In East Africa, the Serengeti comes alive when wildebeests journey across treacherous terrain to find the best grazing locations. Every year, approximately 1.5 million wildebeests migrate over 1,800 miles or nearly 3,000 kilometers searching for rain ripened grass. Prior to their journey toward Kenya, they graze on the grasses of the Serengeti in Tanzania before the rainy season comes. As they search for food and water, they endure crocodile-filled...

With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, the role of getting people, satellites and other instruments into space falls to private companies. As of June 2011, there have been only 523 people to reach the 100 kilometer mark (considered human spaceflight), and only 24 have traveled beyond low Earth orbit. It is projected that within ten years, the number of people who will have flown into space will increase by about 600 percent due...

The Mexican free-tailed bat is one of the most abundant mammals in North America. Outside of San Antonio, Texas there is a cave that is home to over 40 million of these bats. Roosting in large numbers in relatively few areas makes them especially vulnerable to human disturbance and habitat destruction. Documented declines at some roosts are cause for concern because there is a delicate balance in the ecosystem that depends on the bats. There is also...

Christmas Island, discovered December 25, 1643, is just a speck of land in the Indian Ocean. The annual red crab migration at the beginning of the rainy season, however, is so massive it can be seen from the air. It has been named a wonder of the natural world. This program follows this terrestrial arthropod from its rainforest burrow, across dangerous landscape to the ocean to mate. The park offers the perfect forest ecosystem for the Christmas...

The energy demands and rising cost of oil have encouraged scientists and engineers to develop renewable energy alternatives. Biofuels are renewable energy sources from organic materials such as plants or animals that are directly converted into liquid fuels. The two most common biofuels in use today are ethanol and biodiesel. Engineered biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel that are made from starches, sugars and cellulose are already in use as...

The role of getting people, satellites and other instruments into space is falling to private companies, especially with the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011. Reaching an altitude of 100 kilometers is required to be considered spaceflight. There have been just over 500 people that have reached this mark and only 24 have traveled beyond low Earth orbit. It is projected that within ten years, the number of people who will have flown...

Visible light, which can be seen with our eyes, comprises a small sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum. The rest of the spectrum, from short wavelength gamma rays to long-wavelength radio waves, requires special instruments to detect. ALMA uses and array of radio telescopes to detect and study radio waves from space. Radio telescopes are typically large parabolic dish antennas used singly or in an array. Radio observatories are preferentially located...

Automobiles have evolved in many ways over the years, with increasing fuel economy, reliability, handling, and comfort. However, automobile manufacturing is in a new era, focusing on safety while incorporating impressive new technologies into our transportation needs. With a growing population, there are subsequently more people driving and more automobiles on the road. With more congestion and traffic, the likelihood of accidents seems imminent....

The Australian outback is home to a diverse group of organisms. When conditions are right, they play host to a distant, shoreline visitor – the Banded Stilt. Though common to the country's coasts and tidal shallows, this bird travels great distances inland in search of a particular food at its inland breeding grounds. Due to an environmental event, the mystery behind this behavior was only recently discovered and documented. Cyclone Bobby started...