The annual Ig Nobel Prizes are given to scientists whose work made readers both laugh and think. This year's honors went to research on everything from puzzling placebos to spermicidal soda.

Australia is one of the only major beekeeping countries free of a parasitic mite that is killing bees throughout the world. The battle is on to prevent an infestation.

A lion mounts a horse, a skull is knifed, China celebrates its first space walk, and more in our picks of the week's news photos.

Research is underway to turn algae into biodiesel that developers hope could eventually fuel jet airplanes.

Growing acidity in the world's oceans may create an underwater racket that hinders whales and other animals that rely on sounds for survival, a new study says.

Periods of high solar activity create features that make the sun appear to have bigger "love handles," according to a new study of the star's true shape.

An Earth-spanning boundary separates the Northern Hemisphere's pollution from the more pristine atmosphere of the south, a finding that could help map future movements of harmful chemicals.

The U.S. adventurer's plane "disintegrated" when it hit a California mountain, experts said. The presence of bears and other scavengers likely explains why no body has been found.

A temperature-driven trend toward more females and fewer males in Australia's spotted skink may increase populations in the short-term, a finding that contradicts previous studies.

The entire planet comes into stunning focus using a new technique that removes atmospheric distortion.

A southern white rhino learns fighting skills from its father, a man frees a rehabilitated eagle, and more in our weekly roundup of animal photos.

In South America's highlands warmer temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns are seriously affecting staple crops such as the potato.

A hiker in eastern California found an ID and other items belonging to Steve Fossett, the adventurer who vanished on a solo flight more than a year ago, authorities said Wednesday.

Springer spaniels are training to do battle to save an Australian island from a rabbit boom. The rabbits are destroying vegetation, thereby threatening other species.

Amazon forests in Brazil are shrinking three times faster than in 2007, officials say. A key culprit is the national government itself, according to reports.

The virus first appeared at least three decades before researchers had thought, and it may have been triggered by rapid urbanization in west-central Africa during the early 20th century.

Workers recently began installing donated solar panels on the papal auditorium's roof, part of Vatican City's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The ESA's Jules Verne spacecraft reenters Earth's atmosphere, the Circinus galaxy appears in a composite image, and more in our weekly roundup of space photos.

The primates can identify photos of their acquaintances' rears and match them with the right faces--an ability that may elude humans, experts say.

Economies built on fishing shrinking stocks of shark are putting some Baja fishers in a precarious place.