A long-legged mammal, a sharp-toothed rodent, and an iridescent beetle are among the more than 6,500 fossils recently unearthed in Germany's Messel Pit, where creatures trapped in 47-million-year-old shale have been helping scientists better understand life during the Eocene epoch.

Even flies engage in the battle of the sexes: Female fruit flies that kick themselves free during sex and mate with more males have a better chance of reproducing, a new study says.

See a torch-bedecked bull, a rocket go out in a blaze of glory, a green roof get mowed, and more in our editor's picks of the week's best news pictures.

Hardcore human runners who can't bear to skip a workout may be hooked in a way that's similar to heroin addiction, according to a new study of rats.

New deep-sea worm species nicknamed "green bombers" fire glowing blobs to distract predators, a new study says.

A new study finds that people naturally walk in circles when their sense of direction is lost. Researchers had people walk in the desert and through a forest. Video.

Putting the "extreme" in extreme makeover, some Russian surgeons are courting controversy by breaking legs, among other procedures, to make the limbs longer for cosmetic purposes. Video.

Chances are, you're carrying drug money. Nearly nine out of ten bills in the U.S. and Canada are laced with cocaine, a new study says.

A civet "makes" high-end coffee, farmers gather for a Scottish lamb sale, a Tokyo quake shakes up beer bottles, and more in our editor's picks of the week's best news pictures.

NASA helicopters have lowered about a dozen monitoring "spiders" in and around Mount St. Helens's volcanic crater to better predict major eruptions. Video.

An invasive vine that is choking much of the southern U.S. may reduce cravings in human alcoholics, new rat research suggests.

The tasty Tasman booby was hunted to extinction centuries ago. Or was it? New DNA evidence says the bird's been living a secret life as ... the masked booby.

Sarah Palin isn't the only one who supports hunting from a helicopter. The Australian government is using choppers with heat sensors to scour the land for invasive fire ants. Video.

A bird with a sword-like beak, a venomous pit viper, and a new kind of snakehead fish are among the more than 300 new creatures discovered in the Eastern Himalaya in the past ten years, conservationists say.

In a small village in northeastern Afghanistan, it's estimated more than half the residents are addicted to opium. Even the youngest of children are given the drug.Video.