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In late September, Gregory Breton and his team were returning to their campsite after spending seven long hours scouting the hot, dusty, Moroccan Sahara for sand cats. Suddenly, just four kilometers away from their destination, they noticed three pairs of gleaming eyes. Upon getting closer, the researchers realized they had stumbled upon something that, to their knowledge, had never been encountered in the wild before — sand cat kittens!...

With their thick white-gray fur and black rings, snow leopards are often hard to see against the rugged mountains that they call home. However, a team of photographers that included Mike Birkhead, has managed to capture amazing footage of this elusive cat walking away unscathed, after tumbling off a steep cliff....

Earlier this year in June, a villager in Garissa County, Kenya stumbled upon a rare sight — two white giraffes! Having never seen anything like it before, he immediately ran over to inform the rangers at the nearby Hirola Conservation Center, established to protect the critically endangered hirola antelope. Cameras in hand, the troopers rushed to the area to capture the first-ever video of the extremely rare specimens, who fortunately, appeared to be in no hurry to leave....

On September 6, the sun let its presence be felt by unleashing two massive solar flares. The first eruption, classified as an X2.2 flare, the strongest since 2008, occurred at 5:10 a.m. ET. Shortly after, at about 8:02 a.m ET, the star spewed out a bigger, and more spectacular, X9.3 flare — the most powerful on record since December 2006....

A team of astronomers, led by Alexander Boetticher of the University of Cambridge have stumbled upon what is being touted as our galaxy’s smallest known star. According to experts, EBLM J0555-57Ab, (57-Ab), which is slightly larger than Saturn, is the smallest possible size for a star. Boetticher says, “Had this star formed with only a slightly lower mass, the fusion reaction of hydrogen in its core could not be sustained, and the star would instead have transformed into a brown dwarf."...

Tony Stark, aka Ironman, constantly seen manipulating 3D holographic images and floating displays projected in mid-air from his phone or tablet. Unfortunately, the rest of us are not as fortunate because the current computer-generated holograms are too bulky to be integrated into our personal devices. However, if a team of researchers from Australia's RMIT University and the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) is right, we may all soon be able to mimic Ironman, at least, when it comes to playing with 3D holograms....

Tired of having to choose between dark, milk, or white chocolate? Then you may want to try the pink-hued ruby. Created by Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut, the all-natural confection is the first new variety to come to market since Nestlé introduced the world to white chocolate in 1930....

Fans of fidget spinners, 2017’s must-have toy, spend copious amounts of time spinning the three-pronged device with a flick of their finger. That’s because the addictive toys can rotate on their own, for only a few minutes at the most. However, if a Japanese company has its way, users will be able to relax and watch the gadget whirl for over 12 minutes with just one flick....

Most toys are fads that last a few years, or even months, before they get replaced by the next craze. However, the Slinky – the pre-compressed coil of wire, or plastic, which can “walk” on its own – has been entertaining children and nostalgic adults for over 70 years! It is therefore not surprising to hear that every August 30, fans across the U.S. celebrate this iconic toy with a National Slinky Day!...

Innovations like 3-D printing have enabled scientists to make significant progress in manufacturing various bioengineered organs and tissues. However, the one organ that has been hard to replicate is the human heart. That’s because current technology is unable to replicate the network of tiny blood vessels that transport oxygen inside a tissue as dense as the human heart muscle....

Earlier this month, millions of Americans were treated to a rare spectacle: a total solar eclipse that was visible from coast-to-coast. While Florence, a massive asteroid that will zip past our planet on September 1, will not overshadow the stunning event, it will make history of its own. According to Paul Chodas at the Center for Near Earth Object (NEO) Studies, the space rock is the largest to pass this close to our planet since the first near-Earth asteroid was discovered over a century ago....

Hurricane Harvey, which began as a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, August 23, rapidly escalated to a Category 4 storm as it made its way towards Southern Texas. As expected the powerful hurricane, which packed 130mph winds, made landfall near the city of Rockport on August 25 at about 10:00 pm local time, causing widespread destruction. Three hours later, it made a second landfall on the northeastern shore of Copano Bay, this time as a Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds!...

On Monday, August 21, millions of Americans across the country donned their protective eyeglasses to watch the highly anticipated total solar eclipse. Though the eclipses, which occur about every 18 months, are not rare, this one was historic. It was not only the first total solar eclipse visible from the mainland U.S. in more than 38 years, but also the first to be seen coast to coast in almost a century....

For the past four years, the Minato Mirai district of Yokohama, Japan, has been bringing Pokémon’s most famous character to life with a Pikachu Outbreak Festival. The event, which features numerous fun activities, including colorful parades with thousands of people dressed in Pikachu costumes, began in 2014 to promote an upcoming Pokémon movie. It was such a success that its sponsors, The Pokémon Company, decided to make it an annual, week-long extravaganza....

Parents often use the expression “in the blink of an eye” to express their astonishment at how fast their children reach adulthood. However, for those with newborns, the phrase is literal given that an average baby grows between 6 to 7 sizes within the first two years! While exciting, the constant wardrobe replenishment is expensive and also results in a lot of wasted clothing. To tackle the issue, Ryan Yasin has created an origami-inspired line of clothing that expands (or contracts) automatically, resulting in a perfect fit each time....

Governments, corporations, and even individuals concerned about losing valuable data or photos in the event of a cataclysmic disaster can now rest easy thanks to the recently opened Arctic World Archive. Located 300-meters (984-feet) below the ground inside an abandoned coal mine in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, the “Doomsday Vault” is equipped to keep information safe in the event of a natural or man-made catastrophe....

A massive patch or “blob” of warm water experienced along the usually cool U.S. Pacific coast from 2013 to 2016 wreaked havoc on the marine ecosystem. Fishermen in Alaska reported seeing warm water sharks, while California beachgoers encountered tropical poisonous water snakes. Though the return of cooler temperatures in 2017 rid the area of most unwanted visitors, bioluminescent pyrosomes ((Pyrosoma atlanticum) have decided to stay and are now washing up along the coast in unprecedented numbers....

When Michael Phelps announced his retirement at the 2016 Rio Olympics he really had no intention of swimming competitively again. However, that changed when the decorated athlete was approached by the Discovery Channel to help kick off shark week with a race against one of the world’s fastest and most efficient predators — a great white!...

The Perseid meteor shower is one of the most anticipated celestial events in the Northern Hemisphere. Though the shooting stars are already lighting up the skies in small numbers, the pace will accelerate around mid-August, making them easy to view without a telescope. This year, the best time to see nature’s annual firework display will be on August 12 and 13....

With its majestic mountains, spectacular landscapes, and pristine beaches, Ireland’s Achill Island has always been a popular European tourist destination. However, since April, the rugged 57-square mile island of just 2,600 residents has gained worldwide fame thanks to the ‘miraculous’ return of a beach that was washed away over three decades ago....

When six-week-old Gavel arrived at the Government House, the official residence of the Governor of Queensland, in April 2016, everyone thought it would be for just a short period. The adorable purebred German Shepherd was, after all, being trained to become a Queensland Police Service (QPS) dog to help officials chase down criminals. Given that five members of his extended family are currently in the force, there was little doubt of his success....

Though most of you probably are well into your summer break, the astronomical season does not begin until June 20. Called summer solstice, it is the day when the North Pole is most inclined towards the sun, allowing residents of the Northern Hemisphere, to enjoy the longest day (and shortest night) of the year. Of course, the opposite is true for the Southern Hemisphere where residents will celebrate winter solstice and experience the shortest day (and longest night) of the year....

Every ocean lover knows the perils of getting caught in a rip current. Experienced swimmers know it is relatively easy to escape the narrow channel of fast moving water by floating and allowing it to drag you further into the ocean or by swimming alongside the shore. However, novice beachgoers often panic, and try to swim to land, placing themselves at risk of drowning due to fatigue. According to the US National Ocean Service, the currents kill about 100 Americans each year and account for 80% of all lifeguard rescues. These scary statistics may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to Clever GIRL (Global Intelligent Rip Locator), a smart buoy that alerts swimmers of the presence of deadly rip currents....

Every winter, hundreds of humpback whales migrate long distances from their high latitude feeding grounds in the Arctic and Antarctic to warmer tropical regions to breed and give birth. The newborn calves, which consume over 52 gallons of milk on a daily basis, have only a few months to pack on the body fat needed to survive the long trek back to cooler waters in summer. How the babies signal hunger and avoid predators during these formative months has always been a mystery to scientists....