In the 1800's the Rocky Mountain West area of the USA that now includes Yellowstone National Park, was teeming with gray wolves. However they were considered nuisance predators who killed livestock and therefore, actively hunted down. By the time the National Park was established in 1827, the number of gray wolves had diminished substantially, a trend that continued thanks to a government predator control program that ensured that by 1926, there were none left....

Always craving junk food? Now you can blame it on the millions of bacteria that live in your gut - At least that's what some researchers from UC San Francisco, Arizona State University and University of New Mexico, have concluded after reviewing the latest scientific literature about microbes. According to Athena Aktipis, one of the authors of the study, which was published in the journal Bio Essays in mid-August, these microscopic organisms are extremely bossy and have the power to influence not just our food cravings but also moods and overall well-being....

When toddlers have bad dreams, they usually run to snuggle up with their parents. Not Thea Helena Robertsen! This four-year-old Norwegian toddler decided to deal with her nightmare by sleepwalking, not just to the kitchen or the neighbor's home, but an astounding 5km (3-miles) - all the way to the next town!...

On Sunday, August 31st, 352 kitesurfers made their way to the pristine beaches of Tarifa, a small town on the south coast of Spain, to attempt a new Guinness World record for the largest en masse kitesurf, over one nautical mile....

Last week, scientists waited in anticipation for two massive solar flares that were scheduled to hit the earth's magnetic field on September 11th and 12th, respectively. While the outbursts were not expected to be as powerful as the ones experienced in 2012, it was the back-to-back occurrence that had experts concerned about the damage they could cause to our satellites, electric grids and GPS systems....

Dandelions have long been considered a nuisance weed by most gardeners. However they, along with the rest of the world, may soon start treating the annoying plant with the respect it deserves. That's because the white milky sap of their taproot contains particles of rubber of such superior quality, that Dutch biologist Ingrid van der Meer, refers to dandelions as the future of road transport....

If you are like most people, you probably do not recall the last time you performed a random act of kindness even for a family member, leave alone complete strangers. But that is exactly what 99-year-old Lillian Weber has been doing every day, since 2011....

Death Valley National Park in California's Mojave Desert is known for many things - Its extreme temperatures, varied altitude that ranges from 282ft. below sea level to 11,000ft. above, beautiful rugged terrain and most of all, 'rolling' or 'dancing' stones. The phenomenon whereby large boulders, some weighing as much as 500 lbs, move several hundred yards in a straight line or zigzag patterns, has confounded experts for years....

Though dinosaur finds are revealed on a fairly regular basis, very few result in as much excitement as the latest two. On Thursday, September 4th, a team of scientists led by Kenneth Lacovara, an associate professor at Philadelphia's Drexel University unveiled the Dreadnoughtus schrani, which they believe is the biggest known land animal to have ever inhabited Earth. While dinosaur fans were still digesting the facts, on September 11th, came news of the re-discovery of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, the only known semi-aquatic dinosaur....

On September 18th, the residents of Scotland (16 and older) will head to the polls to say Yes or No to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?". The answer to this simple question will decide whether Scotland will become the world's newest independent nation or, continue its 307-year-old alliance with Britain....

September 11th, (2001), or 9/11 as it is commonly called, is remembered as one of the most tragic days in modern American history. That was the day when the lives of 2, 977 innocent Americans were brutally cut short by a series of well-orchestrated terrorist attacks on US soil. Within less than two hours, life as we knew it, changed forever - not just for the people that lost a family member or friend, but for every single person across the globe. However, it is also the day when Americans came together as one nation, regardless of caste, creed or color, to stand up against unspeakable evil....

What do Lil Bub, Princess Monster Truck, and Venus the Two-Faced Cat have in common with tigers? They are all kittycats! That is why when Greenpeace was looking for a way to spread the word about the rapidly dwindling population of tigers in the wild, they turned to these celebrities for assistance....

Insects like ants and termites are amongst the world's best collaborators. Unlike most humans they have figured out that by working together, they can accomplish much more than they can individually. That is what some researchers are hoping to attain with Kilobots - bite size robots capable of ant-like teamwork and intelligence....

Mention Hawaii and the first thing that comes to mind are the pristine beaches. What is not as well known is that Hawaii's Big Island is also home to some of the world's most active volcanoes, including the spectacular Kilauea! While the dynamic volcano has been erupting almost nonstop since 1983, some years, the amount of magma coughed up is larger than others....

While achievements as the first African American major league baseball player are well documented, very few people know about Ila Borders - the first female pitcher in integrated men's professional baseball and the first woman to win a men's professional game in the independent leagues. Nor do they know about the 17 girls that have played in the 68-year history of the Little League World Series. But thanks to 13-year-old pitching phenom Mo'ne Davis, that has all changed....

Scientists have long suspected that there is water trapped deep inside the Earth's interior. However, they had never been able to verify it. Hence geologists had no choice but to adopt the theory that the water in our oceans was deposited by icy comets hitting the forming planet. Now thanks to evidence uncovered by Associate Professor Steven Jacobsen of Northwestern University and seismologist Brandon Schmandt from the University of New Mexico, there is finally proof that our oceans may have emerged from a massive reserve that lies 400 miles beneath the Earth's crust....

Though most people believe that climate change is real and likely to result in some catastrophic events if allowed to continue unabated, very few are ready to make the lifestyle changes needed to turn things around. That's why Italian adventurer Alex Bellini has come up with the radical idea of living atop an iceberg, until it melts. He believes that witnessing something this dramatic may be the key to convincing more people to take action....

One of the biggest knocks against candy is that it causes cavities. Now some genius scientists from Berlin-based biotechnology firm, OrganoBalance, may have figured out a way to manufacture the sweet treats in a way that eliminates that risk almost entirely. Sounds too good to be true? Read on . . ....

While most people are curious about how Earth was formed and more importantly, how it transformed into this habitable paradise, very few, have the patience to pore over complicated science books to find out. Now, thanks to this amazing video created by Germany's Kurzgesagt, our beautiful planet's entire history can be mastered in about seven minutes!...

On Wednesday, August 27th, over 20,000 revelers literally painted the tiny town of Bunol red, by pelting each other with thousands of pounds of tomatoes. This was of course no ordinary food fight, but the world's largest one that is staged annually on the last Wednesday of August - Welcome to Spain's messy La Tomatina festival!...

On Saturday, August 23rd, over 300 people lined up outside Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C., to participate in the first birthday celebration of one of its cutest and most precious residents - America's favorite giant panda cub, Bao Bao....

On Sunday, August 24th, comic book lovers across the world watched with abated breath to what avid collectors would pay for a rare Superman comic book. Though bids above the initial asking price of $1 million USD had been coming in gradually since the pristine copy was placed on auction site eBay on July 14th, things really started to heat up during the final minutes when the price jumped from $2.5 to $2.6 and then $2.7 million, before shooting up to $3,207,752. Just when everyone thought it was over, an unknown buyer sneaked in the winning bid - a mind-boggling $3,207,852!...

Data gathered by humanitarian organization, World Food Programme, indicates that every year over 847 million people worldwide, suffer from malnutrition and about 3.1 million children under the age of five, die from starvation. While eradicating world hunger is a top priority for both scientists and philanthropists, given the increasing global population and dwindling natural resources, it is not easy. But thanks to new innovations like the recently introduced 'LivingBox', there may be some hope....

Although most hitchhikers are people in need of genuine assistance, passersby tend to ignore them because they are wary of giving rides to strangers. But what would they do if they came across a hitchhiking robot? Would humans be caring enough to take it to its desired destination or would they vandalize and toss the helpless machine by the wayside?...