The best national parks, as selected by 300 specialists, get their due in a new survey in Traveler magazine.

Cosmos 1, the world's first solar sail spacecraft, was lost after its booster rocket failed to reach space, the Russian space agency said.

Superefficiency—not superhuman strength—may explain why porters in Nepal can carry huge loads for miles over steep Himalaya terrain.

New Zealand's flightless moa grew much more slowly than modern birds, scientists say. Is that why humans were able to hunt it to extinction?

It smells like a rotten egg, grows only in the wild, and costs a small fortune. Dogs have been kidnapped—and ransoms paid—because of Italy's prized white truffle.

Appalachia's mountain dialect—"the most heavily stigmatized regional speech in the" U.S.—is emerging as a source of pride, linguists say.

Like Albert Einstein, British comic sci-fi author Douglas Adams sought a unified theory to explain the universe. Well, sort of. His answer, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, hit U.S. movie theaters this weekend.

Appalachia's Nancy Basket and other kudzu artisans have found novel uses—from baskets to barn walls—for kudzu, the fast-growing vine Americans love to hate.

Ukrainian cavers making a record-breaking descent into the deepest known cave in the world compared it to "climbing an inverted Everest."

Arizona's Kartchner Caverns is a rare example of a living cave—its limestone formations are still growing in near-100 percent humidity. Saving the natural resource by developing it for tourism is a challenge.

An Iron Age archaeological site will likely form the centerpiece of a cross-border conservation area under negotiation by three southern African countries.

Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard hopes to make history with an around-the-world flight in a solar-powered airplane. Will it work?

This month California's iconic national park will reveal its new look—courtesy of a multimillion-dollar overhaul of the Yosemite Falls area.

A magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck near the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Monday, initially raising fears that another deadly tsunami could ripple across the region.

South African government officials say plans to use tourism as an economic development tool to empower disenfranchised communities are starting to bear fruit.