From the skies of Venus to the Martian underground--a new tool pinpoints the three extraterrestrial worlds most likely to support life in our solar system, along with two also-rans.

Today's announcement that U.S. swine flu deaths among children are "shooting up" is generating headlines. Meanwhile swine flu is infecting another group up to five times more often than the general public, advocates say.

Enormous sheets of gelatinous mucilage—full of deadly bacteria and viruses—are becoming a more common sight throughout the Mediterranean Sea as temperatures rise, a new study says.

Miles-long sheets of mucus-like material are forming more often and in more places, a new Mediterranean Sea report says. More than just unpleasant, the blobs are an unexpected health hazard, the study found.

Giant, jelly-like sheets of dead and living organic matter, known as marine mucilages, are spreading throughout the Mediterranean. The blobs may smother marine life and carry diseases dangerous to humans.

Plastiki, a 60-foot-long (18.3-meter-long) catamaran made of more than 12,000 plastic bottles, will soon ply the Pacific Ocean to increase awareness of environmental problems.Video

Long-dormant volcanoes—including in Yellowstone—can awaken in a matter of hours, spewing a superheated, fast-moving mix of toxic gas and ash, according to a new study of a massive 2008 eruption in Chile.

Five big earthquakes struck in four days along the Pacific's Rim of Fire. Coincidence? Scientists aren't so sure.

Miners in South Africa recently found what may be one of the 20 largest diamonds ever uncovered—a 507.55-carat gem from the storied Cullinan Mine, which also produced the world's biggest diamond. Video.

See the latest, four-winged evidence that birds are dinosaurs in disguise, the guts of Nero's rotating dining room, a new Hubble stunner, and more.

A second earthquake shook western Indonesia Thursday as the death toll rose above 500 from Wednesday's powerful quake. Plus, see a computer simulation of Tuesday's Samoan quake and the resulting tsunami waves. Video.

Whole villages have been wiped out and scores are dead after an earthquake in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami that swept across several islands, including American Samoa, which has now been declared a major disaster area.

Tsunami waves, sparked by a powerful underwater earthquake, swept away people and cars and flattened villages in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga in the South Pacific on Tuesday—as seen in amateur video.

In light of Tuesday's Samoan islands tsunami, find out how tsunamis are caused, what the warning signs are, and how to respond.

A frog that eats birds and a catlike lizard are some of the 163 surprising new species discovered last year in the jungles of Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region, WWF reports.