A Rare Peek Inside Space Shuttle DiscoveryIt has been on 39 missions, completed 5,830 orbits, flown 148 million miles and spent 395 days in Space - Now NASA's flagship Space Shuttle Discovery, is getting ready for its last journey to Smithsonian's Air and Space museum in Washington D.C....
Read news articleCan Conservationists Save The Spoon-Billed Sandpiper?A team of conservationists led by the staff at the Russian branch of Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and Birds (WWT), has just launched a last-minute attempt to save one of the world's rarest birds - The Spoon-Billed Sandpiper....
Read news articleSpectacular Eruption At Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle VolcanoBefore the ash from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano has even had a chance to settle down, another spectacular eruption is making headlines. This time around, it is not in Iceland but in the world's other volcano hotspot - Chile. After being dormant for over 50 years, one of the craters of the Puyenhue-Cordon Caulle volcano suddenly came to life on Saturday, June 4th and erupted with a fury, that has not been seen in recent times....
Read news articleLucky Few Witness Partial Eclipse Of The Midnight SunSolar eclipses, which occur when the moon comes in between the earth and the sun, are always fun to watch - So you can only imagine how cool it must have been to watch one unfold at midnight....
Read news articleTiny Shore Bird's Record-Breaking Migration TrekThe Great Snipe is a nondescript chubby little shore bird with a long beak - Not one that would be considered a great athlete, by any stretch of the imagination. However, a recent study has revealed that these seemingly non-aerodynamic birds, not only fly non-stop for long periods of time during their annual migration, but do so, at record speeds....
Read news articleGoogle Unveils Self-Driving Car TechnologyThe next time you see a car fitted with a camera on a rooftop zipping by your neighborhood, be sure to take a closer look - For it may be one of the seven self-driving cars currently being tested by search engine giant, Google Inc....
Read news articleScientists Announce 2011's Top Ten New SpeciesHaving inhabited the earth for millions of years, one would think that we have found almost every living creature there is. That apparently, is not the case - Not only do we find thousands of new species every year, scientists estimate that there are over 10 million, still waiting to be discovered....
Read news articleAnother Volcano Erupts In IcelandAbout a year ago, the world witnessed a majestic eruption from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano - the ashes from which disrupted European air travel for weeks and caused chaos all over the world. On Saturday, the world watched fearfully, as a similar scenario began to unfold at another one of the country's many active volcanoes....
Read news articleExoskeleton Enables Paraplegic Student To 'Walk' At GraduationOn Saturday May 14th, UC Berkeley senior Austin Whitney, was able to do something he would have never thought possible - Walk up to the Chancellor to receive his diploma. While the few steps may not seem like a big deal, it was nothing short of a miracle, for this 22-year old student, who is paralyzed from the waist down....
Read news articleWhy Ultra Clean Water Is Harmful To Your HealthSince we are always in the hunt for the purest, cleanest and freshest sources of water, it is hard to swallow the fact that really really pure water, the kind that is necassary to clean electronic chips used in devices like computers and smart phones could actually be harmful for the human body....
Read news articleRarely Seen 'Dumbo' Octopus Caught On TapeEarlier this week, researchers from the University of Washington released pictures and a hi-definition video of a rarely seen white 'winged' octopus that looks more like a ghost from outer space, than the eight-armed cephalopod mollusk that we are all accustomed to....
Read news articleCell Phone Battery Dead? Yell At It!How's this for an excuse the next time you are caught yapping away on your cell phone or singing loudly to the music on your iPod? I was just charging it! If the team of scientists from Korea's Sungkyunkwan University have their way, that is exactly what you may be doing pretty soon!...
Read news articlePlanets Align To Provide Spectacular Celestial Shows This MonthNeed a good reason to set that alarm clock a little early? How about the unusual opportunity to view four of the nine planets of our Solar System at the same time? Even better is the fact, that in order to do so, you don't have to rush to some far-off observatory - Simply grab a cup of cocoa, seek out an east-facing window and enjoy the show!...
Read news articleScientists Descend Into The Heart Of Iceland VolcanoThere are very few new frontiers left for humans to explore, especially on Earth. We have scaled the tallest mountains, gone deep into our deepest oceans and far into our densest forests. However, the one place no one has dared to go, is inside the Magma Chamber or heart of a volcano - Until now....
Read news articleHummingbirds Don't Suck Nectar In - They Drink It!For over two centuries, scientists have maintained that hummingbirds suck in nectar by capillary action (the same way liquid gets sucked up by a straw), using the tube-like channels that lie inside their tongues. However, a new study conducted by Alejendro Rico-Guevara, an ornithologist from the University of Connecticut, refutes that, and he has video footage to prove it....
Read news articleFire Ants Morph Into 'Living Rafts' To Survive FloodsLiving creatures adapt to their environment in all kinds of ways, in order to survive. Some camouflage themselves to blend in, while others learn to survive on arsenic substances. The biggest hazard to survival for the South American red ants is the constant flooding - So they get around it, by holding onto each other and floating away on their 'living' rafts....
Read news articleComing Soon To A Beach Near You - Debris From Japan's Tsunami!When the powerful tsunami that devastated the coastal areas near Sendai, Japan on March 11th receded, it took back with it an estimated 200,000 buildings along with all their belongings, countless cars and whatever else lay in its path. Now scientists are trying to see if they can track the debris, in order to be prepared for them, when they wash up ashore....
Read news articleEven Humpback Whales Release Hit 'Singles'The fact that male humpback whales sing long sweet melodies has been known for many years - However, a new finding suggests that some melodies get so popular, that they are sung by whales all over the world!...
Read news articleWill This Plastic-Eating Bacteria Save Or Harm Our Environment?The increasing amount of plastic debris that ends up in our oceans is a cause for big concern for scientists, worldwide. For not only does the synthetic material take hundreds of years to decompose, but it also, kills marine animals, who mistake it for food....
Read news article50th Anniversary Of Human Space TravelFifty years ago, on April 12th 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, made history, by becoming the first human to orbit the earth. The 108-minute flight hailed as the greatest feat in Soviet Space history, also helped reignite interest in space exploration....
Read news articleFuture Ford Vehicles May Feature Some Fungus!If Green Island, NY based start-up Ecovative Design and US car manufacturer Ford have their way, you will soon have a new option to choose from - mycelium filled bumper, side doors and dashboards. However, before you wrinkle your nose at this fungus root network, bear in mind that this may be one of the biggest 'green' ideas to hit the automobile industry, since the invention of the electric engine....
Read news articleRobots Take Center Stage At Japan's Fukushima Nuclear PlantJapan's devastating 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami has not only resulted in indescribable destruction, but also, caused a meltdown at its Fukushima nuclear plant leading to an unprecedented nuclear crises - One, that nobody know how to control, yet....
Read news articleAn 'Artificial Leaf' That Could Be The Source Of Cheap Green EnergyGreen leaves are amongst the cheapest and most efficient creators of energy. In the presence of sunlight they are able to transform carbon dioxide and water into glucose - A process we call photosynthesis. While it sounds simple, trying to imitate this has been one of the holy grails for science for decades - Now, there may finally be a breakthrough....
Read news articleWatch Out For That Seagull - It Could Be A 'SmartBird'The next time you see a seagull soaring in the sky, be sure to look again, for while it may resemble the graceful white bird, it may actually be an ultra light flying robot, that could possibly be spying on your activities!...
Read news article