Jhonathan Miranda never expected to be into birds. But when the Venezuelan biologist got a job at a bird lab as a university student, he set his mind to learning as much as he could about the class Aves. As he organized trips around the country, one particular species lodged in his mind: the Táchira Antpitta, a round, leggy brown bird a little longer than a pencil.

Glowing "jellyfish" galaxies have revealed a new way to power some of the most powerful objects in the universe. The same process that feeds the most voracious black holes at the galactic centers may also create dangling "tentacles" of newborn stars, a new study found.

Data from the 2016 US National Science Foundation report [PDF] on global Science & Engineering Indicators shows the stunning ascendancy of China’s research and development funding and output. The report paints a sobering picture for the future of US leadership in science, showing that China is graduating more scientists, rapidly increasing the quality of its research and even more rapidly increasing its research and development funding.

Eleven members of the same family have been convicted of running a modern slavery ring which kept one of its captives in "truly shocking" conditions for decades. Vulnerable people were forced to work for the Rooney clan for little or no wages, while their pay-masters lived a life of lavish luxury. The 11 gang-members, convicted of fraud and slavery charges, enjoyed holidays to Barbados and cosmetic surgery and even shelled out on a Manchester United soccer school, using money earned by...

Guam's top homeland security official says there's little to no chance that a North Korean missile could make it past the island's defenses. George Charfauros stressed on Wednesday that Guam is protected by the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system, which is permanently stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on the island.

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Travel advisories warn you to carefully consider visiting certain places. Reasons typically range from severe weather to government instability, from civil war to terrorism. The US State Department issues such advisories on a regular basis. Earlier this month it warned Americans against traveling to Somalia because of widespread terrorist and criminal activity, including kidnappings, bombings and murders.

A man is charged with attempted murder and a raft of firearms offences after helping fend off home invaders, one of whom he’s now charged with shooting. Kyle Earl Munroe was arrested on July 12 after RCMP and Halifax Regional Police responded to a report of a home invasion involving firearms at a home in Porters Lake. Police said that three men entered the residence with guns and a struggle took place with two men inside.

Back in 2014, SpaceX and Boeing both received contracts under NASA's Commercial Crew Development program to build spacecraft that could carry astronauts to the International Space Station. The program is intended to allow NASA to launch astronauts on American spacecraft again, something that hasn't happened since the last flight of the space shuttle in 2011.

A jury will begin deliberations on Monday in the trial on securities fraud charges against the entrepreneur Martin Shkreli, who faces up to 20 years in prison. The 34-year-old gained notoriety in 2015, when he purchased the commercial rights and then ruthlessly increased the cost of Daraprim, a life-saving Aids medication. Since then, he has maintained his reputation with a provocative presence on social media. This year he was suspended from Twitter, for harassing the journalist Lauren Duca.

For nearly 30 years, The Simpsons has chronicled the lives and misadventures of the title characters and their fellow residents of Springfield, USA. The Kwik-E-Mart owner, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, has been among the show’s most popular supporting characters during its run. In the early seasons of the show, Apu was largely a one-note stereotype figure, who was fleshed out in later seasons as a family man with a life outside of his Simpsons interactions. But that doesn’t necessarily change some...

A super rare disease that results from polygamous inbreeding is reportedly affecting children at alarming rates — and it has no cure. Experts say inbreeding in a Mormon community near the border of Arizona with Utah is responsible for a rare — now common — genetic condition called fumarase deficiency that is causing children of polygamist families to suffer from extreme physical and mental dysfunctions. Experts are now warning members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-...

Health costs related to fossil fuel use outweigh taxpayer-funded subsidies by 600%, according to a new study that insists governments should stop pumping money into dirty energy sources. G20 governments spent $444 billion on oil, gas and coal subsidies in 2014 alone and have long pledged to cut this support, as countries look to decarbonise their economies in line with the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals and national goals.

North Korea has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, officials in Tokyo and Washington say. The missile was launched from North Korea's Jangang province at 11.40pm local time (2.40pm GMT) and flew for 45 minutes, before landing off the country's east coast. The missile may have flown higher than 3,000km (1,864 miles), a Japanese defence official told state media.

Robert Mueller, who was named in late May as the special counsel to spearhead the FBI's investigation into Russian connections to the 2016 election "and related matters," has been in the headlines more than once since he was appointed. Most recently, President Donald Trump said if Mueller investigated his and his family’s personal finances, specifically those unrelated to Russia, it would cross a line.

Senator Edward Markey this week questioned FCC boss Ajit Pai's justifications for killing popular net neutrality rules in a hearing in Washington this week. We've noted repeatedly that while large ISPs claim net neutrality killed broadband investment, objective analysis repeatedly finds that to be a lie. That's not just based on publicly-available SEC filings and earnings reports, but the industry's own repeated comments to investors and analysts.