مستوى عالي

After hosting a spectacular 'warm-up' Olympics, Londoners are now ready for the real event - the 2012 Summer Paralympics! The 11-day competition which begins tonight and will continue until September 9th, 2012, enables athletes with disabilities ranging from mobility to blindness and even cerebral palsy, to showcase their athletic prowess in an international arena....

While the Summer Olympics may be over, the incredible stories about the dedicated athletes and their equally dedicated fans, keep pouring in. 57-year old Chen Gunanming from China's Jiangsu Province is one of them. Though not an Olympic athlete, his incredible journey to attend the 2012 London games deserves a gold medal for sheer perseverance and effort....

On Saturday August 25th, 43 years after he made history by becoming the first person to step on the moon, NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong passed away from complications attributed to a heart surgery he underwent earlier this month. Given the fact that the Cincinnati resident had been reported to be doing well following the procedure, the news came as a big shock to his millions of worldwide fans....

On Sunday, August 5th, 2012, at about 10.31pm PST (1.31pm EST), the world will experience what NASA scientists are calling 'The Seven Minutes Of Terror' - The successful landing of the 2,000 pound Mars Science Laboratory AKA Curiosity on the surface of the Red Planet....

Though 25% of the world's population may not have access to electricity, they all have access to a source of energy that is currently being wasted - Kinetic energy released by their bodies when they exert themselves. Now two Harvard alums have figured out how to capture this energy and convert it into electricity - The only equipment needed? A Soccket soccer ball and the desire to have some fun!...

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....

Every four years, a new breed of determined youngsters make their way to the world's most competitive arena with one dream in mind - To compete against the world's best athletes and make their country proud by bringing home the Olympic gold medal. This year is no different. On the eve of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, here are a few of the many youngsters you will be cheering on starting tomorrow, and for many years to come....

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....

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....

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!...

When the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday, it seems to generate an irrational fear in some people. While during most years the two coincide once or at the most twice, this year we have had the misfortune of having three of them. First on January 13th, then April 13th and the Grande Finale, which happens to be today, Friday July 13th! Another odd coincidence this year is the trio are exactly 13 weeks apart - Something that hasn't happened, since 1984....

Tokyo's International Toy Show is always awaited with great anticipation because the toys unveiled at this annual event are usually the most technologically advanced. This year was no exception. During the three-day extravaganza that took place from June 14-June 17th, 141 Japanese companies unveiled over 35,000 new products that ranged from old-fashioned puzzles to smart pets and even, a three-seater car. Here, is a small sample of what you can expect at your toy stores in the near future....

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....

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!...

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....

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....

The carnivorous pitcher plants are known for enticing their prey by secreting sweet nectar from their rims. Once the unsuspecting insect is trapped inside the plant's unique pitcher-shaped leaves, the slippery inner surfaces ensure that it slides straight down into the digestive juices that lie at the bottom. Now, scientists have discovered that one crafty species has conjured up an additional trick up its lid....

Earlier this month, a team of NASA scientists revealed the presence of a robust bloom of phytoplankton underneath three feet of ice in the Arctic - A phenomenon that researchers say is as astonishing as finding a rainforest, in the middle of a desert....

Mention Space cuisine and images of freeze dried pre-packaged bland food come to mind. However, astronauts for most part don't seem to care - They have more exciting things to ponder over, than what's on the menu. But if scientists are planning to go on excursions to Mars and beyond, this shrink-wrapped cuisine will not be the ideal solution and, it has nothing to do with taste....

While the idea of harnessing the sun's energy for fuel has been around since the 1830's the impetus to use this free and clean source of power for commercial transportation seems to have accelerated lately. Just a month ago, the MS Turanor Planet Solar, became the first solar-powered boat to circumvent the globe and now, a single-passenger airplane has taken the green energy to the skies with a successful Intercontinental flight....

This week, the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realm, a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations comprising of 16 countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica are celebrating an important milestone - Sixty years of the continuous reign of their beloved monarch, Queen Elizabeth II....

Move over Boo, here comes Lucky Diamond, Manhattan's most pampered and famous pooch. The good news is that your pet has a chance of sharing some of her fame too. That's because the Maltese dog is getting married on July 12th, to a yet to be selected groom. Interested? Read on . . . ....