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

Aboard the International Space Station, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata will down pills, wire himself with sensors, and record how smelly his underwear gets—all in the name of science.

Have a look at a record-breaking handmade sausage, a collapsed archive in Cologne, and more in this week's installment of the best news pictures.

A giant air purifier was installed recently along a busy street in Lima, Peru. Its makers claim it can clear carbon dioxide from 200,000 cubic meters of air each day, the equivalent of 1,200 trees.

NASA is scheduled to launch the Kepler spacecraft later this week. The space observatory will spend more than three years traveling through space searching for Earth-like planets.

What causes rare "thundersnow" storms like those that struck the U.S. Southeast this week? How do they spark heavier snowfall? And where can you see them? Experts explain.

A dexterous octopus disassembled part of its tank on Thursday at a California aquarium—high jinks typical of the intelligent creatures, experts say.

A newly discovered frogfish—dubbed the psychedelic fish because of its colorful stripes—hops along the seabed by flexing its lower fins and shooting water from its gills.

Microchip-implanted penguins in Argentina are helping scientists by just doing what comes naturally on the birds' favorite "highway" to the sea.

Two bronzes, which disappeared from a Chinese palace in 1860, sold at an auction of the late fashion designer's possessions for U.S. $36 million, despite pleas to halt the sale.

A recently discovered "psychedelic" fish that bounces along reefs is bounding into the books as a new species, a new DNA study says. With video.

Spotters have recorded more than 470 great white shark sightings in five years at South Africa's False Bay beaches. Thanks in part to the spotters' alerts, there have been no related fatalities.

Seed beetle species have wildly divergent male sexual parts with spikes, hooks, and barbs. A new study finds that the longest and spiniest beetle genitalia are most successful in reproduction.

The world celebrated its last hours before the start of Lent on Tuesday with elaborate parade floats, llama sacrifices, fire-eaters, and more.

For the first time, a live Pacific barreleye fish—complete with transparent head—has been caught on video. The deep-sea fish's tubular eyes pivot under a clear dome.