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....

Over the years, NASA has successfully deployed several rovers, landers, and orbiters to Mars. While the science laboratories continue to provide invaluable data about the Red Planet, their limited, or zero — as is the case with landers — mobility, restricts the space exploration vehicles to areas close to the original landing site. To obtain a more comprehensive view of Mars, the US Space Agency plans to send a fully-autonomous miniature test helicopter with the Mars 2020 rover, scheduled for launch in July 2020....

Termites are famous for their superior architectural skills. The mounds created by the industrious insects contain an elaborate network of tunnels with a series of chimneys that help regulate oxygen levels, temperature, and humidity to ensure the queen, who sits in a chamber underneath, is comfortable....

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....

When a university intern stumbled upon a seven-foot fish washed up on the beach at the University of Santa Barbara's (UCSB) Coal Oil Point Reserve on February 19, 2019, scientists assumed it was the mola mola sunfish. One of the world's heaviest known bony fishes, the species, found in tropical and temperate waters around the globe, is common in the Santa Barbara Channel....

Need a reason to smile? Then you will be happy to know that today, March 20, 2019, is not just the first day of spring, but also the International Day of Happiness. Established by The United Nations (UN) in 2012, it is meant to remind us that happiness is an essential human goal and right. This year's theme, Happier Together, encourages people worldwide to focus on what we have in common, rather than what divides us....

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)....

In early February 2019, 51-year-old Rainer Schimpf and his team set out to film South Africa's famous Sardine Run off the coast of Point Elizabeth. The annual migration of billions of Sardinops sagax, more commonly known as South African pilchards or sardines, is a big draw for predators, especially the Cape gannet, a beautiful, cream-colored seabird, and the common dolphin. The two species work together to herd the large group of fish and separate them into smaller shoals known as bait balls, which are then scooped up by not just the birds and the dolphins, but also other hunters such as copper sharks and Bryde's whales....

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....

Carbon dioxide (CO2), released by activities like burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, is one of the biggest contributors to the greenhouse effect, responsible for global warming. Over the years, scientists have come up with several innovative solutions to capture the polluting gas. However, none have been practical enough to implement on a large scale. Now, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia believe they may have finally found a feasible way to reduce atmospheric CO2 – turning the gas back into coal!...

When a falling liquid droplet hits a surface, like a raindrop hitting pavement, it either flattens and spreads out evenly, or produces a sharp-edged splash. Now, a team of Chinese researchers has created a surface which allows the descending liquid to rebound and swirl around like a graceful dancer....

Shelby, who plays Bella in the recent Sony Pictures release A Dog’s Way Home, has all the traits of a celebrity pooch: bright, golden eyes, expressive eyebrows, and a big, brown nose. However, the pit bull mix did not always seem destined to be a movie star. About two years ago, Shelby was a stray puppy who lived on the streets and spent her days digging through trash for food scraps....

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....

Virgin Galactic's founder, Sir Richard Branson, has been hoping to make space tourism a reality since 2008. While it has taken a little longer than the 18 months he had originally estimated, the company is getting increasingly closer to accomplishing its mission. On December 13, 2018, Virgin Galactic's suborbital spaceliner, VSS Unity, made history with the longest rocket-powered flight when it soared to the edge of space, 51.4 miles (82 km) above sea level. On February 22, 2019, the aircraft repeated the feat, this time with its first passenger – the company's astronaut trainer Beth Moses - on board....

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....

Experts estimate that Earth gets bombarded with thousands of pieces of cosmic debris each year. While most burn up in the atmosphere, a few hundred survive and hit the planet's surface annually. While the impact of the space rocks, which come hurtling down at rapid speeds, has thus far been minimal, the possibility of an asteroid landing in a densely populated area and causing severe damage cannot be ignored....

Experts assert that if food were a country, it would rank third behind China and the US as one of the biggest greenhouse gas polluters. The reason is the ever-rising demand for meat. Livestock farming is responsible for 14.5 percent of global methane emissions. While cows are the worse offenders, pigs, sheep, and other animals contribute as well....

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....