View this post on Instagram Weird weather can easily play tricks on our eyes. It can make entire cities look like they’re floating, or like a tsunami wave is descending from the clouds. In Cape Town, South Africa this weekend, clouds that looked like UFOs hung low over the city and surrounding areas, appearing as…

The benefits of regular exercise have been shown in study after study. It has been linked to lower risks of heart disease, depression,dementia, diabetes, and evensome cancers. So what’s the shortest amount of time you can work out in order to start seeing some of these benefits? A new paper, published in the Viewpoints section of…

Unlike many refrains you hear about your health, exercise is really, truly good for you. There’s a mountain of research backing up its many benefits. The US Centers for Disease Control and Preventionrecommend at least 2.5 hours of moderate cardio activity or 1.25 hours of vigorous cardio activity every week, plus two days of strength…

Spain has made renewable energy a top priority. The government has paid over $76 billion in subsidies for clean energy projects since 1998. And the investment has paid off: 42% of Spain’s electricity came from renewable sources in 2013, according to the country’s grid operator. The majority comes from wind power, but solar provided 13% of…

The US Food and Drug Administration approved the first genetically modified animal you can eat on Thursday: a fast-growing salmon. Five years ago, the FDA first concluded that the AquAdvantage salmon was safe to eat, that the genes inserted into the salmon were safe for the animal, and that it did indeed grow faster than its wild…

President Barack Obama swore he wouldn’t smoke after the Affordable Care Act passed. It’s been almost six years, and in an interview with GQ, he told Bill Simmons that he’s stayed true to his word. Number of cigarettes you’ve smoked in the White House since you got here? Zero in the last five years. I made…

Patrick Hardison was fighting a mobile home fire in Senatobia, Mississippi, in 2001 when he got trapped inside. The flames melted his face mask, and when the other firefighters pulled him out, his face was still on fire. He spent the next two months in the hospital, and had more than 70 surgeries over the…

It’s hard to follow all of the big science news day-in and day-out. But at Tech Insider, that’s our job: to bring you the most interesting and important developments in research, current events, and the science of everyday life. Keep scrolling to see 10 more highlights on the best science stories of the past week. READ…

Reaching for the low-fat alternative at the grocery store seems like an easy way to lose weight, but it’s not making much of a difference, according to a new study published Oct. 29 in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. A team of Harvard researchers reviewed 53 different randomized control trials that included over 68,000 people. They compared low-fat diets to…

A new method to target melanoma that was just approved by the FDA could be an important first step in transforming the way we treat many cancers. The treatment is called Imlygic,and it uses a virus to kill skin cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone. It’s not terribly effective yet, and it’s still in…