While even the mention of a shark swimming close to shore is enough to send residents scurrying for cover, the "WasteShark" is being welcomed with open arms. The brainchild of South African entrepreneur Richard Hardiman, the aquatic drone is designed to devour all floating debris, including plastic and other non-biodegradable trash, that has accumulated along coastal waters, before it drifts out to sea....

On March 10, 2019, eight-year-old Tanitoluwa "Tani" Adewumi defeated 73 young competitors to win the New York State Scholastic Chess Championship in his age category — kindergarten to third grade — with five wins and one draw. While the achievement is remarkable in itself, what is even more so is that the youngster, who was homeless at the time, began learning the game less than a year ago....

Always dreamed of getting paid for just showing up to work? Then you are in luck! In 2025, the Korsvägen train station in Göteborg, Sweden will offer a unique career opportunity to one lucky person — a job with no defined responsibilities! The lifetime position comes with a generous starting monthly salary of 21,564 SEK ($2,320), a guaranteed annual wage increase of 3.2 percent, and even vacation time....

Female mosquitoes, which feed on human blood to obtain iron and amino acids required to produce eggs, are notorious for transmitting viruses responsible for deadly diseases, such as yellow fever, Dengue, and Zika. Over the years, researchers have devised various solutions, ranging from repellents to vaccines to genetic engineering, to combat the vectors. Now, a team at New York's Rockefeller University has come up with a unique solution to fend off the dangerous insects - filling their little bellies with diet drugs to curb their appetite for human blood....

Swimming in water temperatures of 41 degrees F and below, with air temperatures between 6.8 degrees F to -4 degrees F, wearing just a swimsuit, cap, and goggles, may sound foolhardy to some. But that is precisely what 400 athletes from 33 countries had to endure in the 3rd biennial International Ice Swimming Championships, held in Murmansk, Russia from March 14, 2019 to March 17, 2019....

Over the last week, both the academic and celebrity worlds have been roiled by a college admissions scam, involving famous Hollywood actors, tech executives, and college coaches. On March 12, 2019, the US Department of Justice charged 50 individuals, including 33 affluent parents, with bribery, fraud, and false information, to get their kids admitted into some of the nation's most elite universities, including Stanford, Yale, and the University of Southern California (USC)....

Few festivals transcend across different ages and cultures as St. Patrick's Day does. Celebrated annually on March 17, the Irish holiday is filled with fun traditions that seem to appeal to people across the globe. For those wondering about the clergyman, whose death anniversary the world celebrates with such abandon, and the origin of some of the fun customs, here is a brief history....

On Friday, March 15, 2019, hundreds of thousands of kids from over 80 countries, including the United States, Germany, and Malaysia, will skip school and take to the streets. However, the worldwide strike is not a protest against excessive homework or long school hours. It is a plea to government officials and business leaders to take immediate action against climate change....

Ever since the US shuttle program ended in 2011, astronauts - both American and those from other nations - have been dependent on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to go to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The reliance, which costs NASA $70 million for each trip, is expensive and also leaves astronauts in danger of being stranded in the event of a like the one experienced in October 2018. Now, thanks to SpaceX's successful Crew Dragon test mission, astronauts may soon have an alternate, more affordable, mode of transportation to the ISS....

A holiday associated with a math concept may not seem that exciting, especially for those not fond of the subject. However, America's Pi (“π”) Day – observed annually on March 14 (3/14) to honor the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, widely recognized as 3.14 – is an exception. That's because the celebrations don't just include fun math activities, but also a slice, or two, of yummy pie!...

Here is some good news for the thousands of North Americans affected by this year's harsh winter - March 20, 2019 is the first day of spring! In anticipation of the season's start, on March 10, 2019, most residents will “spring forward” by moving their clocks an hour ahead. Though the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) entails sacrificing sixty minutes of precious sleep or play time on Sunday, it allows for longer spring and summer days....

A walnut-sized bee with a wingspan of two and a half inches – about the length of a human thumb – may seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, the Megachile pluto, or Wallace's Giant Bee, is not a figment of a movie writer's imagination, but a real insect that dwells in the Indonesian forests. While a few dead specimens of the bee have been discovered over the years, researchers have not seen a living one since 1981. Now, thanks to a team of dedicated American and Australian biologists, the magnificent bee has been photographed live in its natural habitat for the first time....

The fact that the Earth's magnetic poles are continuously in flux has been known for over 400 years. However, scientists have usually been able to accurately predict their pace for five years. But earlier this year, when researchers at NOAA and the British Geological Survey conducted their annual check to gauge the accuracy of their forecast, they realized the north magnetic pole had moved much faster than expected. Fearing the unforeseen deviation would cause problems for military and ocean navigation, the experts updated the World Magnetic Model (WMM) on February 4, 2019, almost a year ahead of schedule....

An elderly female, believed to have inhabited Earth approximately 3.67 million years ago, is causing a stir among paleontologists. If researchers from South Africa's University of Witwatersrand are right, the skeleton, nicknamed "Little Foot" due to its tiny ankle bones, represents a new species of an early human....

The budget battle between US lawmakers that led to the longest government closure in the country's history has finally ended. On Friday, February 15, 2019, President Donald Trump signed legislation, approved by Congress to fund the government through September 30, 2019, preventing a new shutdown set to begin on Saturday, February 16, 2019....

While any sighting of the critically-endangered leopard deserves mention, that of a black leopard is particularly newsworthy. What makes the specimen, recently captured on camera in Central Kenya by San Diego Zoo researchers and British wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas, unique is that it is the first scientific documentation of such a creature in Africa in nearly a century. Prior to this, the only confirmed sighting was a 1909 photograph taken in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia....

Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde has spent much of his career seeking artistic solutions to solve our environmental woes. His past projects include "Bioluminescent Trees" to light streets, a "Smog-Free Tower" to clean Beijing's polluted air, and "Gates of Light," which uses the headlamps of passing cars to illuminate the 60 floodgates of the Afsluitdijk, a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. Now, the creative artist is hoping to use his skills to solve a pressing global issue - space junk!...

Venezuelan residents are in the midst of an unusual political crisis. Since January 23, 2019, the country has had two presidents: Nicolàs Maduro, the incumbent who was reelected in May 2018 and sworn into office on January 10, 2019, and Juan Guaidó, President of the National Assembly, an elected temporary parliament with the mandate to draft or reform the Constitution. The 35-year-old Guaidó, who leads the progressive Popular Will political party, proclaimed himself the country's interim leader on the grounds that the May 2018 elections were rigged, and hence the presidency was vacant....

American sports fans are mourning the loss of one of baseball's all-time greats: Frank Robinson, Major League Baseball's first African-American manager and the only player to win MVP in both leagues, passed away at his Bel Air, California home on February 7, 2019. The 83-year-old had been battling bone cancer for many years....

Valentine’s Day, the holiday of love and romance, is almost here. On February 14, children and adults alike will shower their friends and loved ones with gifts that range from cards with endearing messages to chocolates, long-stemmed red roses, and even fine jewelry. Here are some fun facts about this all-important shopping holiday which is expected to earn retailers a record $20.7 billion in 2019....

With his intricately-patterned skin, bright orange underbelly, and bulging emerald eyes, Romeo, a male Sehuencas water frog, should have had no trouble finding a mate. The only problem? Until recently, the world’s most eligible amphibious bachelor was believed to be the last surviving member of his kind! Now, just in time for Valentine's Day, researchers may have found the perfect Juliet for this modern-day Romeo!...

Ice-skating phenom Alysa Liu is no stranger to shattering records. In 2016, the then 10-year-old became the youngest intermediate figure skating champion in U.S. history. In 2018, at the tender age of 12, Liu became the youngest to compete in, and win, the U.S. junior championships. That same year, she was also the youngest woman ever to land a triple axel in an international competition....

Pesky as they may be, ants are truly incredible insects. The tiny creatures can survive floods by joining together to morph into living rafts, predict earthquakes, lift up to 20 times their body weight, and even select the best tool to complete a job efficiently. Now, it appears that the elusive Dracula ant (Mystrium camillae) can snap its jaws shut at a mind-boggling speed of 90 meters per second (more than 200 miles per hour) – the fastest-known animal movement on record....

On February 5, 2019, over a billion people in China and millions around the world will celebrate the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival. The ancient tradition, whose date is determined by the lunar calendar and falls somewhere between January 21 and February 20 each year, is the longest and most important of all Chinese festivals....