A parasite that can transform ants into zombies and make them do its bidding may sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, that is precisely what the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or, zombie ant fungus does to unsuspecting carpenter ants. Now, a new study has discovered that the fungus accomplishes this ghoulish feat without infecting the ant’s brain....

Last week, a runner traversing the trails of California’s Pinnacle National Park, encountered a mesmerizing sight — a halo of rainbow colors emanating from the single cloud in the clear blue skies. While the phenomenon is commonly referred to as a “fire rainbow,” researchers say the name is misleading since the optical illusion is neither a rainbow, nor does it have anything to do with fire!...

While birds may appear to flutter about in the world, magically finding their way to food and other members of the flock, the reality is, species migrate to the same destination, time and again. Over the years, researchers have established that the animals use Earth’s magnetic fields as guides. However, how they sense these fields has been a mystery....

Scientists have long maintained that the skin, which makes up roughly 15 percent of a person’s body mass, is the largest organ in the human body. However, now researchers from New York University's School of Medicine appear to have stumbled upon what they believe may be an even larger organ. Called the interstitium, it is not solid like the heart or liver, but a network of fluid-filled spaces that is present throughout the body to protect the rest of our organs....

The Earth Day Network may have an unexpected ally in its quest to solve the global plastic pollution crisis: bacteria. More specifically, an enzyme produced by the Ideonella sakaiensis microbes. Dubbed PETase, it can expertly break down PET (polyethylene terephthalate), one of the most common types of plastic, within days, instead of the over 450 years it takes the synthetic material to decompose naturally....

Over the years, Germany’s Festo has engineered some incredibly cool and functional bio-inspired robots, including ones that mimic ants, butterflies, flying jellyfish, and seagulls. On March 27, the electrical automation company added to the impressive list with two new creations — a realistic flying fox bat and a somersaulting robotic spider....

Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, aka “Birdman,” takes to the skies aboard his two-seater adapted light aircraft, derived from hang-gliders. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the spectacular views, but to guide flocks of lesser white-fronted geese through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations....

Looking for a true out-of-this-world vacation? Then you are in luck. On Thursday, April 5, Texas-based start-up Orion Span announced they were taking reservations for Aurora Station, the world’s first luxury hotel in space, which is expected to launch in 2021 and begin welcoming visitors by 2022....

With memories of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which ravaged Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico in 2017, still fresh in their minds, residents of the US Atlantic and Gulf Coast are bracing for yet another busy hurricane season. Researchers at Colorado State University predict a slightly above-average 2018 season with 14 tropical storms, at least three of which are expected to be major hurricanes, Category 3 or higher! Though having the advance warning is helpful, it would be even better if we could find a way to stop the deadly storms from forming altogether. Now, Norwegian researchers may have found the answer in — of all places — air bubbles....

Experts predict myopia, or nearsightedness, will reach epidemic proportions by the end of the decade, with over a third of the world’s population requiring glasses or contact lenses. However, if a team of Israeli ophthalmologists from Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center has their way, the crisis may be averted with special “nanodrops” created to correct refractive errors responsible for nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), or blurred vision (astigmatism)....

Though the harmful effects of plastic on wildlife and human health are well-documented, the versatile material is hard to avoid. Nearly everything we touch, from grocery bags to drink bottles to food packaging, contains plastic. Now, Amsterdam’s Ekoplaza supermarket is making it a little easier for consumers to reduce consumption of single-use bags and containers, which are clogging our landfills at alarming rates, with a dedicated plastic-free aisle. Believed to be the world’s first, it features 700 products, including rice, beans, yogurt, chocolate milk, cereal, snacks, and even meat....

Reports of an out-of-control space station hurtling towards Earth may sound like a bad April Fools’ prank. However, this was no joke. At 5:16 pm PDT on April 1 (April 2, 00:16 GMT), China’s school bus-sized Tiangong-1 met a fiery end over the South Pacific, ending weeks of uncertainty as to when and where it would land....

While gorillas are perfectly capable of walking on two legs, most take just a step or two before dropping on all fours. However, Louis, a 16-year-old male gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo is often seen taking longer strolls, especially when the ground is wet or he is holding a delicious snack or two....

When the ashes from a December 2014 eruption of a submarine volcano created a 400-foot (120-meter) island in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga experts predicted it would last a few months at most. However, over three years later, the land mass, situated between the uninhabited Polynesian islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai, is showing no signs of dissipating. Now, NASA scientists believe it may be around for as long as 30 years!...

Scientists have always known that a majority of the brain’s neurons, specialized cells responsible for transmitting information throughout the body, are formed at the fetal stage. However, after studies on mammals, like rats, showed that neurogenesis continues in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus area of the brain vital to memory formation, through adulthood, it was assumed the same was true for humans as well. However, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco are challenging this long-held belief with a new study which asserts the human brain stops adding new neurons by age 13....

It might sound like 1.5 million penguins are a hard thing to miss. However, that is indeed the case with this super-colony of Adélie penguins ( Pygoscelis Adeliae ) who have managed to remain undetected for decades in the Danger Islands of Antarctica. The remote, difficult to access, landmass, which lies off the continent’s northern tip, is always surrounded by thick ice. It was, therefore, believed to be uninhabitable and largely ignored by scientists....

Experts believe that the optimal time to teach kids language skills is when they are infants. Most times the task is easily accomplished with parents reading or talking to their babies. However, in some cases that is not possible due to busy work schedules or when kids are born deaf. In the latter case, parents either have to quickly become adept at sign language or risk the child facing potential learning delays in the future. Now, an adorable blue-eyed robot, a human avatar, and some high-tech neuroscience may be able to assist parents and guardians with this crucial developmental task....

Stereo, or 3D, vision is what enables humans to gauge the depth and distance of surrounding objects. The right and left eye capture slightly different images and send them to the brain, which merges them and then calculates the proximity of everything in the vicinity. The ability, which requires an intricate network of neurons and lots of processing power, can also be found in a select group of animals like cats, horses, owls and sheep, as well as one insect — the praying mantis....

With over 3,500 exoplanets confirmed as of January 2018 and more being observed on a regular basis, the discoveries have become almost routine. However, all the planets found thus far have been within the Milky Way, the galaxy that contains our solar system. Now, scientists from the University of Oklahoma believe they may have found evidence of trillions of planets beyond our galaxy....

Though animals are continually evolving to adapt to their environment, it is hard to observe the process real time in the wild. Now, some international scientists have stumbled upon a unique group of West African dwarf crocodiles that may be in the midst of mutating into a new species....

A 14-year-old with a vocabulary comprising four or five rudimentary words may not sound impressive. However, it sure is when the speaker happens to be an orca, or killer, whale! The amazing discovery along with the recording of the vocalization was unveiled in a January 31 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B....

If you were among the millions of people that watched NBC’s replay of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea on Friday, February 9, you might have seen an airborne snowboarder, a bird flapping its wings, and the iconic Olympic Rings, light up the skies. While they may have appeared to be digital fireworks, the mesmerizing show was the result of thousands of tiny drones preprogrammed to follow complicated flight paths to form the shape-shifting images....

RZ Piscium, a star located 550 light years away in the constellation Pisces, has long intrigued researchers with its strange “winking” behavior. During the erratic episodes, which last as long as two days, the celestial body becomes about ten times dimmer and discharges a larger than normal amount of energy at infrared wavelengths, indicating the presence of enormous dust clouds....

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is known to be a crafty and fierce predator that devours anything it can snare. However, given that the reptile lacks salt glands, scientists had always believed that its diet was restricted to the fish and crustaceans that dwell in its freshwater habitat. Now, a new study suggests that the opportunistic beasts also gobble down saltwater inhabitants like crabs, sea turtles, stingrays, and even sharks....