Summer vacations are all about lazing around, frolicking on the beach and . . . . . . Building sand castles. However, no matter how hard we try, most of us never seem to get it right. Turns out, it's not because we are doing something wrong, but because there is a scientific method to the madness - At least that's the conclusion reached by a global team of researchers from Amsterdam, France and Iran....

Olympics spoiler alert - Usain Bolt has been outrun! How do we know this before the world's fastest man has even run the finals of his signature 100-meter dash? Because, while Usain hopes to complete the distance in 9.4 seconds, Sarah has already done it in a blistering 5.95 seconds. However, in all fairness to the Jamaican sprinter, she does have a slight advantage, because Sarah is not a two-legged human, but a four-legged cheetah!...

While to most of us ants are just tiny annoying insects that seem to come in droves whenever they sense something sweet, the household pests are quite fascinating - They have a naturally built-in GPS system that allows them to navigate their way, the ability to morph into 'living rafts' to survive floods and now it turns out that with a little help from humans, some of them can even be transformed into colorful gems....

If the current space suits worn by astronauts seem a little cumbersome and unwieldy, they are. That's because in order to protect the explorers, the suit has to be able to withstand extreme temperatures, space debris and be equipped with a rather bulky Primary Life Support Subsystem - A survival kit for astronauts that contains amongst other things, an oxygen tank, a device to get rid of the exhaled carbon dioxide, a battery, a radio and even a warning system in case the space walker needs to be rescued....

Now that the 2012 London Olympics have officially kicked off, swimming fans are in for some thrilling head to head confrontations in the pool. While most intense athletic rivalries tend to occur between athletes representing different countries, in this case, the most exciting showdown is expected to be between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte - Both part of Team USA....

If you ever happen to visit Central Asia's Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, you will witness a strange but breathtaking sight - A giant hole in the middle of the desert aglow with a fire that never seems to go out - And the fact is, that it has not gone out for the last forty years at least. However, this phenomenon, which has become a minor tourist destination, is not a natural wonder but the result of an accidental excavation....

With specialty cupcake stores sprouting all over America, the price of this bite-size treat has certainly escalated over the last few years. However, none even come close to this beauty, which at $1,010 USD can safely claim the title of the 'World's Most Expensive Edible Cupcake'....

What can be tougher or more grueling than Hawaii's Ironman Triathlon or the Badwater Ultramarathon? How about Tough Mudder, a 12-mile obstacle course that drags contestants through mud, fire and even 10,000 volts of electric current....

No matter how hard conservationists try, there is always some ruthless poacher out there to kill animals regardless of how close they are to becoming extinct. Now, a trio of endangered young mountain gorillas in Rwanda have decided to take it upon themselves to try save their species, by thwarting their attempts....

Less than two years after it made headlines for losing a piece of ice four times the size of Manhattan, the Petermann glacier that covers four-fifths of Greenland, is making headlines again, for losing another large chunk to the sea....

When the discovery of an exciting archeological find is announced, the person at the forefront is usually the paleontologist leading the dig. However, the credit of unearthing one of the most complete pre-human skeletons can be being solely attributed to the sharp eyes of technician Justin Mukanka at South Africa's University of Witwatersrand....

If you happened to be in San Diego, California from Thursday July 12th to Sunday July 15th, you would have encountered a rather strange sight - Thousands of adults strolling all over town dressed in the wackiest costumes that ranged from popular comic book characters to science fiction heroes to something, they had just put together - Welcome to Comic Con International, a convention which allows adults to act like children again....

Looking for an excuse to get yourself some delicious ice cream? Here's one - It's your civic duty, because today, July 15th, 2012, is National Ice Cream Day! So go ahead and have a scoop or two, or if you can get away with it, just grab a tub!...

Pluto, the ninth planet from the sun is so tiny that in 2006 it lost its status as a full-fledged member of the solar system and was instead demoted to dwarf planet. But tiny as it it may be, the planet seems to be attracting a lot of moons around it. Just last year NASA's Hubble Telescope discovered a fourth moon, which scientists believed was the final one....

While being at the top of any list is good in most circumstances, in the case of Madagascar's 103 known species of lemurs it is a 'kiss of death' - Literally! That's because a shocking study released by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission earlier this week, revealed that 23 species of the primates are now 'critically endangered', 52 are endangered and 19 are vulnerable. These dire statistics mean that the primates are the most endangered vertebrates on earth - More so than any other mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird or bony fish!...

With the 2012 London Olympics just about a fortnight away, all the athletes are training hard - However, none is training with as much passion as Oscar Pistorius, the first disabled runner that has been allowed to compete with able-bodied competitors in the history of the games....

What's better than having an ice cream cone? How about one that is 13 feet high and filled with one ton of ice cream? That was what the lucky people of Gloucester, England were able to witness and even better, get a sample of, on Saturday June 30th, 2012....

When Spencer West was just five years old, he was diagnosed with a rare spinal defect that resulted in the amputation of both his legs. However, the young Canadian has never let this minor disability get in his way. He has proved that he can do anything a person with two legs can do including, climb the world's highest free-standing snow covered equatorial mountain - Mt. Kilimanjaro!...

In most settings calling any dog 'ugly' is considered rude and cruel. However, at California's Sonoma-Marin Fair, it is encouraged and even applauded - Because that's what it takes to win the title of the 'World's Ugliest Dog'....

On June 23rd 2012, thousands of tourists and locals lined up along Hong Kong's various harbors to celebrate Tueg Ng or Dragon Boat Festival. Though host to some of the country's biggest celebrations, has been organizing the events only since 1976, it is a significant Chinese holiday, one with a long history that dates back 2,000 years....

On Sunday June 25th, 2012, Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, best known for its giant tortoises had some sad news to report - its most famous bachelor, a tortoise nicknamed 'Lonesome George' was found dead by its keeper of 40 years. What makes the death even more poignant is the fact that he was the last known living member of the Pinta Island giant tortoise subspecies....

Researchers had always believed that Neanderthals, the predecessors to modern humans, had not been very smart. However, recent evidence has led them to think otherwise - Not only did the stocky hunters build complex tools, but also, spoke a language and even, buried their dead. Now it turns out, they may also be responsible for some of Europe's oldest cave art....

On Friday June 15th, 2012, hundreds of thousands of people watched with abated breath as 33-year old stuntman Nik Wallenda, fulfilled a dream he has harbored since he was two years old - Traverse 1,800 feet across one of the world's mightiest waterfalls, balanced on a two-inch wire that had been strung 180 feet in the air....

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today, June 20th, may seem never-ending - one where the sun just does not wish to set. Depending on your location that may actually be the case, because today happens to be the first day of summer and also, the longest day of the year!...