The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 27

Science Health MAY 31, 2005 NEWS0K.COM SCIENCE FACTS A measure in time Spacecraft ringing up discoveries Cassini finds a puzzling light spot on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. III II llll In the Bible, a measurement called a cubit is mentioned. So, just how long is a cubit? It depends on whom you ask. For Noah, the cubit was the measurement from his elbow to the tip of his middle finger. According to Mental Floss magazine, most sources agree that a cubit in the Bible was 21.8 inches, an Egyptian cubit was 20.6 inches, a Greek cubit was 18.3 inches and a Roman cubit was 17.5 inches.

To complicate things, there is another type of cubit. A "short" cubit is the length of the forearm, not including any part of the hand. Scholars believe that this unit was occasionally used in the Bible as well, as in the case of the height of Goliath. Said to be "six cubits and a span" tall, David's target would have been nearly 11 feet tall using a regular cubit, but a more likely height of 6 feet 9 inches using the "short" cubit. in By Diane Clay Staff Writer In the four months since the Huygens probe dropped through Titan's atmosphere and gave us its first glimpse of the mysterious moon, scientists have made numerous discoveries about the Sat-urnian system.

They found a new moon in Saturn's rings, pieced together photos of Titan's channels, discovered a bizarre spot on a moon and captured for the first time an image of a faint ring. This past week, scientists reported finding a bright spot on Titan's surface that has them mystified. They said Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer captured the spot that is about the size of West Virginia. "At first glance, I thought the feature looked strange, almost out of place," said Robert Brown, leader of the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team and professor at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona-Tucson. "After thinking a bit, I speculated that it was a hot spot.

In retrospect, that might not be the best hypothesis. But the spot is no less intriguing." Scientists think the spot may be some type of cloud that stays in the same place because it is formed by wind whipping over low mountains or gas from the surface. It also could be a warm area caused by a recent asteroid strike. The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team will be able to test the hot-spot hypothesis during the Titan flyby July 2, 2006, when they will take nighttime Scientists hope to use the moon to study how rings and moons affect each other. On May 3, Cassini captured the most detailed look ever at Saturn's rings, including the ring, which NASA officials said has eluded previous robotic explorers.

Instead of using visual or ultraviolet light, the spacecraft used radio waves. It sent three wavelengths through Saturn's rings to Earth. The radio waves picked up the size and other features of the dense as that of ring C. By mid-May, scientists had pieced together more images from Huygens' drop to Titan, including two composites that show dark channels, hills and a dark lake. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of the National Aviation and Space Administration, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.

It is scheduled to end in June 2008. rings' particles. They found that particles smaller than 2 inches were abundant while larger particles were scarce. Cassini found that the inner and outer parts of ring contain rings that are hundreds of miles wide and vary greatly in the amount of material they contain. A thick, 3,100 mile-wide core contains several bands with ring material nearly four times as dense as that of ring A and nearly 20 times as images of the same area.

If the spot glows at night, researchers will know it's hot. On May 1, Cassini team members finally got a shot of a tiny moon they suspected was making waves in the outer rings. The moon, named S2005 SI, was found in the center of the Keeler gap as the Cassini spacecraft was climbing to a higher orbit. A day later, scientists got a closer view to measure the moon's size and brightness. WEATHER Hurricane names Depression haunts Each year, the National Hurricane Center in Florida releases names for the year's upcoming hurricanes.

Hurricane season is June 1 through Nov. 30. Before 1979, all hurricane names were female, but officials now alternate between male and female. If a particularly strong storm strikes, such as Hurricane Andrew, the name is never used again. Exercise class puts new spin on Spanish many children CHICAGO Since high school, I've been trying to improve my Spanish without venturing inside a traditional classroom.

I follow the Spanish-language menu on ATMs, celebrate Cinco de Mayo, rent Pedro Almodovar movies, and whenever I get a speeding ticket, I sign up for the punishing eight-hour defensive driving class "en Espanol." I still sound like a gringo. But I've discovered an opportunity to work Spanish into my busy day: a fitness class called Spin'n Spanish that combines 90 minutes of indoor cycling with language instruction. At first, it sounded like an impossible combination of third period and recess. Where would I write? Could I conjugate verbs and pedal at the same time? Would I have to yell over Ricky Mar By Diane Clay, Staff Writer Jessica Norman was depressed, and her parents didn't have a clue. The Florida teenager was unhappy, disobedient, not eating or sleeping, and her grades were slipping.

She was angry and losing touch, but couldn't stop. Fortunately for Jessica, who just finished the 10th grade, her mom had suffered with depression. Tara Norman soon recognized what was happening and found a therapist for her daughter. Jessica's time with a licensed counselor and a new prescription for an antidepressant medicine brought her back. "I feel more a part of the family when I take my medicine," Jessica Norman said.

"When I don't take my medicine, it feels like strings are holding me down. When I take it, I can be who I am. I can play with my sisters, not beat them up." Jessica and her mom participated in a conference call with newspaper and magazine writers this past week to talk about their story and offer tips to help parents notice the problem before it is too late. "(Getting help) was one of the hardest decisions we ever made. I remember sitting in the doctor's office crying," Tara Norman said.

"As a parent, you think your kid can't be sick." Michael Faenza, president of the National Mental Health Association, said parents need to get help for children and adolescents with depression much like they would if their child broke a leg. Not seeking help can be costly, he said, since half of children with depression attempt suicide and 2 percent to 5 percent succeed. "Parents are getting information that is confusing, and it's dangerous and keeping kids out of treatment that can really be a benefit," he said. "Childhood is a time of joy and growth See DEPRESS, Page 2E FEELING GOOD What you can do With an active season predicted for 2005, many of the following names may get used: Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Dennis, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katrina, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rita, Stan, Tammy, Vince and Wilma. RESEARCH Scent sensitivity linked to sexuality Scientists trying to sniff out biological differences between gay and straight men have found new evidence in scent.

It turns out that sniffing a chemical from testosterone, the male sex hormone, causes a response in the sexual area of gay men's brains, just as it does in the brains of straight women, but not in the brains of straight men. The study, published in a recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was done by researchers at the Ka-rolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. They exposed heterosexual men and women and homosexual men to chemicals called phero-mones derived from male and female sex hormones. From Staff and Wire Reports Learn about depression. Get referrals to mental health professionals.

Check with your insurance company about coverage. Talk to family members or friends for recommendations. Ask your child's physician or your family doctor for a referral. Inquire at your place of worship. Look in the telephone book for a local mental health association or community mental health center and call for referrals.

Ask therapists questions, either by phone or in person. Ask about licensing, level of training, expertise, approach to therapy and medication and participation in insurance plans and fees. Choose someone with whom you and your teen might interact well. Focus Adolescent Services tin's "Livin' la Vida It all became clear when I attended a 6:15 a.m. class one Wednesday at Lakeshore Athletic Club in Lincoln Park.

The setup was standard: a dark, smelly room filled with stationary bikes lined up in three rows. But instead of just an ocean of mirrors up front, there stood a large wall pad, ready and waiting to be filled with vocabulary words. "The goal is to understand what I'm saying, which is not hard if I'm doing the gestures," said our instructor, Elizabeth Figueres, a high school Spanish teacher who helped develop the class with her husband, Ruben, founder of the Alario Language School in Lincoln Park. "The goal isn't to produce (words) it's just to understand. The production of language will come later." The class drew beginning and seasoned spinners with a range of Spanish-speaking See HEALTH, Page 2E 'Gilmore' girl Help for asthma Index Inside picks ft Physiologists at Oklahoma State University believe they have found evidence that could link asthma problems suffered by horses, athletes and cold air workers.

The research could help find a cure. Page 3E The highs and lows of young Rory Gilmore played by Alexis Bledel are major elements of "Gilmore Girls," the Tuesday-night WB Network drama series also seen in weeknight repeats on ABC Family. page 4E Health calendar 2E Strange But True 2E TV 4E Advice 5E Comics 6E.