ScIence

Why do we yawn? Most animals that can respirate via their mouths can also yawn. We yawn, as well as most other mammals, birds, and fish. Even human fetuses have been observed yawning in the womb. Do animals yawn because they are bored or tired? Not necessarily. It is difficult to explain why other animals yawn; for some species, it may be a way to assert dominance or signal to others, while

Ants are cool. You may not think that when they are marching through your kitchen, but before you spray them into oblivion, just remember: ants are cool. Researchers studying an Asian weaver ant came upon two new and exciting abilities. The Asian weaver ant can not only stick to a surface while holding over 100 times its weight, it can also respond to the added weight in one milliseco

One-Eyed Anomaly Photograph courtesy Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez Talk about a one-of-a-kind discovery—an extremely rare cyclops shark (pictured) has been confirmed in Mexico, new research shows. The 22-inch-long (56-centimeter-long) fetus has a single, functioning eye at the front of its head—the hallmark of a congenital condition called cyclopia, which occurs in several animal sp

It's big. It's brown. It's definitely dead. But don't be fooled -- it didn't come from the ground, or outer space. Chances are that this "sea monster," which washed ashore this week in Southeast Asia, are the remains of a whale. According to the Daily Star, that hasn't stopped some people from going "down the alien route and [presuming] it to be a large creature from outer space simil

Photo credit: Staecker. The demise of the Aral sea could be a foretaste of the future if we don't change the way society works Our industrial civilization faces the same threats of collapse that earlier versions such as the Mayans experienced, a study to be published in Ecological Economics has warned. The idea is far from new, but the authors have put new rigor to the study of how so

It was one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong put his left foot on the Moon and creating the first human footprint there. But a new conspiracy theory has emerged, suggesting that he didn’t even wear the boots, required to take that step. To support the claim, these twisted minds are comparing a photo of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit (ta

Note: The content of this article was written by Dr. Jennifer Raff for her blog, Violent Metaphors. It is being rehosted here with permission. You can click on the above hyperlink to view the original and engage in the lively discussion in the comments section. In light of recent outbreaks of measles and other vaccine preventable illnesses, and the refusal of anti-vaccination ad