In January and February of 2016, a total of 13 young sperm whales washed up on the beach near the town of Tönning in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. An autopsy revealed that the whales had all died of heart failure. The researchers believe that the young bulls, all between 10-15 years old, may have entered the North Sea by mistake. Since the sea floor here is too shallow for these deep sea dwellers, it caused the whales to become disoriented and perish....
Read news articleMention the word "coding" and the first image that comes to mind is a complicated algorithm that has no relationship to the real world. It is, therefore, no wonder that most kids steer away from learning this skill that is becoming increasingly important in today's world. Now, thanks to a small robot created by researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute even kids as young as five, will be clamoring to program....
Read news articleWood has many great properties that make it the perfect building material — It is cheap, durable, easily available, and most importantly, renewable. The one thing it is not, is transparent! Now thanks to a team of scientists at Stockholm's KTH Royal Institute of Technology the versatile material may even be able to add that attribute to its already impressive list....
Read news articleAnimal videos are always heartwarming. However, the one that captured Tuffy, a black bear splashing in a pool, is even more so. That's because it shows the animal's unbridled joy after being rescued from a bear bile farm, where he was locked in a tiny cage and tortured for years. In fact, Tuffy was so thrilled with his newly found freedom that he did not return to his den that evening — Instead, the bear spent the night sleeping under the stars....
Read news articleJapan is famous for its state-of-the-art high-speed railway system. In 2015, its Magnetic Levitation or, Maglev train, which gets its name because it hovers 10 cm above the tracks, set a new speed world record of 375 mph (603km/hr). Now the innovative island nation wants to build a train that features a mirror-like exterior and blends in so well with the environment, that it will be practically "invisible."...
Read news articleOn Friday, April 22, billions of people across the globe will celebrate Earth Day. They will commemorate the event by staging rallies, participating in environmental clean-up activities, and pledging to undertake "green" initiatives to protect this precious planet. While that is certainly helpful, it would be even better if we could incorporate "greener" habits into our daily lives. These stunning images taken from space by NASA will serve as a reminder of why making every day "Earth Day" is so important....
Read news articleIn May 2011, Joao Pereira de Souza stumbled upon a stranded Magellanic penguin outside his shack on Proveta Beach in Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro. The bird was soaked in oil and unable to move. The 71-year-old retired bricklayer scooped up the starving penguin, nursed it back to health and put it out to sea....
Read news articleOn Thursday, April 14, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake jolted the residents of Japan's Kyushu Island. The tremor that struck near the town of Ueki in the Kumamoto Prefecture occurred just before 9:30 pm local time and resulted in 9 deaths and over 850 injuries. An additional 44,000 people were rendered homeless. Though numerous smaller aftershocks followed, most experts believed that the worst was over....
Read news articleOn Tuesday, April 12, representatives from Orlando's Walt Disney World Resort, Duke Energy, and Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) flipped a giant light switch to mark the highly anticipated opening of a five-megawatt solar facility. Cleverly designed to resemble the familiar "not-so-hidden-Mickey," the massive solar farm that is located near Epcot is clearly visible from Space....
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