Article: http://j.mp/AwLdIY The global orchid community convenes in Singapore to compete for the title of best in show.

The legendary Stan Lee, creator of the Avengers, Spiderman and Iron Man, has partnered with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to launch the first global online course about superheroes to fans around the world. Taught by "The Dark Knight" producer Michael Uslan, students will go into the vaults of the Smithsonian collection and hear from industry experts. Register now (http://bit.ly/1DsdJ3W) and beginning May 5, 2015, you can become a certified expert on superheroes. Sign up for the verified certificate to earn an original piece of artwork from top artist Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman, New X-Men) with Phil's, Stan Lee’s, and Michael Uslan’s signatures.

By 1953, six years after the Bell X-1 first went supersonic, that airplane and others were routinely flying at more than twice the speed of sound. On December 17, 1953the 50th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight at Kitty HawkMajor Yeager sat down at the Pentagon for an informal press briefing to discuss his own Mach 2.43 flight in the X-1 five days earlier. Video: Department of Defense, Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration

“Superman isn’t coming. It is a moment in our time when we must look to ourselves, and not take for granted or wait for something from the top to come down, but rather…pick up the torch, carry the torch, to find information and the truth…” – Erin Brockovich applauds Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters for their work exposing the Flint water crisis | Smithsonian Magazine American #IngenuityAwards Read more about Edwards and Walters’ work: http://smithmag.co/D4dIHy The Smithsonian has been celebrating innovation in American culture for more than 150 years, and following in this tradition, Smithsonian magazine presents the American Ingenuity Awards, honoring revolutionary breakthroughs in the arts and sciences, education and social progress. http://smithmag.co/R7hyRO

In a 11-4 vote, the City Council decided to remove the 65-foot-tall monument from its location in the heart of the city

Investigators discovered that the original print of "The Roaring Lion" had been sold to a buyer in Italy

The noisy-but-shy bird, known as the hoiho, has earned the most votes for a second time amid threats to its survival

Officials launched an investigation and recovered the $360,000 print less than a week after it vanished from Grove Gallery. Two men have been charged for the crime

The discoveries include sharks, shorebirds, mammals and saber-toothed salmon, with the oldest remains dating to almost nine million years ago

The vertical sign stretched across three stories of the Manhattan hotel, which once welcomed the likes of Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Andy Warhol and Janis Joplin

The collaboration across species reveals a surprising social behavior of octopuses, researchers say

While the annual shower usually makes for a sleepy showing, it has been known to produce fantastic outbursts in the past

During the restorations, visitors will be able to see the famous site via a temporary walkway, which officials will use to study the flow of foot traffic

Milagra, Spanish for “miracle,” was hatched and raised in captivity by foster condor parents after her mother died of avian flu in April 2023

Breathtaking shots shine a light on the wonders of wildlife and the threats that human activities pose to the natural world

Step right up and see the spooky circus dolls—from creepy clowns to frightening fortune-tellers—in a Minnesota museum's vintage toy collection

The so-called Chew Valley Hoard, which just sold for a record $5.6 million, includes 2,584 coins featuring the likenesses of Harold II, William the Conqueror and Edward the Confessor

The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland

Since her birth in 1909, Francis lived through two world wars, segregation, the fall of the Soviet Union, multiple pandemics and the invention of the cellphone

After a years-long restoration, the unique device that recorded hits like "Come Together" and "Here Comes the Sun" is now fully functional

A new exhibition spotlights the Spanish artist's printmaking talents, which he began honing in his 20s. In the decades that followed, he produced thousands of breathtaking creations

Steve Lazarides' personal collection of prints, original works, handwritten press releases and burner phones sold at auction for around $1.4 million

The 4,500-year-old pyramids of Giza are the backdrop for "Forever Is Now," which features sculptures, installations and immersive artworks that explore the relationship between the past and present

This story and others have come to light during a project to translate and digitize a series of texts about archbishops in York, England

Getting the perfect shot requires great timing, the right equipment and nerves of steel

From swirling aurora borealis to bioluminescent beaches, these award-winning photographs capture rare views of our world at night

See the finalists of our 2014 photo contest and vote for the Readers' Choice winner

It fell to Belle da Costa Greene, a Black woman whose racial identity was kept secret for decades, to catalog J.P. Morgan's immense collection of books and art

The A.C. Hunter Public Library wants people in St. John’s to know that it’s open and accessible, despite how the entrance looks. The main staircase is under repair but there’s plenty of signs directing folks to other entrances. Still, librarians say people are judging this book by its cover and assuming the library is closed.

Ashley Hickey, a parent of a kid with celiac disease, is concerned that Nova Scotia's new school program does not offer any 100 per cent guaranteed gluten-free options.

A candidate for the Nova Scotia NDP has apologized and is no longer running for the party in the provincial election after her comments on Israel and the Holocaust drew concern from the Jewish organizations. 

Some Nova Scotia municipal leaders are defending a funding stream the federal Conservatives say they will cut if elected, calling it a "game changer."

To understand the circuitry of the brain, it is often advantageous to visualize the processes of a single neuron or population of neurons. Identifying sites where a neuron, or neurons, originates and where it projects can allow a researcher to begin to map the circuitry underlying various processes, including sensory-guided behaviors. Furthermore, neural tracing allows one to map locations where processes terminate onto regions of the brain that may have known functions and sometimes to identify candidate upstream or downstream connections, based on proximity. Many methods of neural tracing are available; here, we focus on loading fluorescent dyes into a neuron (fluorescent dye filling). Different options for dyes exist to label neurites. Among the most versatile and easy to use are dextran amine–conjugated dyes. They fill neurons bidirectionally, not discriminating between anterograde or retrograde loading direction. Dye filling must be done in unfixed tissue, as the dye needs to move through the neurons; however, dextran amine conjugates are aldehyde-fixable and once cells have been fully loaded with dye the tissue can be fixed and subjected to immunostaining. Coupling neural tracing with immunofluorescence is a useful way to determine specific brain or ventral nerve cord (VNC) regions where a neuron projects. This protocol describes methods for loading dextran amine conjugated dyes into a sensory tissue in the mosquito to visualize sites of sensory neuron innervation in the central nervous system, as well as efferent projections to these structures. This protocol is described for Aedes aegypti, for which it was optimized, but it also works across a variety of insects.

A Whitehorse homeowner has been charged in connection with an explosion last year that destroyed his home and killed a man in a neighbouring house. 

In the early 1990s, historians and the public alike questioned how Disney's America would accurately and sensitively document the nation's thorny past

As a child, the future president acquired a marine animal's skull, which became the first specimen in his natural history collection

Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II's rations into a beloved household staple

There have been 25 confirmed measles cases in New Brunswick since October after the identification of 11 new cases, according to a news release Saturday from Public Health.

A Fredericton judge suggested a joint sentencing proposal Tuesday was too lenient in the case of a former peace officer who left a loaded gun in the house while his children were home.

New Brunswick’s Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the case of a man found guilty of criminal negligence in the death of Fredericton teenager in 2018.

Small businesses are keeping a close eye on the possibility of job action as they stock their shelves for Black Friday and holiday shopping.

Questions included whether the province plans to renew the NHL tourism partnership deal for a second year, how much that renewal would cost, and even the date on which a second year would begin. 

The entrepreneur and financial adviser defeated Adam Bassett for the party nomination in Egmont after two days of voting last week. 

Some business owners in Charlottetown have made suggestions for increasing the city’s housing supply, but not everyone is happy with their recommendations when it comes to rental properties.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has promised sweeping global tariffs in his next term, but the Canadian Steel Producers Association remains confident that the industry can come out unscathed.

Juanita Migwans of M'Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island has been missing for over a month, but her aunt says she’s not giving up on the search.

The large urban mayors of Northern Ontario are advocating for increased provincial and federal support, prioritizing the establishment of Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs and the expansion of the Rural Community Immigration Pilot.

The crowning achievement at last year's COP climate conference in Dubai was a global consensus on the need to "transition away from fossil fuels." This year, the conference had not even started yet before BBC News exposed senior organizers of using the event to arrange potential deals for fossil fuel expansion. The recent election of Donald Trump in the U.S. has added an additional layer of uncertainty to this year's meeting.

RCMP say a 23-year-old woman was found dead in a residence in central Manitoba on Tuesday. 

The City of Winnipeg wants security guards at the Millennium Library to receive a living wage, but councillors recently rejected a motion that would have made a living wage mandatory for all city staff and contractors.