Science

In the battle for the American mind, a colonial-style office building nestled in ivy-covered Princeton, N.J., is a fortress. Inside, behind a white door with a brass nameplate, the National Association of Scholars functions like a command and control center. And Rita Zurcher, the research director for the NAS, serves as a front-line officer, defending science and reason against paranoia, superstition, ignorance and politics.

In science, it is axiomatic that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. And Van Nuys High School's science bowl team learned the lesson when archrival Venice High School bounced back from last year's loss to win the regional competition of the National Science Bowl. Despite predictions that Van Nuys would win the Los Angeles competition and have a chance to repeat as national champs, Venice on Saturday won handily, 122-88.

In science, it is an axiom that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Van Nuys High School's science bowl team learned the lesson Saturday when arch-rival Venice High School bounced back from last year's loss to win the regional competition of the National Science Bowl. Despite predictions that Van Nuys would win the Los Angeles competition and have a chance to repeat as national champion, Venice won handily, 122-88.

To those prosecutors and persecutors of public education--Los Angeles public education, to wit--Van Nuys High School physics teacher Art Altshiller presents defense Exhibit A: Scott Schneider. He's done it again. Scott, some may recall, is the 17-year-old math-science-computers wunderkind who recently achieved a flawless 1,600 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test and starred on the triumphant Van Nuys team that swept the 1995 National Science Bowl.

"Deep Bass," "Are Our Personalities Pre-Destined by the Planets?" and an experiment that tested the durability of different brands of paper towels were just three of the 150 science fair projects on display this week at San Fernando High School. It was the second annual science fair sponsored by Litton Guidance and Control Systems, which adopted San Fernando High School about four years ago, said Eric Goldner, an engineering specialist at Litton.

Ever wonder what happens to that tube of blood after the doctor draws it from your body? Students from Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley found the answer to that question while touring Kaiser Permanente Regional Laboratory in North Hollywood on Tuesday. With the blood, the students learned the cells are separated from the serum in centrifuges before testing.

Ever wonder what happens to that tube of blood after the doctor draws it from your body? Students from Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley found the answer to that question while touring Kaiser Permanente Regional Laboratory in North Hollywood on Tuesday. With the blood, the students learned the cells are separated from the serum in centrifuges before testing.

As about 65 fifth-graders sat in rapt silence, straining on the edge of their seats to get a better look, Bruce H. Betts mixed a concoction of dry ice, water and brown sugar with a handful of dirt and a few squirts of Windex. A few minutes later, Betts, a planetary scientist from the San Juan Capistrano Research Institute, held the frozen mixture up for all to see: What looked like a dirty snowball with little jets of gas spitting forth from its surface was actually a comet in the making.

If only all teenagers would rebel this way. When these high school kids stay up until the wee hours, it is to read biology or solve differential equations. They cut physics classes, but they already have taught themselves the entire course. And for a pure adolescent adrenaline rush? They have the thrills and chills of the National Science Bowl.

In an Eaton Canyon meadow, under the stubborn shade of a half-charred oak tree, 33 schoolchildren sat quietly and watched a red-tailed hawk fly overhead. Four hawks, they were told, escaped a fire that ravaged the canyon three years ago and left scars that are still present today. Children pointed out black fallen trees and commented on how ugly the crisp cactus corpses were. But everywhere they looked, the fifth-graders also could see life.