This morning, William Campbell, Satoshi Omura, and Youyou Tu, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for their work on parasitic diseases. Though the brilliant scientists certainly deserve the honor for their groundbreaking research, for most of us, reading about their and the achievements of other Nobel laureates can be overwhelming and perhaps even a little boring. However, the same cannot be said about the winners of the IG Nobel Prize that celebrates 'fun' scientific research....

Stonehenge, a prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire, England, is one of the world's most well-known ancient religious and burial sites. Situated amidst a dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, the modest looking circle of stones that are visited by millions of tourists annually were declared a World Heritage Site in 1986. Now it appears that the ancient tombstones that are believed to date all the way back to 2,000 B.C. have some bigger competitors right in their own backyard....

Some sculptors like to create clay masterpieces; others prefer metal. Then there is Theo Jansen. This Dutch artist uses PVC tubes to build giant Strandbeests (beach animals in Dutch). Part work of art, part fantastical creature, the multi-legged insect-like creations are both awe-inspiring and terrifying!...

When the team of marine biologists led by David Gruber of the City University of New York headed to Solomon Islands in the South Pacific in late July, they were hoping to film some biofluorescent sharks and coral reefs. What they had never expected to find was the world's first-known biofluorescent reptile....

According to ancient Polish folklore, during the final days of World War II, Nazi officials dispatched a train filled with stolen treasure from what used to be the East German city of Breslau. They were hoping to protect it from the fast approaching Soviet Red Army....

The proliferation of smartphones with cameras that can take self-portraits or selfies as they are popularly called has liberated us. We can now document every moment of our life and instantly share it with the world through the myriad of social networking websites. However, some believe that the incessant quest to capture the "ultimate" selfie is causing people to take unnecessary risks that in some cases are proving to be deadly!...

When one thinks of sandcastles the image that comes to mind is usually that of building a masterpiece not staying inside one. However, some lucky visitors to the Netherlands can experience both thanks to two new pop-up sand hotels in the cities of Oss and Sneek....

On Sunday, September 27th, skywatchers will witness the grand finale of the rare lunar eclipse tetrad (series of four consecutive total lunar eclipses). And it promises to be quite a show. That's because this one involves a full moon and perigee. This means that the celestial body will be at its closest distance to earth, giving it a larger than life appearance. The last time the world witnessed this phenomenon was in 1982, and the next one will not be until 2033!...

The words teenager and patience are rarely uttered in one sentence. Adolescents are well-known for being irritable, impulsive, and craving instant gratification. According to the researchers from Berlin-based Max Planck Institute for Human Development, it is not because of hormones or that teens like to "act up." It is simply because the structural connections inside their 'amygdala' or emotional center of the brain, are still developing, limiting their ability to think ahead about the consequences of their actions....

From customizable figurines to prosthetics, 3D printing has revolutionized the way we build and manufacture things. However, nobody has ever attempted what Dutch designer Joris Laarman plans to do - Use the technology to "print" a pedestrian bridge exactly where it will live - Over one of Amsterdam's old city canals....

Right about now, high school seniors that wish to attend U.S. Universities are scrambling to complete their college applications before the December or January deadlines. Among the things they will be required to submit is a Scholastic Aptitude Test or SAT score. While the standardized test is an optional requirement for some schools, at California's Stanford University it is mandatory for every applicant - Even the world's youngest Nobel Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai!...

On August 28, six researchers who barely know each other made their way to the slopes of the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii's Big Island for a year-long "vacation." However, the crew of three men and three women that includes a soil scientist, a doctor, a post-grad architect student, and an astrobiologist, did not check into a fancy resort. Instead, they locked themselves up inside a solar-powered dome without fresh air, fresh food, or privacy....

Girl bands - Music groups that feature women only have been around since the 1920's. However, none compares to Japan's latest pop sensation KBG84. That's because, with an average member age of 84, they are not just the country's hottest music band; they are also the oldest! But age has not hindered the "granny" group from releasing a hit single and performing to sold out shows in Tokyo and Osaka....

On September 2nd, Canberra's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) received news of a woolly creature roaming around in the Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve on the outskirts of the city. When the officials arrived to investigate, they discovered a barely visible ram buried under a giant ball of beautiful merino wool....

The octopus has long fascinated scientists. The intelligent cephalopods have been known to use coconut shells for mobile homes and armor, disable their suckers to avoid becoming a tangled mess, plot escapes from aquarium enclosures, and even predict World Cup soccer game outcomes....

What's better than a scoop of ice cream on a hot summer day? How about one that doesn't melt into a sticky puddle within minutes? That, believe it or not, could soon become a reality thanks to the ingenious scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee....

Queen Nefertiti, the wife of King Akhenaten who ruled from 1352 to 1336 B.C., was one of ancient Egypt's most influential and beautiful queens. Historians maintain that she played a significant role in the political and religious reforms that resulted in numerous changes including the establishment of Aten as Egypt's supreme god. Many even believe that the powerful queen served as pharaoh for a brief period following her husband's death and the accession of his 9-year-old son King Tutankhamun (Tut), to the throne....

In August 2013, Elon Musk, the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, the world's first privately funded spacecraft company unveiled a 57-page white paper that outlined a radical new supersonic transportation system. Called Hyperloop, it envisioned giving residents of high-traffic cities that lie within short distances the option to commute in enclosed capsules through low-pressure steel tubes at up to 800 mph. Musk hypothesized that such a system would help cut the commute time between cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco from the current 6 hours to just 30 minutes....

For those living in developed countries, life without Internet connectivity is almost unimaginable. However, about 4 billion people across the world still have sketchy or no access to the massive networking structure that has transformed the world into a global village. But if social networking powerhouse Facebook and search giant Google have their way, that will soon be a thing of the past....

Earlier this year, Marianne Winkler, a retired postal worker and her husband were vacationing on the North Sea island of Amrum, Germany, when they stumbled upon a bottle with a message inside! And it was no ordinary letter either, but one written by an Edwardian British scientist studying undersea currents....

Space food has come a long way since John Glenn orbited Earth in 1962. He and other members of Project Mercury, the first American human spaceflight program, had to endure unappetizing foods that came in the form of bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semi-liquids stuffed in aluminum tubes. Today astronauts can select from an extensive menu of over 70 foods and 20 beverages. The one thing they still can't get? Fresh fruits and vegetables!...

On August 13, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti along with officials from the water department watched as the last 20,000 "shade balls" rolled their way into the city's largest in-basin water reservoir. The release marked the final phase of the project that involved covering the 175-acre lake with 96-million four-inch black plastic balls. Their purpose? To provide shade and improve water quality....

Camouflage is not a new concept in the animal kingdom. From grasshoppers blending in with leaves to owls mimicking tree barks, many animals, birds, and insects, depend on their ability to hide in plain sight for survival. But if there were an Oscar for the species with the best disguise, it would surely go to the dusky dottyback. The crafty predator fish can change its color to mimic that of its prey's parents, allowing it to feast on their juveniles, without raising suspicion....

Ebola has been on the public health radar for quite some time. However, the most recent epidemic, the deadliest since the disease was identified in 1976, has brought the aggressively contagious viral illness to the forefront. Researchers from all over the world have been frantically trying to find a cure. Now there appears to be a breakthrough in the form of a safe vaccine that in initial trials has proven to be extremely effective in eliminating the risk of contracting the dreaded disease....