Scientists developing new materials are studying an unlikely source of strength: a beetle that can withstand being run over by a car. Researchers from Purdue University and the University of California, Irvine, studied the aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle — Phloeodes diabolicus — to understand the secret behind its strength. “If you take any beetle,…

The Orionid meteor shower will peak in the early morning hours of October 21, sprinkling remnants of Halley’s Comet in Earth’s atmosphere to create a dazzling display. The moon’s faint waxing crescent phase will allow for optimal viewing. And if you can’t see the meteor shower on October 21, experts advise looking up during the…

The red giant star Betelgeuse, which was thought to be on the brink of a supernova explosion, is still revealing more secrets, even after the Hubble Space Telescope helped solve the mystery of why it has looked a little dimmer than usual. The star, which is visible in the Orion constellation, is actually smaller and…

As coronavirus tears through the world’s mink farms, the pandemic is accelerating the shuttering of a controversial industry. Earlier this month, the Danish government ordered the country’s mink farms to cull more than 1 million of the animals following a series of Covid-19 outbreaks, and thousands of mink have died at farms in the US…

A former Mexican defense minister was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on drug and money laundering charges, accused of taking bribes in exchange for permitting a cartel known for wholesale violence to operate with impunity in Mexico, federal prosecutors said Friday. General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, Secretary of National Defense in Mexico from 2012 to…

Eight countries have signed on as founding member nations to NASA’s Artemis Accords during the 71st International Astronautical Congress this week. Those nations include Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. NASA released the Artemis Accords in May to establish a framework of principles…

Joe Biden might win the White House simply because he’s not Donald Trump. The President’s talent for shooting himself in the foot has allowed his Democratic rival to avoid some scrutiny of what a Biden presidency might actually look like. But the former vice president is getting jammed over his refusal to say whether he…

Mexico has identified two women who may have been subjected to non-consensual surgeries while detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The finding is part of a larger Mexican investigation into allegations of improper medical care for detained migrant women at ICE’s privately-run Irwin Country Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. In a statement released…

Just a few weeks ahead of the 20th anniversary of a continuous human presence in space, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are scheduled to launch for a stay on the International Space Station. The launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan is scheduled for 1:45 am ET…

A rare star system has been found in our Milky Way galaxy, but it’s doomed to end in a massive explosion. The star system, which looks like a cosmic pinwheel, is located 8,000 light-years from Earth. But it’s so rare that astronomers never expected to find a star system like this in our galaxy. It’s…

Four women were honored during this year’s memorable Nobel Prize week. But the prestigious award still has a diversity problem. Of 931 individuals and 28 organizations to have won the prize since the awards began, just 16 are Black. No Black winners were named in 2020. Twelve Black people have won the Peace Prize, three…

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its “efforts to combat hunger” and its “contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas.” The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which presented the award in Oslo on Friday, also described the organization as “a driving force in efforts to prevent…

Iranians around the world flooded their social media accounts with tributes, songs and poetry dedicated to legendary Iranian singer and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian, who died from complications due to a long standing battle with kidney cancer on Thursday. “Our nightingale has flown to another tree,” Iranian-American U.S. based musician Farid Shafinury said about Shajarian’s passing…

“They knew what was happening, and they didn’t tell you.” Joe Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, did not mince words when prosecuting the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic during the vice presidential debate last night. “The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of…

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Earth is the only planet we know of so far to host life, but it may not be the best place for life when compared with “superhabitable” planets, according to a new study. And as scientists search for other planets outside of our solar system, called exoplanets, that could host life, planets much like Earth…

President Donald Trump keeps downplaying the coronavirus even after it killed more than a million people around the world and left him hospitalized for three days. He has now claimed Covid-19 is “in most populations far less lethal!!!” than the flu. That’s not true. Here are the facts. In just eight months, Covid-19 has killed…

Keep an eye on the night sky this week to see “the dragon” in action. The Draconid meteor shower is expected to peak on the evening of October 7. However, stargazers recommend looking up on the evenings of October 6 and 8 as well, according to EarthSky. Look out for the Draconid meteor shower in…

Dogs aren’t hardwired to care about human faces, a new study has found, and there’s no area in their brain designed to distinguish between the back or front of someone’s head. Researchers measured brain activity in dogs and humans as they showed them videos of faces and backs of heads, a press release from Eötvös…

Think about aphids — those little, green, garden-destroying bugs. The bane of the begonia. But aphids exist in an ecosystem. Which is to say, those little suckers have enemies. When gardeners see aphids, it’s often ladybugs to the rescue. There is another plague out there right now: the antibiotic-resistant bacteria currently making a home in…

It is well documented that large quantities of plastic enters the oceans every year, polluting the seas, littering beaches and endangering wildlife. And that plastic pollution has been found even in the most remote regions of Earth, such as Antarctica or in the deepest parts of our oceans. But relatively little is known about the…

Humans have been living, working and conducting science experiments on the International Space Station for nearly 20 years. But even this feat of engineering needs upgrades sometimes, like a new toilet. Among the 8,000 pounds of supplies arriving at the International Space Station Monday at 8 a.m. ET was a new space toilet. Officially called…

New Caledonia voted against independence from France on Sunday for a second time in two years. More than 53.2% of voters said they wanted their territory to remain French, delivering a result that French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed “with a deep sense of gratitude” and “humility,” in a solemn address from the Elysée Palace in…

Voters in Geneva, Switzerland, have agreed to introduce a minimum wage in the canton that is the equivalent of $25 an hour — believed to be the highest in the world. According to government data, 58% of voters in the canton were in favor of the initiative set the minimum wage at 23 Swiss francs…

The first image of a black hole, captured in 2019, has revealed more support for Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The new finding has suggested his theory is now 500 times harder to beat. Einstein’s theory, or the idea that gravity is matter warping space-time, has persisted for a hundred years as new astronomical…

Leaders from across the world sent messages of goodwill to US President Donald Trump and wife Melania on Friday after the bombshell news that both had tested positive for coronavirus. Trump’s announcement comes as nations battle the pandemic and keep a close watch on what will be a crucial election for the entire planet. Here’s…

Democracy is in crisis worldwide as governments take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to tighten controls and conduct human rights abuses, according to a new report by research institute Freedom House. The report, released Thursday, identified 80 countries where freedoms have deteriorated, many of them nations with repressive or authoritarian governments like China and Cambodia,…

Two years ago, scientists detected what looked like a salty lake under the surface of Mars’ southern ice cap. Now, new research has found more evidence of the lake, and also revealed a number of smaller salty “ponds” nearby — raising the possibility there may be life on the Red Planet. In the new study,…

Taking a second glance in space can be rewarding, especially when a closer look reveals a weird exoplanet. An ultra-hot exoplanet with searing temperatures that can turn iron from a solid to a gas has been detected orbiting a star 322 light-years away in the Libra constellation. The observation was made by the European Space…

Police in Ontario, Canada, used a helicopter, night vision technology and canine teams to find a 6-year-old special needs boy who went missing in a forest near his house. On September 22, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call from a panicked mother, according to social media posts. “My son, who is special needs, who…

Picture a robot. Did you envision a giant machine assembling cars, Data from “Star Trek,” C-3PO from “Star Wars” or “The Terminator”? Most of us would probably think of something massive — or at least human size. But a whole arm of robotics is focusing on bug-size ‘bots (and smaller). It’s not just the size…

One of the Vatican’s powerful cardinals has resigned from his post amid a growing financial scandal. Giovanni Angelo Becciu says he was accused of embezzlement and proclaimed his innocence during a press conference on Friday, the day after he was effectively fired by Pope Francis. Becciu served as the “substitute” in the Vatican’s Secretariat of…

Birds can chirp, birds can fly and now scientists have new evidence that birds can communicate with each other using sound made with their feathers. A species called the fork-tailed flycatcher, or Tyrannus savanna, vibrate their feathers very quickly to produce a sound, according to a new study published Tuesday in the Integrative and Comparative…

“Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says in an updated guidance page on its website. Scientists have noted the likelihood of the transmission of coronavirus through viral particles in the air for months, pushing health agencies to acknowledge it. The…

Scientists have found the oldest sample of animal sperm, concealed in a 100 million-year-old piece of amber. Paleontologists discovered the sample in the reproductive tract of an ancient female crustacean encased in resin — one of several samples of ostracods from Myanmar. The previously unknown species of crustacean, now named Myanmarcypris hui, resembles a modern…

The asteroid strike that doomed the dinosaurs is an event that many people are aware of. It wiped out more than three-quarters of all life on Earth 66 million years ago. But it was only one of the Big Five mass extinctions the planet has experienced since living organisms evolved 3.5 billion years ago, and…