs, there'san ocean of noise under the sea. 38 Plagued by mysterious skin growths, the Tree ‘Man of indonesia hopes fora miracle cure. 42 Space telescopes reveal a universe full of impossibility. 48 Iceland's new subsea cable powers England. ‘52. THE CONNECTING THREAD: Tracing the line from sand to the microscope. ‘54 The human body is becoming outdated. 60 Flatworms may hold the key toimmortality.iy Ce = Retired space shuttle gets a special lift Me AR OS se et Ua ea uc __ playeda very important role in the 30-year program. Asa test shuttle, it paved the ROC ea Ce en a Ce RESET ee a | 5 the fleet was decommissioned in 2011. Enterprise's last flight before retirement was. | asa passenger on NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft to New York City, where the pio- SE ere mucus tee "3 v 4 iASK US How does air conditioning work? When you step into an air-conditioned room on ahot summer day, the difference Is striking. But how isthe aircooled? An air-conditioning system functions in the same way as a tefigerator. But where the refrigerator cools only asmall it eng eee Re ea eo Sesto esa eee ee et wit thick com pa Poot ata gi By dating zircon, scientists have ‘measured the age of the Earth. 6 since rtd | 2 shop or office. This is due to the physical principle of evaporation: When a liquid ‘evaporates, it wil absorb some of the heat from its surroundings. A liquid refrigerant is directed into an ‘evaporation system in which the pressure is low. This causes the reftigerant to evaporat i i dant mineral zircon. Inits crystal line structure, it absorbs urani tum, while strongly rejecting lead. The uranium-238 isotope vill decay into lead, so scientists Minerals from meteorites Zircon, Jack Hills, Australia. Nuvvuagittug greenstone belt, Canada Acasta Gneis, Northwest Territories, Canada Isua greenstone belt, Greenland the cols ofthe system. The cooler airthat is createdis sent into the room viaa blower, The process will generate heat, so ait conditioning has both a cold and a warm function. Cold air may contain less moisture than watm at, so the system will generate condensation, which Is removed. On hot sap alr condiloner may crip. the air conditioner blows eee ead Deedee How is the Earth’s age measured? Radioactive variants of different elements, called isotopes, decay n, known speed, which enables sclentsts to use radio metric methads to determine theage of ancient rocks By comparing the amount of the original Iorope with the products ofits decay, its poss ble to estimate how much time has passed, The method often is used with the hardy and abun: have been able to determine that the Earth must be 44 t0 45 billon years old by measuring how much ofthe uranium inthe zircon has turned into lead 4567 billion yrs 4.billon yes 4.28 billion yes 403 billion yes 3.7-2.8billionyrsLow pressure = cold air The main premise of air conditioning is that a refrigerants converted into gas at alow ‘compressor, which increases the pressure, making the gas liquid Alo rects the cooled arintothe oom. Corr cond corre ere Condensation Aliquid efigerant is directed through an ex pansion vaive inte pipe, where the pressures low. The refigerant evapo: ratesintoa gas Heats absorbed ftom thesuroun, ings cooling the pipes. RECORDS Whatis the smallest car in the world? With a height of 41 inches, ‘width of26 inches anda length of 52inches, the = British “Wind Up"is the zy ‘worlds smallest car that is Z suitable for urban driving. 7 It was made from a chil dren’ coin-operated ride. Inthe process heat [sgenerated;itisblown ‘outside by afan via pipes ‘on the opposite side Cty thermostat turns ofthe system when the airnsideis sufficiently cooled, Which animal has the longest pregnancy? ere eerie) Reread eat oer) etd repo) Ree un einen) eae irene) Roe cad irre Prey froin oe eal 7 eet) RegardWhat is the longest volcanic eruption? The Kilauea volcano in Hawall began erupting on Jan.3, 1983, and isstill spewing out lava a Why is a circle divided into How do we flex our 360 degrees? muscles? Sacee nae uar eso dieoyeriagsbeneetic Boe Ina microscope, muscles appear to be layered. That's because they consist of units located side ia Their umerkal atom Wes by side like a stack of plates. When the brain texagesimal, which means that sends a signal, these stacks become inter- ‘was based on the number 60, woven, and the muscles flexed ‘As shown In the diagram below, ee) because each angle ofan equilateral triangle is60 degrees circle mustbe 360 degrees a circle canbe divided into 360 degrees fr the same reason that an hour consists of 60 minutes and aminute has 60 seconds. a muscle bers Muslefiber ‘Muscles consist of actin and myosin pro- tein fibers located in parallel bundles that ate divided into units called sarcomeres; smyosinisinthecen- te andactinison thesides iscsi Calum ions") “Oar Te myosin features small “oars that bind toactinoncea nerve signal triggerscal- ciumions Acirclecan be divided into six equilateral 60-degree triangles —atotal of 360 degrees. What is RELAXED virtual water? Manufacturing goods often requires the use of a great deal of water, but because ths consumption s invisible to consumers, scientists call it virtual water For example, it takes37 gallons lof water to make a single cup of cof meres, and when they are all fee. Meat production Is especially slightly shortened, the entre resource-intensive: Water is used for muscle wll contract. CONTRACTED ‘growing the feed and breeding the animals, so every burger eaten uses ‘more than 630 gallons of water, 2. After binding, the oar makes 9 Stroke, causing myosin and actin fibers to slide by one another 'B. several consecutive strokes Shorten the sarcomeres A mus: cle contains thousands of sarco- 8 snc | 002Howitt cana newbor baby weight Are white tigers albinos? White tiger Tesmalesoty ose sain Crdnayerodiuswihsspch gece Tayo She was bemat approximately ‘vation; unlike anes, they have black stp. “Deeks and her weight wsely INVENTORS Are whole grains different? Whole grains containall the different Whoinvented the element of grainand may sem is ncea as fromall species of rain. Pahterinvertotithe worlds Generally, whole grains are first beer bottle cap, which highly nutritious, but whole- ‘eas Cnes oe Kee Has a silver lining PRICE: $10,900/gram Radioactive plutonium may havea bad reputation, butt is indispens able to scientists, tis notoriously used in fue rods for nuclear reactors, but plutonium also provides fuel for satelites, which need an efficient ‘energy source forthe long distances ‘that they travel Plutonium batteries also are powering Voyager 1 — the space probe that has traveled the farthest through our solar system — ‘and may keep It going unt 2025, ‘Nuclear weapons sometimes get thelr deadly power from plutonium. Rare red crystal is made in America PRICE: $10,000/gram Red beryl is so rare thatt has only been discovered in afew placesinthe ‘world, primarily in mines inthe tates ‘of Utah and New Mexico, The sturdy ‘rystal, whichis used in making jew ‘ly, slightly softer than diamond, but much rarer The beryis area ‘group of minerals that are colorless in their pure form, but become tinted when they contain impurities. Though most tinting results in green Cor blue crystals — emeralds and aquamarines — the scarcered beryl ‘owes its distinctive coloring tron, chromium, cakium and manganese, Red berylis formed through low pressure and high temperatures. Uae ene ee | Seaman ‘eee eres Rare isotope stockpiles dwindling PRICE: $2,000/gram Helium: occurs when radioactive tritum decays. tis attractive to scientists for its potential use in developing ‘dean nuctear-fusion energy, but unfortunatly elium-3 ‘occurs naturally on Earth only rately; since 1969, NASA has ‘been exploring the possibility of extracting the gas from ‘the moon’ surface, whereit is deposited by solar wind, = or Investors’ safe haven PRICE: $55/gram Infinancial eses,the precious Golds often alloyed rmetalbecomes acovetedinvest- with other metals. ‘ment, driving its aready lofty prices even higher: Butt’ also used for industrial purposes ‘and to make jewelry. More than 188,800 tons have been ‘mined soar leaving around 56,000 tons in the Earth, = 9 aN Rare noble metal is a laboratory staple PRICE: $51/gram. Every year, suppliers are able to extract just fewhundred tons of thisrareand very useful precious metal Anoble ‘metal it ishighly nonreactive, making it resistant to coro sion and many chemicals even at high temperatures. Con- sequently, platinum is widely used asa catalyst, as wellas tomake laboratory, medicaland dental equipment. 10 Sr Helps protect the air we breathe PRICE: $37/gram Rhodium, with its ability to increase the hardness of vari- ‘ous materials something of wonder metal. tis valu: ‘able to glass manufacturers as wellasin producing auto- ‘mobiles, whereitis used extensively in catayticconverters tochange harmful po Tutants into nontoxic (gases such as nitrogen and carbon diande, The price of rho- dium fluctuates intandem with ‘automobile sales.