Here are some adorable images of macaw parrot chicks getting weighed and measured. The one on the left is just one week old, and the one on the right is seven weeks old.

Researchers at the Tambopata Research Center have been studying the wild macaw populations for years and tracking the growth of the nestlings. By climbing up into the trees and gathering data on these macaws, the researchers are able to do a lot of interesting science and gather information critical to protecting these species. ...

Fasciculations (muscle twitches) are the result of some kind of irritability of the nerve fibers. Because fasciculations are benign, they have not been studied particularly deeply (but, not all involuntary muscle twitches are fasciculations--more on that later). So we do not really know even where in the nerve the irritation is picked up--it could be in the cell body, could be further out in the fibers, nobody really knows. It is also thought that the exact localization of the fasciculation is random, meaning that you will feel a twitch in your arm or leg or eyelid without having necessarily irritated a nerve anywhere near the place you experience the twitch.

Causes are also only loosely understood; there are certain behaviors that can trigg ...

Giant African land snails can get quite large. They are native to Africa and are routinely confiscated at airports as they are very popular as pets in the Western world, and can be considered an invasive species. There is a population of these snails spreading in Coral Gables, Florida.

By themselves, miracle berries do not taste like much. The reason to eat them is that they contain a chemical called miraculin that binds to the sweet taste receptors on your tongue, changing their shape and making them respond to sour and acidic foods.

The upshot of this effect is that some things you eat taste spectacularly different. Straight Tabasco sauce tastes like donut glaze. Guinness tastes like a chocolate malt. Goat cheese tastes like cheesecake. After about an hour of craziness, your taste buds go back to normal, no harm done. ...

This is supernova remnant W49B. It is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, and as we see it it is approximately 1,000 years old. Compared to other supernova remnants of similar type and age, it is distorted in an usual way. Astronomers believe that it is distorted because it is in the infant stages of of forming a black hole -- the very first time this has been observed.

This fantastic minifox is a desert dweller who weighs in around 3 lb. (1.4 kg) and stretches just beyond a foot (30 cm), not counting its uniquely gigantic ears, which can measure almost half its body length. The smallest of all the world\'s foxes, the fennec burrows away during the day and scavenges for insects and fruit at night. Its huge ears emit body heat and help it keep cool among the dunes of the Sahara and elsewhere in North Africa. Some locals hunt the fennec for its fur, while others capitalize on its cuteness in the pet trade. ...

The third largest asteroid to ever hit earth has been found in South Australia. According to scientists involved, the asteroid, which measured up to 20 km across, hit Earth approximately 360 million years ago. This was around the time of the Late Devonian mass extinction, strengthening the idea that asteroid impacts have been associated with many mass extinctions throughout the history of life on Earth.