The lifelike robot fish, modeled after carp, are like "little labs" that can detect and transmit pollution data wirelessly, experts say. With video.

Druid celebrations, pyramid pilgrimages, and street fires are among the many ways the world welcomes the first day of spring on the vernal equinox.

Have a look at an astonishing volcanic eruption, a rare wild-born reptile, and the last hurrah of a Seattle newspaper in our editor's picks of the week's best news pictures.

Dried perfume oil found in a bottle belonging to Hatshepsut, the gender-bending pharaoh who reigned in the fifteenth century B.C., may help us "put our noses back in time," one scientist says.

Pounding fortified beehives with big sticks and other tools, a chimpanzee group in Africa has been filmed using the most sophisticated honey-gathering methods yet seen among wild chimps. Video.

Look on the bright side—this luminous new jellyfish species caught off Australia doesn't sting.

Japanese government scientists unveiled a robot "woman" with a nearly natural, hip-swaying walk. "She" changes mood as instructed and will strut in a fashion show. Video.

In researching sea turtles in Australia, National Geographic's Crittercam researchers discovered a surprise in the eating habits of the marine creatures. Video.

Some caterpillars munch on drug-laced leaves to rid themselves of crippling parasites—the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects, a new study says.

Friday the 13th again? For the first time in 11 years, the ominous date falls in two consecutive months. Plus, 2009 will see the yearly maximum of three Friday the 13ths.

Kids celebrate a festival of color in India, how Abraham Lincoln told time, sandstorms attack Saudi Arabia, and more in the week's best news photos.

State officials voted to re-establish Pluto as a planet for a day to honor a homegrown hero, inadvertently flaring up the ongoing discussion over the icy body's status in the solar system.

A newfound partial body and skull of a plague victim show her jaw forced open by a brick—a medieval exorcism technique used on suspected vampires.

Nineteen new species of tiny creatures have been discovered in Australia--most of them in biologically rich Western Australia, scientists say.

In a rural African village, the creeping Sahara sands are burying homes—so much so that sand sometimes pours through open windows. Video.