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Whoa!

These incredibly clever little archer fish of southeast Asia use specially adapted tongues to form powerful jets of liquid to knock bugs off leaves. No spider, beetle or fly that comes too close to the water is safe from these sharpshooters, who soak the insects so they fall into the pool to be gobbled up.

And if all else fails, they’ll leap for their dinner.

Scientists are closer than ever to reaching the Earth’s gooey center

To accomplish it, they’ll need to penetrate several miles of solid rock at the bottom of the ocean. This month, the project’s purpose-built Japanese drilling ship Chikyu embarks on a practice mission to bore down to a once-unthinkable 12,000 feet into the seabed.

How 52 years of tech development helped Felix Baumgartner break the 1960s free-fall record. 

How 52 years of tech development helped Felix Baumgartner break the 1960s free-fall record. 

Look, the death star! NASA telescopes captured this snapshot of the Helix Nebula, a dying star that’s 650 light years away. The star’s dusty layers are unraveling into space as the hot core pumps out intense ultraviolet radiation.

Look, the death star! 

NASA telescopes captured this snapshot of the Helix Nebula, a dying star that’s 650 light years away. The star’s dusty layers are unraveling into space as the hot core pumps out intense ultraviolet radiation.

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner is set to take the leap of a lifetime today. He’s attempting the highest, fastest free fall in history from 23 miles up, and he could be the first skydiver ever to break the sound barrier. 

The 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria is jumping from a balloon-hoisted capsule 23 miles near Roswell, New Mexico, at 8 a.m. EDT. He’s attempting to break the record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from an open gondola at an altitude of 19.5 miles. Kittinger’s speed of 614 mph was just shy of breaking the sound barrier at that height.
Baumgartner, who has been preparing for the jump for five years, has made two practice dives around the Roswell area, from 15 miles high in March and 18 miles in July. He needs to reach a speed of 690 mph to break the sound barrier.

UPDATE: The jump has been rescheduled for tomorrow due to high winds. 

Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner is set to take the leap of a lifetime today. He’s attempting the highest, fastest free fall in history from 23 miles up, and he could be the first skydiver ever to break the sound barrier. 

The 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria is jumping from a balloon-hoisted capsule 23 miles near Roswell, New Mexico, at 8 a.m. EDT. He’s attempting to break the record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from an open gondola at an altitude of 19.5 miles. Kittinger’s speed of 614 mph was just shy of breaking the sound barrier at that height.

Baumgartner, who has been preparing for the jump for five years, has made two practice dives around the Roswell area, from 15 miles high in March and 18 miles in July. He needs to reach a speed of 690 mph to break the sound barrier.

UPDATE: The jump has been rescheduled for tomorrow due to high winds. 

What had a vegetarian diet, a parrot-like beak, vampire fangs and the bristles of a porcupine?
Pegomastax africanus, of course, a new species of dinosaur discovered near Cape Town, South Africa.

Named by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno, the mini-dino, part of the heterodontosaur family, would have been no more than 2½ feet long and the weight of a small house cat.

What had a vegetarian diet, a parrot-like beak, vampire fangs and the bristles of a porcupine?

Pegomastax africanus, of course, a new species of dinosaur discovered near Cape Town, South Africa.

Named by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno, the mini-dino, part of the heterodontosaur family, would have been no more than 2½ feet long and the weight of a small house cat.

Thanks to a prosthetic limb, this adorable miniature donkey named Emma — who was born with a deformed leg — is now able to run with the herd.

Wow! These incredible stitched-together images are the closest view yet of energy surging from a black hole.

After a 3-year trip, French sea explorers the Tara Expedition docked in London last week, revealing the first-ever photos of more than 1.5 million underwater species. 

File this under “AAAAAGGGGHHH!!!’”

These creepy creatures may look like sci-fi monsters, but they’re actually tiny, everyday insects found in our homes, gardens and our own bodies.