With the advent of smart devices, classroom curriculum is starting to become increasingly interactive. Now neuroscience PHD student Greg Gage and his team at Backyard Brains are taking it to a new level with their robo kits that can transform any cockroach into a RoboRoach! All that is required is a smart phone, steady hands and a living insect....

Drive-thru windows of fast food restaurants all over America are reporting a new sharp rise in a new trend - Customers 'paying it forward', meaning that they pay for the purchases made by the car right behind them. Why? Because they just want to perform a random act of kindness....

With Halloween just around the corner, the frenzy to carve out the spookiest pumpkin has begun in earnest, all over the country. But very few people have the talent to transform the gnarly fruits into 3-D zombie masterpieces like pumpkin carver extraordinaire Ray Villafane, who showcased his superior skills last week, at New York Botanical Garden's Giant Pumpkin Carving Weekend....

On October 14th 2012, over eight million people worldwide tuned in to YouTube to watch Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner leap from the edge of space - 128,000 feet (24 miles) above sea level - and break the sound barrier as he came zooming down to earth....

They say that when it rains, it pours. That certainly seemed to be case in Southern California last week, except that it was not water falling from the skies, but ginormous rare oarfishes that appeared from deep inside the oceans....

While scientists have built many artificial organs individually, they have never before been put together to create an entire human body. Rex or as he has recently been renamed Frank (after Frankenstein), the world's first fully functional bionic man has just changed that. Now on display at the National Air And Space Museum in Washington D.C., the human clone was assembled in three short months using state-of-the-art organs that were donated by 17 manufacturers - A good thing given that the total cost came to about $1 million USD!...

When the government partially shut down on October 1st, after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on what is usually a routine matter - Passing the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund normal government programs - most political pundits predicted that it would last just a few days. They were obviously wrong....

With thousands of beautiful flamingos crowding around, at first glance Lake Natron, a salt lake in Northern Tanzania looks like your typical picturesque African landscape. But look closer and you will find something eerily unusual - Perfectly preserved dead animals strewn all along its shores. And while many have likened the lake to Medusa, the monster from Greek mythology who turned anyone that looked her in the eye to stone, most experts assert that the lake itself is not deadly....

When Massachusetts Institute of Technology students Jim Bredt and Tim Anderson created the first 3-D printer in 1995 by modifying an inkjet printer so that it would extrude a binding solution on to a bed of powder, instead of ink on paper, they probably had no idea of its tremendous potential....

It has taken over a decade and faced numerous design hurdles, but the new $100 USD bill that Americans fondly call 'Benjamin' finally made its debut on October 8th, 2013. The largest U.S. denomination in circulation, it is not surprisingly, the most recognized form of U.S. Currency worldwide....

Most people are grossed out by insects and believe them to be just a nuisance. However, a group of students from Montreal-based McGill University think of them as protein that can be used to feed millions of malnourished people worldwide, an idea so powerful that it won them the prestigious 2013 Hult Prize on September 23rd....

With the introduction of remote-controlled airplanes, the paper versions have pretty much become relics of the past. Now, Miami-based Taylor Toys hopes to make them current again by giving them the much needed lift and control....

When the Los Angeles branch of Bonhams Auctioneers placed a rare $4USD gold coin up for bidding they knew they had something special. However even the experts were stunned when on September 23rd, 2013, instead of the expected $1.5 million USD, the coin fetched $2.75 million USD, placing it amongst the 10 most valuable US coins sold at an auction....

For decades scientists lamented about the demise of the gorgeous Pinocchio lizard. Now it turns out that the reptile, while still rare, is very much around in the cloud forests of South America, an area known for its stunning flora and fauna....

Living in an era when airplanes can run on autopilot with no humans at helm, it is hard to imagine that there was once a time not too long ago, when pilots in the USA had to navigate their way across cities using rudimentary aviation maps and . . . ginormous arrows!...

The fact that kids seem to have an inordinate amount of energy is indisputable. What if this energy could somehow be harnessed and turned into electricity? That was a question that Ben Markham, a retired Vice President of Engineering at ExxonMobil asked himself a few years ago. The result? Empower Playgrounds Inc., non-profit company that has transformed the lives of thousands of young kids in Ghana with a simple yet brilliant idea!...

If you have been paying any attention to the news for the past few weeks, you may have heard about the possibility of the US government 'shutting down.' At 12:01 am on October 1st, that possibility became a reality. So what led to this momentous event and how will it affect your day-to-day life? Read on . . ....

Completing a 26.2-mile marathon is hard enough. Now imagine running it backwards! Not impressed? How about doing all that and juggling, or as they call it 'joggling'? That believe it or not, is what Joe Salter did on the weekend of September 19th, at the Quad-Cities Marathon in Illinois....

Over his short illustrious career, base jumper Jeb Corliss has completed over 2,000 stunts including leaping off France's Eiffel Tower, zooming through a waterfall in the Swiss Alps and even, flying across the Tianmen Cave, a 100ft-wide water eroded slit, in China's Tianmen Mountain. However, the stunt he pulled recently was so dangerous that it scared the daredevil himself....

Patrick a 23-year-old Western lowland gorilla has been a fixture at the Dallas Zoo since 1995. And while the gregarious male seems to love humans, his attitude toward his fellow gorillas especially females, has left much to be desired, leaving officials with no choice but to ship him off to a new home....

Going to a new school is tough - Not only does one have to seek out new friends but also be able to navigate around an unknown campus which can be a harrowing task depending on how big it is. Most schools assign seniors to help the newcomers, which is great, but wouldn't it be more fun if the campus guide was not human but a drone helicopter? Welcome to SkyCall....

The fact that kids love to play games is obvious. But do they love them enough to be convinced to not only eat, but also, enjoy 'yucky' vegetables like carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and even . . . green pepper? That is what Takayuki Kosaka, an assistant Professor at Japan's Kanagawa Institute for Technology is hoping to achieve with a new gaming console that he calls Food Practice Shooter!...

Imagine a scenario where you get to lounge in bed all day and watch as much television, play as many video games or read as many books as you want. If that is not awesome enough, here is the icing on the cake - You even get paid for doing that and not just a tiny amount amount, but an astounding $18,000 USD, for the duration of the fifteen week study!...

What is better than silly putty - that gooey mixture that flows like a liquid when handled gently, but turns as hard as a rock, when punched or stomped upon? How about one that flows through your hand like sand but can still be used to shape your favorite creations?...