Every Mother’s Day, Americans show their appreciation for the special woman in their lives by showering her with lavish gifts. This Sunday (May 14) is going to be no exception. A National Retail Foundation (NRF) study of 7,400 people revealed that consumers plan to spend an average of $186 for the holiday, totaling to an astounding $23.6 billion. This is the highest amount since the survey began 14 years ago, and easily topples 2016’s record spend of $21.4 billion....

On April 26, NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer starred in the first 4K ultra-high-definition live stream broadcast from the International Space Station (ISS). The highly anticipated event that occurred at 10:30 AM PDT (1:30 PM EDT) was part of a special show at the 2017 National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas to demonstrate the advanced technology and promote space science and filmmaking. Though the broadcast lasted just a few minutes, the astronauts impressed the ground audience with some fun experiments that looked stunning, thanks to the high resolution imaging....

Ever since Malaysian ecologist-architect Ken Yeang introduced the concept in the 1990’s, living walls and rooftops have become an increasingly common sight in both residential and commercial buildings. In addition to looking good, planted exteriors also help cut energy costs, and in the case of rooftop farms provide urban dwellers with homegrown produce. Now, Stefano Boeri wants to take green architecture to the next level with “Forest Cities” to combat China’s air pollution woes....

Given that scientists have been studying the human body for thousands of years, one would think that they have uncovered all there is to know. It turns out that is not the case. The latest surprising news comes from a team of researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), who have discovered that our brains might be ten times more active and possess 100 times more computing power than previously believed....

While smartphones continue to get increasingly sophisticated and resilient, the same cannot be said about the display screen. The Gorilla Glass cover used for most high-end cell phones tends to shatter easily, leaving owners with little choice but to pay for an expensive replacement screen or buy a new device altogether. However, this issue may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new self-healing, Wolverine-inspired material which automatically repairs itself within 24 hours....

About 130 years ago, Harry Govier Seeley, a paleontologist trained in Cambridge, classified dinosaurs into two distinct groups, or clades, based on the shape of their pelvic bones. The “reptile-hipped” saurischians included carnivorous theropods like the Tyrannosaurus Rex (T-Rex), while the “bird-hipped” ornithischians comprised herbivores such as the Stegosaurus and Triceratops. As more dinosaur fossils were discovered, a third group, dubbed sauropodomorphs, was established. In 1887, Seeley concluded that the long-necked herbivorous sauropods, like the Brontosaurus, were related to theropods and classified them as saurischians....

Though 70% of the Earth is covered in water, only about 2.5% is fresh. Even worse, only 1% of the fresh water is readily accessible, the rest being trapped in glaciers or deep underground. It is therefore not surprising to hear that over 780 million people worldwide currently do not have easy access to clean water. The problems are only expected to get worse with climate change and the burgeoning world population. Though desalinating sea water is the most logical solution, current techniques are too expensive and cumbersome to deploy on a large scale....

Flying cars have been in the works since 1946, when aeronautical engineer Ted Hall created two prototypes of the ConvAirCar. Unfortunately, a crash landing due to low fuel caused the hybrid vehicle’s manufacturer, Convair, to lose interest and shut down the venture within a year. While there have been numerous attempts since, none have gone beyond the experimental stage. That is about to change thanks to a slew of new and established companies that are determined to make this 70-year-old quest a reality....

In your biology class, you may have learned that lungs help us breathe while bone marrow, found in flat bones such as the hip bone, produces red and white blood cells through a process called hematopoiesis Now, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers have discovered that in addition to being a crucial part of our respiratory system, lungs also play a major role in the production and storage of blood cells....

Single-celled amoebae, which resemble small blobs of jelly, are usually of interest only to the researchers that discover them. However, a new South American species is garnering significant attention from fans of the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R.Tolkien. That’s because its unique shell, or carapace, bears a close similarity to the hat donned by Gandalf, the powerful wizard leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West....

Space travel is expensive, especially since every launch requires a new rocket. The biggest and most costly part is the booster that powers the spacecraft beyond the Earth’s orbit. Once the job, which takes a few minutes, is completed, it separates from the rest of the rocket and drops back into the ocean while the second stage engine takes over and delivers the payload to its destination....

Easter, which will be celebrated on Sunday, April 16 this year, offers many fun activities. But the one all kids look forward to the most is the egg hunt. However, in 2005 U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) special agent David Hyche realized that visually impaired children like his then 19-month-old daughter, Rachel, were unable to participate in this exciting event....

Given that more than 65% of infectious diseases that affect humans originate from other animals, the most logical way to stop them would be to locate the source. However, studying wildlife for clues about the origin of the next epidemic is like looking for a needle in a haystack. As a result, scientists and health officials are forced to combat illnesses like the recent Zika Virus, after they spread....

With our smart gadgets continuing to get increasingly powerful, battery power, of all things, is becoming of utmost importance. But amid the messy tangle of smartphone cords, unwieldy portable chargers, and the improbability of finding an electrical outlet, charging remains a challenge. Now, some brilliant scientists at Disney Research have created a room that can wirelessly charge all your electronic devices simultaneously....

Like most people, Gal Rozov hates folding laundry. But instead of complaining, the software developer decided to put his programming skills to work and create a laundry-folding robot! In 2012, after spending two years researching the most efficient design, Rozov moved from Israel to California and founded FoldiMate Inc. It took another four years, but by 2016, he had a working prototype of the namesake robot....

On June 23, 2016, the residents of the United Kingdom (UK) shocked the world by voting for the country’s exit from the European Union (EU), or “Brexit.” On March 29, almost nine months after the historic referendum, the country’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, began the official separation process with a letter to EU President Donald Tusk. It urged the remaining member states to allow the UK to leave “in a fair and orderly manner, and with as little disruption as possible on each side.”...

While the fact that Julia is “Sesame Street’s” first new Muppet in a decade is certainly newsworthy, that is not the only thing that makes her special. The cheery, green-eyed 4-year-old who has autism is also here to expose young kids to children with autistic traits and teach them about acceptance....

In case it has slipped your mind, this Saturday is April 1st, or, as is popularly called, Fools’ Day. The origin of this fun day, when pranking people is encouraged, is hazy. Some believe the tradition began in 1582 when the world transitioned from the Julian calendar, which started the year in April, to the currently used Gregorian calendar. Others think it was to celebrate the start of spring. Though individuals often prank each other, it is corporations that really get into the spirit with elaborate gags. Here are a few that were credible enough to fool people for days....

While campaigning to be the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump often referred to global warming as a “hoax” and promised Americans that, if elected, he would lift all “job-killing (climate change) restrictions.” On Tuesday, March 29, the US leader made good on his promise with an executive order that reverses many of the regulations the Obama administration put in place to protect the environment....

Like the rest of their species, the Southern Hemisphere humpbacks, or Megaptera novaeangliae, are not social animals. The baleen whales typically prefer to remain solo or amalgamate in small groups which disperse quickly. However, since 2011, researchers from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town have been observing a new phenomenon off the coast of South Africa — large swarms of whales, comprising anywhere from 20 to 200 individuals. Professor Ken Findlay and his team reported seeing 22 instances of the large groups on three different occasions in 2011, 2014, and 2015....

Always wanted to help fight climate change? Then join the Earth Hour party on Saturday, March 25 by turning off all lights from 8:30 — 9:30 PM local time. This small action, taken by hundreds of millions of people around the world, will make a dent in our efforts to reverse global warming. More importantly, it will demonstrate what can be achieved if we all unite to protect our planet....

As most people age, the crystalline lenses in their eyes start to stiffen and are unable to change shape as easily. As a result, objects in close range start to look blurry, forcing many middle-aged adults to carry reading glasses either around their necks or tucked away in a handbag. Those already suffering from nearsightedness, or myopia, a condition where distant objects appear blurry, have to depend on bifocals or, even worse, switch between two pairs of glasses. However, thanks to some Utah researchers there may finally be a solution — self-adjusting “smart” glasses....

With its wide canopy of leaves, the majestic 50-feet tall manchineel tree that is native to the Caribbean, Florida, the northern coast of South America, Central America, and the Bahamas, looks particularly inviting, especially on a hot summer day. But you may be wise to heed the warning signs given that the deceptively innocuous tree holds the Guinness World Record for “the world’s most dangerous tree.”...

If some geologists have their way, world maps will soon be altered to reflect an eighth continent. Dubbed “Zealandia,” the landmass that lies east of Australia covers 1.9 million mi2 (4.9 million km2), or an area larger than the Indian subcontinent. The only catch? Over 94 percent of it is submerged in the southwest Pacific Ocean, with just the islands of New Zealand and New Caledonia, visible above sea level....