On Sunday, May 1 shortly after 4 pm, a crew from the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Department reported a wildfire in the vicinity of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. Though the fire, which was labeled MWF-009 because it was the ninth such blaze encountered this season was similar to the previous ones, it concerned firefighters more for two reasons....

On Wednesday, May 4th, fans across the world celebrated Star Wars Day. Most commemorated the unofficial holiday by binge watching all seven films or greeting passersby with “May the fourth be with you” — A nod to the movie’s famous line, “May the force be with you.”...

A new “Rembrandt” painting unveiled in Amsterdam in early April is making headlines around the world. However, the authentic-looking masterpiece is not the work of the 17th century Dutch artist. It is a brand new painting that uses technology to mimic Rembrandt’s technique so perfectly, that it could easily be mistaken for one created by the great artist himself....

In 1907, Anna Jarvis began a campaign to convince lawmakers to designate a special day to honor America's mothers. Many individual states began celebrating Mother's Day by 1911. However, it was not until 1914 that Woodrow Wilson finally managed to persuade the U.S.Congress to set aside the second Sunday of May to honor moms....

In January and February of 2016, a total of 13 young sperm whales washed up on the beach near the town of Tönning in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. An autopsy revealed that the whales had all died of heart failure. The researchers believe that the young bulls, all between 10-15 years old, may have entered the North Sea by mistake. Since the sea floor here is too shallow for these deep sea dwellers, it caused the whales to become disoriented and perish....

Schools across the world are trying to come up with innovative solutions to keep students active and alert. Some are replacing conventional classroom chairs with exercise balls or standing desks. At Ward Elementary School in Winston, North Carolina students have adopted an innovative program that entails riding stationary bikes while reading....

Mention the word "coding" and the first image that comes to mind is a complicated algorithm that has no relationship to the real world. It is, therefore, no wonder that most kids steer away from learning this skill that is becoming increasingly important in today's world. Now, thanks to a small robot created by researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute even kids as young as five, will be clamoring to program....

On February 10, Ramon Paje, the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Philippines, announced the discovery of 400 "new" islands within the borders of the world's second largest archipelago....

Saturday, May 7 will be like Christmas for comic book lovers. That's because, on that day, they will be able to walk into any one of the 2,300 participating vendors worldwide, and take home a comic book (or two) for free!...

Wood has many great properties that make it the perfect building material — It is cheap, durable, easily available, and most importantly, renewable. The one thing it is not, is transparent! Now thanks to a team of scientists at Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology the versatile material may even be able to add that attribute to its already impressive list....

Animal videos are always heartwarming. However, the one that captured Tuffy, a black bear splashing in a pool, is even more so. That's because it shows the animal's unbridled joy after being rescued from a bear bile farm, where he was locked in a tiny cage and tortured for years. In fact, Tuffy was so thrilled with his newly found freedom that he did not return to his den that evening — Instead, the bear spent the night sleeping under the stars....

On Wednesday, April 20, Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew announced that Harriet Tubman will replace Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, on the $20 bill. The former slave and abolitionist is the first African-American, and the first woman in over a century, to be featured on the face of U.S. currency. The last female represented on U.S. notes was Martha Washington, who appeared on the $1 silver certificate from 1886 to 1957, when the certificates were discontinued....

On April 21, throngs of people lined along the street of Windsor to get a glimpse of the world's favorite monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, on her milestone 90th birthday. They were not disappointed....

Japan is famous for its state-of-the-art high-speed railway system. In 2015, its Magnetic Levitation or, Maglev train, which gets its name because it hovers 10 cm above the tracks, set a new speed world record of 375 mph (603km/hr). Now the innovative island nation wants to build a train that features a mirror-like exterior and blends in so well with the environment, that it will be practically "invisible."...

On Friday, April 22, billions of people across the globe will celebrate Earth Day. They will commemorate the event by staging rallies, participating in environmental clean-up activities, and pledging to undertake "green" initiatives to protect this precious planet. While that is certainly helpful, it would be even better if we could incorporate "greener" habits into our daily lives. These stunning images taken from space by NASA will serve as a reminder of why making every day "Earth Day" is so important....

In May 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza stumbled upon a stranded Magellanic penguin outside his shack on Proveta Beach in Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro. The bird was soaked in oil and unable to move. The 71-year-old retired bricklayer scooped up the starving penguin, nursed it back to health and put it out to sea....

On Thursday, April 14, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake jolted the residents of Japan's Kyushu Island. The tremor that struck near the town of Ueki in the Kumamoto Prefecture occurred just before 9:30 pm local time and resulted in 9 deaths and over 850 injuries. An additional 44,000 people were rendered homeless. Though numerous smaller aftershocks followed, most experts believed that the worst was over....

On Tuesday, April 12, representatives from Orlando's Walt Disney World Resort, Duke Energy, and Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) flipped a giant light switch to mark the highly anticipated opening of a five-megawatt solar facility. Cleverly designed to resemble the familiar "not-so-hidden-Mickey," the massive solar farm that is located near Epcot is clearly visible from Space....

While weather predictions are getting increasingly accurate, meteorologists are often still unable to gauge the severity of storms. That's because forecasting what the elements have in store for us is a complicated task that is dependent on numerous variables including temperature, humidity, jet streams, and even the size of raindrops!...

Tossing a plastic spoon or fork into the trash after using it once is not just acceptable; it is fashionable. Experts estimate that over 40 billion pieces of plastic cutlery end up in the garbage each year - And that's just in the US. The numbers are even worse in India where an astounding 120 billion pieces clog the landfills annually. But that may change soon thanks to Indian entrepreneur Narayana Peesapaty, whose start-up Bakey's transforms mundane cutlery into delicious treats!...

A few weeks ago, Apple Inc. released a new advertisement to highlight the new "Hey Siri" feature that allows iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users to summon the personal digital assistant hands-free. In the minute-long commercial, the Sesame Street star asks Siri to set the kitchen timer for the cookies that he had just put to bake and also turn on a "waiting" playlist....

Residents of Nagoya, Japan will no longer have to subject themselves to eating wilted lettuce and soggy tomatoes to be healthy. They can instead fulfill the daily recommended requirement of fruits and vegetables with a slice or two of one of the delicious cakes crafted by Japanese food artist, Mitsuki Moriyasu....

A recent study conducted by a team of researchers from Canada's McGill University has uncovered that birds who live in urban environments are not just better at problem-solving and more skilled in tasks that require innovation than their rural counterparts: they also have stronger immune systems!...

History was made on March 2, 2016 when a Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft traveling from the International Space Station landed in a remote part of Kazakhstan. The landing was cause for celebration as the craft carried American astronaut, Scott Kelly, and Russian cosmonaut, Mikhail Kornienko, home from their 340-day mission aboard the International Space Station....