In 1893, Arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen deliberately lodged his wooden ship in the sea ice north of Siberia, hoping that its natural drift would take him to the North Pole. Though the Norwegian scientist failed to reach his desired destination, his three-year-long, 2,000-kilometer journey into the North Atlantic Ocean revealed important data about the then-mysterious Arctic Ocean. Now, an international team of researchers have embarked on a similar journey for a groundbreaking climate change study of the Arctic....

Mini robots that can roll, fly, float, swim, and even come together to morph into a single machine, may seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, if a team of NASA scientists has its way, the self-assembling Shapeshifter may soon be exploring treacherous distant worlds in search of alien life....

Celebrated annually on the second Monday in October, Columbus Day honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus's discovery of America. However, the federal holiday, which will be observed on October 14, 2019, has long drawn criticism due to the European settlers' brutal treatment of the Native American people. It has also been argued that America had already been "discovered" by the indigenous people when Columbus arrived....

Boyan Slat has been dreaming of cleaning up the world's oceans ever since he was a teenager. On October 2, 2019, the now 25-year-old announced that System 001/B, an autonomous retrieval system developed by his non-profit Ocean Cleanup, had successfully trapped plastic debris floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Located between Hawaii and California, the approximately 617,763 square-mile mass of waste is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world....

On October 5, 2019, astronomers and space fans worldwide will celebrate the 10th International Observe the Moon Night. The annual event was started by NASA in 2009 to "celebrate lunar science and exploration, celestial observation, and our cultural and personal connections to the Moon."...

Octopuses in the wild have often been observed changing their skin color and texture to avoid predators or to catch unsuspecting prey. Now, for the first time, a researcher has captured a spell-binding video of a cephalopod called Heidi rapidly changing into a multitude of colors while sleeping....

Sleep, considered a luxury by many, is essential for a person's wellbeing. Researchers have found that insufficient sleep increases a person's risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Now, a new study by Boston's Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found that getting sufficient sleep is also the key to improving academic performance....

Astronomers have long suspected that celestial bodies from other solar systems traverse through ours frequently. However, it is only recently that they have been able to identify some of these interstellar objects. The first, a remarkably fast-moving comet dubbed 'Oumuamua, was already making its way back home by the time it was spotted in October 2017, giving scientists little chance to study it in detail. Now, thanks to the sharp eyes of an amateur astronomer in Crimea, scientists will get a second chance to investigate similar comets with C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), which is currently making its way to our solar system....

The Masai Mara Reserve is one of Kenya's most popular tourist attractions. Every year, thousands of people flock to the national park to glimpse of a variety of wild animals, such as lions and cheetahs, or to witness the majestic annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeests to and from neighboring Tanzania. However, this September's human "stampede" is due to an unexpected animal — a zebra foal with polka dots!...

A female walrus demonstrated the lengths moms — animal and human alike — will go in order to protect their offspring when she sank a Russian research boat that came close to her calves. The incident occurred on September 18, 2019, when a team of sailors and scientists from Russia's Northern Fleet and Geographical Society were sailing to Wilczek Island in the Arctic Ocean....

Shipworms, which munch through wood and help release essential nutrient stored within it, are incredibly beneficial for other marine animals. However, the saltwater bivalve mollusks have been known to sink boats and cause extensive damage to docks, piers, and other wooden structures. Now, researchers have uncovered a shipworm species of a different kind — one that has the potential to change the course of a river by gnawing through its limestone bedrock!...

With self-driving vehicle technology rapidly advancing, many companies are turning to autonomous robots for the final leg — the so-called last mile — of the delivery process, from the store or local distribution center to the customer. The latest to join the trend is e-commerce giant Amazon. Following a successful eight-month test run in Snohomish County, Washington, the company's Scout robots have been making the rounds of Irvine, California, since August 6, 2019....

An estimated four million people worldwide took to the streets on Friday, September 20, 2019, for the youth-instigated Global Climate Strike. The young protestors, and their adult supporters, marched along city streets or lobbied outside government buildings to urge leaders to take aggressive action against climate change. Some US companies, such as Ben & Jerry's, Etsy, and The North Face, also joined in the effort by closing their stores to allow employees to participate. Believed to be the largest-ever climate change rally, the September 20 strike will be followed by a similar event on September 27....

Princess Louisa Inlet, a fjord located 60 miles from Vancouver, Canada, is a spectacular stretch of remote wilderness. Accessible only by boat or plane, the 3.7-mile-long (6-kilometers) area is popular with outdoor enthusiasts who flock to admire the 120-foot-high Chatterbox Falls or to hike the numerous trails to other scenic features. Its dense forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife, including grizzly bears, mountain goats, and eagles. Now, thanks to an unprecedented crowdfunding campaign, the pristine land will be preserved forever for future generations to enjoy....

Fans of Scotland's mythical Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, will be thrilled by the discovery of the remains of a massive look-alike elasmosaurus. Measuring 36 feet long (11 meters), from snout to tail, it is the largest specimen of the four-flippered sea giants — which inhabited Earth between 55 to 66 million years ago — on record....

When the curators at the National Gallery in London, England, applied imaging technology to Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, The Virgin of the Rocks, they fully expected to see a sketch underneath. What they had not anticipated, however, was a drawing that was substantially different from the final masterpiece....

Swimming across the English Channel — the 21-mile-long body of water separating southern England from northern France — is no easy feat. In addition to the strong ocean currents, swimmers also have to endure temperatures that can range from a chilly 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) to a near-freezing 42 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius). However, don't tell that to Sarah Thomas. The 37-year-old American recently became the first person ever to swim across the length of the treacherous stretch of water, which links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, not once, but four times non-stop!...

Bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Sadly, over the past 15 years, the global population of the industrious insects has been declining at alarming rates. Bee Informed Partnership, a collaboration of American insect experts, estimates that between April 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019, the country's managed bee population decreased by 40.7 percent. The numbers are as dire worldwide. Now, some cities in the Netherlands are coming up with innovative ideas to help stem the population decline of these all-important insects....

Sending a distress message in a bottle would not typically be considered a sensible strategy. However, it miraculously worked for three hikers from Morro Bay, California, who found themselves stranded atop a 40-foot waterfall at the Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park on California's Central Coast....

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, home to over 1,500 fish species and countless other marine animals, is in trouble. Rising ocean temperatures, attributed to climate change, have destroyed about half of its coral since 1998. On August 30, 2019, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority downgraded the ecosystem's condition from "poor" to "very poor" and warned that the window of opportunity to save it was rapidly closing. Now, some scientists are hoping that a gigantic piece of pumice stone currently floating towards Australia will aid in the recovery of the world's largest coral reef system....

Though famous American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift may consider 13 her lucky number, millions of people worldwide do not share the sentiment. Things get even worse for the superstitious when the date, as is going to happen this week, coincides with a Friday. While no one knows for sure how Friday the 13th got its fearful reputation, experts have some theories....

Though Bianca Andreescu was expected to be a formidable opponent, it was Serena Williams who was favored to win the US Open Tennis Championships finals in New York City on September 7, 2019. The 37-year-old US tennis phenom is after all an experienced veteran, with 23 Grand Slam titles to her name. Meanwhile, prior to 2019, her 19-year-old challenger had never even reached the finals of the four prestigious tournaments — the US Open, the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the French Open — that comprise the Grand Slam. But in a true-life underdog story, Bianca managed to oust Serena with a resounding 6-3, 7-5 victory in less than two hours....

The Atlantic hurricane season, which spans from June 1 to November 30, had been relatively calm this year, with just one major storm in July. That changed at the end of August, when Dorian, a Category 5 hurricane, came screaming through, leaving a trail of destruction all the way from the US Virgin Islands to the Bahamas and the US and Canadian east coasts....

On normal days, Buñol, located 30 miles from Valencia, Spain has a population of about 9,000. However, that changes on the last Wednesday of August, when tens of thousands of revelers descend upon the charming town to participate in the world's largest food fight. Called La Tomatina, it entails party-goers throwing tomatoes at each other for an entire hour!...