About 200 cockatoos in Sydney, Australia, have been observed turning the nozzle on a fountain, activating the flow of water, and then drinking from the fountain. Cockatoos in Australia have also been observed opening outdoor garbage cans and even unzipping bags, like backpacks, in order to obtain food. Cockatoos, like crows, are ranked as the most intelligent birds in the world. Getting back to the fountains…would you want to drink from a fountain that had been used by a cockatoo? Why or why not?

Students at Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, have created a robot that can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 0.103 seconds; that's faster than it takes for you to blink your eyes! This time is nearly three times faster than the previously record held by a robot, just thirteen months ago. For perspective, the fastest record for a human solving a Rubik’s cube, is 3.13 seconds. That’s faster than someone taking a sip of water from a glass. What other things do you think humans can do, in just three second?

There is a new telescope that is taking astounding pictures of the night sky, and amazing scientists and novices, alike. The Vera Rubin observatory, located in the Chilean Andes, is capable of taking the most detailed and expansive images of space, to date. The image featured above, captures just 2% of the area of a full Rubin image. The full image, which contains around ten million galaxies, would need several hundred ultra high-definition TV screens to display all its detail.

The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair is the world’s largest science fair, that is participated in by nearly 2,000 high school students from more than 60 countries. Prizes, totalling $9 million in awards, scholarships and tuition grants, are given to the best projects presented by students. Last month, the 2025 fair was held in Columbus, Ohio. The top prize of $100,000.00 was awarded to Adam Kovalcik, from Slovakia. Adam has developed a cheaper and more efficient way to produce an antiviral drug. What project would you want to work on, should you participate in the fair, in the future?

Researchers have found that spider webs built in the city, are different from those built in rural areas. It seems that in noisier environments, a spider web vibrates too much, making it harder for the spider to detect prey or predators. In quieter, rural settings however, it is easier for a spider to detect the presence of something, due to the infrequent occasions of vibrations, within their web. Who knew that noise would play such an important role in an insects life?

In May, a container ship in Norway, ran aground in a man’s yard just missing his house, as he slept inside it. It seems that the person responsible for navigating the 135m long ship, had fallen asleep while on duty, and had failed to turn the ship away from the coastline. Luckily, no one was hurt. It’s one of those instances when life is stranger than fiction.

Some animals and marine life are biofluorescent; they are able to absorb light into their fur or scales, and then re-emit light, visible to humans only under a UV light. Researchers believe this ‘skill’ is multipurpose. They think that the animals in question use the emitting of biofluorescence to communicate with other animals and to camouflage themselves from potential predators. Would you want to glow in the dark? Why or why not?

Chimpanzees in western Uganda, have been observed by researchers, searching for and using certain plants for medical and hygiene purposes. Some plants, well known to humans to have medicinal properties, have been selected by chimpanzees and used to clean the cuts of other chimpanzees who have been wounded in a fight or resulting from an accident. The researchers also observed chimpanzees use other plants, to clean themselves after they had ‘used the bathroom’. There is so much we can learn from observing animals!

In May, 2025, a new exhibit will open in the departure area of the Darwin International airport, in northern Australia. After paying a fee, passengers can be lowered into a massive tank of water ... with a 5 metre long crocodile. From a protective enclosure, customers can observe the crcodile swimming around and eating. The fee is expected to be approximately 17,000 yen per person. Would you want to partake in such an adventure? Why or why not?

Scientists working in Panama noticed that a particular tropical tree species was frequently struck by lightning, but was infrequently killed by the strikes. Forest ecologist Evan Gora found that Dipteryx oleifera trees were often the last ones standing after a lightning strike, which can kill over 100 trees with a single bolt. His team discovered the giant trees were more electrically conductive than other species, which allows them to not only survive strikes, but also channel lightning into parasitic vines and competing trees around them. Source and credit to: verbatim from CBC Quirks & Quarks

Archeologists have recently published the fact that they unearthed copper cymbals in Oman, which date back 4,200 years. Ancient cymbals have also been discovered in China and parts of the Middle East. Archeologists believe that cymbals, in all these ancient civilizations, were primarily used in religious ceremonies. Today, in addition to still being used in religious ceremonies, cymbals have graduated to many different genres of modern music.

Baby animals in the wild are vulnerable to predators, while their parents are away hunting for food. Chicks of the white-necked jacobin hummingbird have evolved a unique defence against this vulnerability. When they are born, the chicks are covered in long, narrow feathers that make the chick look like a poisonous caterpillars which discourages predators from attacking. Other animals have also evolved this Batesian mimicry technique - where animals look like a more dangerous creature than they actually are.