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Pesky as they may be, ants are truly incredible creatures. In addition to talents like predicting earthquakes and morphing into rafts to save themselves from drowning during floods, the industrious insects go all out to protect their own, often carrying wounded comrades back to the nest to heal. Now, researchers have discovered ants who explode and sacrifice themselves to save their colonies from predators....

The quest to discover life outside of Earth has spanned decades and a multitude of galaxies. However, while breakthroughs like the discovery of liquid water on Mars and “Earth-like” exoplanets have raised hopes about the existence of alien life, the distance has made it hard to prove. Now, scientists believe the extraterrestrial life we have been seeking for so long may be on the planet closest to us — Venus....

While Fridays are always the best day of the week, June 1 promises to be even more special. That’s because it also happens to be National Donut Day, which means it is your civic duty to consume one, or even a dozen, of the delicious fried treats! Surprisingly, the holiday was not established by donut manufacturers to boost sales, but by the Salvation Army to help raise much-needed funds for the needy....

Commemorated annually on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is a federal holiday set aside to honor the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. This includes everyone who has served in the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, National Guard, Air Force, and the Coast Guard....

On Saturday, May 19, 2018, 600 invited guests, and more than 13 million television viewers worldwide, witnessed the fairytale wedding of Britain's Prince Harry to American actress, model, and humanitarian Meghan Markle in Windsor Castle’s St. George's Chapel. Though all weddings are magical, this trans-Atlantic whirlwind royal romance, which began with a blind date in July 2016, was powerful enough to melt even the most jaded hearts....

After successfully banning plastic bags, officials around the world are turning their attention to something we are all guilty of using for only a few minutes and disposing of without a second thought – plastic straws. According to ecostraw.org, over 500 million straws, enough to fill 127 school buses, are used just in the US, each day! Too small to recycle, they choke sea creatures, clog coral reefs, and eventually disintegrate into tiny microbeads which enter our food chain through fish. This means that every single straw ever produced in the world still exists in some form today. Now, thanks to social media campaigns such as #TheLastStraw and #TheFinal Straw, the urgency to ban plastic straws is finally gained momentum....

In 2015, the Internet became divided over a dress that some thought was blue and black, while others believed it was white and gold. Now millions of listeners are arguing over a single word uttered in a three-second audio clip. Some hear it as a deep male voice saying “Yanny,” while others maintain it’s a higher-pitched sound saying “Laurel.” Posted on Reddit by 18-year-old student Roland Camry, the meme became an overnight sensation after YouTuber and social media influencer Cloe Feldman shared it to her Instagram and Twitter on May 15, 2018, inquiring: “What do you hear — “Yanny” or “Laurel?”...

One would think that an elephant bird egg, the largest laid by any vertebrate ever — including dinosaurs and ancient reptiles — would be hard to miss for 80 years. Yet, that is precisely what Paige Langle at New York’s Buffalo Museum of Science discovered recently while inputting the institution’s extensive collections, many of which only exist on cards and ledgers, into the museum’s computer system....

With climate change and overfishing wreaking havoc on our oceans, it is becoming increasingly important for researchers to closely monitor our marine life. However, observing sea creatures up close is almost impossible since human presence scares the animals. Now, thanks to The Soft Robotic Fish, aka SoFi, researchers may not only be able to keep a close eye on the elusive creatures, but also uncover undersea secrets that have been eluding us for centuries....

On Sunday, May 13, most Americans will celebrate the extraordinary woman in their lives — Mom — with a perfect outing and a gift or two. While mothers certainly look forward to the annual pampering, retailers anticipate the holiday even more. That's because the money spent on meals, cards, flowers, jewelry, and other presents adds up to billions of dollars, making Mother's Day the third largest retail holiday in the U.S., behind only the winter holidays and back-to-school season. Even better? The spending keeps increasing year after year....

Tonight, (May 8) Earth will pass between the sun and Jupiter, putting our solar system’s largest planet directly in opposition to the star. This means that Jupiter will rise shortly after the sun sets and stay up all night, making it the best time of year to see the massive gaseous world. While the planet will shine its brightest tonight, it will not reach its closest distance — 409 million miles (658 million kms) — to Earth until May 10....

In mid-March, following an extended period of heavy rainfall, residents of the Mai Mahiu settlement in Kenya woke up to a big surprise – a massive crack in the Earth that appeared to have opened up almost overnight. Running several miles long and measuring 50 feet deep and 65 feet wide in some places, the terrifying fissure damaged several homes and caused a portion of the busy Mai Mahiu Narok-Nairobi highway to collapse. What caused it? Depends on who you ask....

A parasite that can transform ants into zombies and make them do its bidding may sound like something straight out of a science fiction movie. However, that is precisely what the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or, zombie ant fungus does to unsuspecting carpenter ants. Now, a new study has discovered that the fungus accomplishes this ghoulish feat without infecting the ant’s brain....

While an entire month free of homework or tests may sound too good to be true, that is precisely what the students at Sturenskolan School in Boden, Sweden were treated to in April. What’s more, if the results of the experiment prove encouraging, starting 2019, the middle schoolers will never have to worry about after-school work or tests, aside from the national examinations, which are mandatory for students across the country....

Every month, NASA Observatory’s Earth Matters challenges viewers to describe a mysterious satellite image, the answer to which is posted on the website a week later. However, even the experts could not come up with a definitive explanation for the April puzzler, a photo featuring mysterious ice circles in the Arctic....

On Friday, April 27, 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in made history by promising to formally end the Korean War this year and rid the peninsula of all nuclear weapons by 2021. The Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification, hailed by Mr. Kim as a “new era of peace,” is the culmination of reconciliatory efforts between the two countries, which began in January at the request of the North Korean leader....

If you're a gamer, you've probably spent more than a few hours playing Fortnite or, more specifically, Fortnite: Battle Royale. Introduced less than a year ago by Epic Games, it now boasts over 45 million users, or nearly a third of PC gamers, worldwide. What makes the numbers even more impressive is that the game has yet to be officially released in the world’s biggest gaming market — China — which is home to a mind-boggling 600 million enthusiasts! How did Fortnite: Battle Royale become the Internet’s biggest game in such a short period of time? Read on. . ....

On Saturday, April 22, over 1000 mourners, including four of the five living former presidents, from across the country, gathered at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, in Houston, Texas to honor and remember Barbara Bush. The 92-year-old who suffered from a series of health complications, passed away peacefully in the comfort of her Houston home on April 17 with the love of her life, former president George H.W. Bush, by her side....

Scientists have long maintained that the skin, which makes up roughly 15 percent of a person’s body mass, is the largest organ in the human body. However, now researchers from New York University's School of Medicine appear to have stumbled upon what they believe may be an even larger organ. Called the interstitium, it is not solid like the heart or liver, but a network of fluid-filled spaces that is present throughout the body to protect the rest of our organs....

The Earth Day Network may have an unexpected ally in its quest to solve the global plastic pollution crisis: bacteria. More specifically, an enzyme produced by the Ideonella sakaiensis microbes. Dubbed PETase, it can expertly break down PET (polyethylene terephthalate), one of the most common types of plastic, within days, instead of the over 450 years it takes the synthetic material to decompose naturally....

Over the years, Germany’s Festo has engineered some incredibly cool and functional bio-inspired robots, including ones that mimic ants, butterflies, flying jellyfish, and seagulls. On March 27, the electrical automation company added to the impressive list with two new creations — a realistic flying fox bat and a somersaulting robotic spider....

On Sunday, April 22, more than a billion people around the world will celebrate Earth Day by participating in neighborhood clean-up efforts. The grassroots movement began in 1970 when twenty million Americans took to the streets to voice their concern about the deteriorating environment and to urge lawmakers to take action before it was too late. Now boasting over 50,000 partners in 195 countries, the Earth Day Network (EDN) is credited with instigating many of our current environmental policies, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act....

Every year from March to October, Christian Moullec, aka “Birdman,” takes to the skies aboard his two-seater adapted light aircraft, derived from hang-gliders. However, the 58-year-old Frenchman’s daily 30-minute flight is not just to enjoy the spectacular views, but to guide flocks of lesser white-fronted geese through safe migration paths which the birds can teach future generations....

Looking for a true out-of-this-world vacation? Then you are in luck. On Thursday, April 5, Texas-based start-up Orion Span announced they were taking reservations for Aurora Station, the world’s first luxury hotel in space, which is expected to launch in 2021 and begin welcoming visitors by 2022....