“Otterly” awesome – Shedd Aquarium’s new pup

Pup 719 was found by a beachgoer on Carmel Beach, who alerted authorities. Sea otter rescue experts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium attempted to locate her mother, but were unsuccessful. They spent the next several weeks tending to the otter in the Intensive Care Unit. (Brenna Hernandez/Shedd Aquarium)

By Claire Donnelly Shedd Aquarium’s rescued sea otter pup is one lucky baby. Pup 719 – as she is known until she gets a name – arrived in Chicago this winter after turbulent waves stranded her on a beach in California. The orphaned pup received almost two weeks of care at Monterey Bay Aquarium. “Shedd […]

Children explore the universe of science at Family Science Day

By Neil Murthy Children explored robotics and met a NASA astronaut as they delved into experiments  at the Family Science Day hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in Washington, D.C. AAAS is the world’s largest general science society and brings together leaders from multiple disciplines to share their […]

Spider-Man can’t do whatever a spider can, researchers say

Spider-Man

By Claire Donnelly What if instead of evading the evil Dr. Octopus by scaling the nearest wall, Spider-Man found himself stuck to every object he passed? According to some scientific researchers, that’s exactly what would happen if Spider-Man’s sticky pads were correctly proportioned to his body weight. In a study published in the January issue […]

The long and (very) short of bonsai

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By Claire Donnelly Chris Baker has 269 children. His children are green, grow leaves and live at the Chicago Botanic Garden. They’re bonsai trees.