Any doubt that Simone Biles is the greatest gymnast in history was erased at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. The 26-year-old phenom took home five medals — including four gold — at the competition, which took place from September 30 to October 8, 2023. Biles won the gold medal in the all-around, balance beam, floor exercise, and team competition events. She took home a silver in the vault....

Glue manufacturers must find a balance between two things when making the sticky substance — how strong it holds and how easily it can be pulled apart. That's because boosting one attribute usually weakens the other. As a result, the end product is either not sticky enough or extremely strong. The latter makes it hard to undo to adjust for mistakes or when the product is no longer useful. Now, scientists in Japan have created an intriguing, reusable glue that can instantly be stuck on and off....

Paris is usually associated with stunning landmarks, world-class museums, and fancy restaurants. However, lately, France's capital and most populous city has been in the news for an unlikely reason — bed bugs!...

For most Americans, fall is synonymous with pumpkins. Some are used to make delicious soups and bread, while others get carved into spooky jack-o'-lanterns. Then there are the select few whose only purpose is to win pumpkin weigh-off contests. There are numerous such competitions held nationwide. However, the most impressive mega gourds typically end up at the "Super Bowl" of pumpkin weigh-offs held annually in Half Moon Bay, CA....

In case you missed it, October 14, 2023, was National Chess Day. The board game was once considered the realm of the so-called "intelligent" or "nerdy" community. However, over the past few years, chess has become a "cool" sport that can be played by people of all ages and skill levels....

Frank Rubio has inadvertently set a new record for the longest time in space by an American. The NASA astronaut who returned to Earth on September 23, 2023, was supposed to have been at the International Space Station (ISS) for 180 days. Instead, he was stuck there for 371 days. Rubio's time in space surpasses Mark Vande Hei's US spaceflight record of 355 days set in 2022. Russia holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s....

On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel. The large-scale assault occurred in the early morning hours, just as Israelis were wrapping up the seven-day-long Jewish festival of Sukkot....

Fall stargazing is about to get even more exciting. On October 14, 2023, the Moon will partially block the Sun, turning it into a stunning "ring of fire." The annular — Latin for ring-shaped — solar eclipse will be visible within a roughly 125-mile-wide (201 km) path from Oregon to Texas. The last time the US witnessed an annular eclipse was on May 20, 2012. The next time will not be until July 2084!...

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her fans may consider 13 a lucky number. However, millions of people worldwide do not share that sentiment. Things get even worse for the superstitious when the date, as will happen this week, coincides with a Friday. Some of the anxiety surrounding Friday the 13th can be blamed on the namesake movie series. However, the day was feared long before the film's hockey-masked villain, Jason Voorhees, made his debut in 1980....

American businessman Larry Connor is no stranger to breaking records. In 2022, he became the first person to travel to the deepest part of the ocean — the Mariana Trench — and to outer space — the International Space Station — within 12 months. The latter was also the first all-private mission to the space laboratory....

NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully sent asteroid Bennu's samples to Earth on September 24, 2023. The capsule, carrying the rocks and dust, entered Earth's atmosphere around 10:42 AM EDT (7:42 AM PT). Soon after, it made a picture-perfect landing on the sandy floor of the Utah desert....

On September 23, 2023, 26-year-old Tigist Assefa shattered the Women's Marathon World Record in Berlin, Germany. The Ethiopian runner completed the 26.2-mile race (42 km) in 2hrs 11min 53 seconds — 2min 11sec faster than the previous record set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019. The achievement is even more impressive when considering that Assefa began her career running short distances on track. She only started running marathons in 2022....

Columbus Day is celebrated annually on the second Monday of October. It marks Christopher Columbus's arrival to the Americas. However, the US federal holiday, which will be observed on October 9 this year, has always been controversial....

Live concerts can be challenging for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. While they sometimes have access to an interpreter, their sensory experience is limited to tricks like holding a balloon or standing close to the speakers to feel the vibrations. Now, thanks to the innovative haptic suits created by Not Impossible Labs, deaf people will be able to "feel" music in a whole new way....

Full Moons are always a stunning sight. However, the "Harvest Moon" that will light up the skies on September 29, 2023, promises to be even more spectacular given that it is a supermoon. More importantly, it will be this year's fourth and final supermoon!...

North America's Great Lakes — Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario — were a hub of maritime activity in the 1800s. Thousands of ships used the inland waterways to move cargo and passengers between cities. Among them was a sailing ship named Trinidad that sank in Lake Michigan about 150 years ago. On September 2, 2023, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced that the remains of the long-lost boat had finally been found....

The Beatles were one of the most successful and influential pop music groups of the 1960s. The English rock band, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, produced numerous hits before breaking up in 1970. Any hope of the group recording another song was dashed when a jealous fan killed John Lennon in December 1980. But now, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI), fans will be able to listen to one final song from the iconic band....

This year's summer was the Earth's hottest since global record-keeping began in 1880. Large parts of the Northern Hemisphere – including areas of the United States, Europe, and Japan – experienced scorching heatwaves. Humans comfortably rode out the extreme weather inside air-conditioned homes and offices. However, the option was not available to most zoo animals. Here are some creative ways that zookeepers used to keep the animals safe in the heat....

Nero, who ruled over the Roman Empire from 54 AD to 68 AD, was known for his love of the arts. The emperor had even purportedly built a private theater to rehearse his poetry and music. While its existence had been documented by many Roman historians, finding the structure had proved elusive. On July 23, 2023, a team of Italian archeologists revealed that they may have finally unearthed the "lost" theater....

In early September 2023, parts of the Mediterranean and Libya were struck by one of the deadliest and costliest tropical-like cyclones in recorded history. Storm Daniel brought torrential rains in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria on September 5th and 6th before slamming down on Libya on September 10th....

Peanut, a 21-year-old chicken, has been making headlines lately. In March 2023, the bantam hen from Michigan was crowned the world's oldest living chicken by Guinness World Records. The hen's longevity is even more impressive when you consider that she almost never hatched!...

The ocean is full of mysteries. But few have grabbed the attention of the scientific community and the public as the recently-found "golden egg." Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stumbled upon the shiny orb two miles (3.2 km) deep in the Gulf of Alaska on August 20, 2023....

We have all experienced the strong link between smell and memory. A whiff of chlorine probably reminds you of summer pool parties, while the scent of flowers may bring back memories of your grandma's garden. Now, researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have found that breathing in pleasant aromas could even help improve memory and learning....

National Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated annually from September 15th to October 15th. It honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of Americans from 20 countries and territories worldwide. This includes all residents — or those with ancestors — from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America....