Riddle me this: can the Sphinx actually swim to save its life? Apparently, the pyramids and the monumental Sphinx itself are being threatened by flooding waters in Egypt.

And yes. Floods do happen in Egypt, despite it being mostly rocks and sand. Where do the waters come from though? Read more for details.

Oh man. The Apophis meteor is to hit us in year 2029, but even before that happens, the world might be facing a more immediate problem. See, it's been known that Yellowstone has been sitting on top of a super volcano. And though it has long been revealed that Yellowstone is way past its due date for explosion, recent findings show that the 30-mile gap between the magma and Yellowstone's surface has now been substantially reduced to only 6 miles. Is it getting hot in here or what? There's still some hope though...

Resident Evil 4 much? The Las Plagas virus from Capcom's zombie franchise might be a thing out of fiction, but it could have been based off of fact. And the fact is, our world is also home to a nasty amoeba that eats brains.

They're called Naegleria fowleri: microscopic amoebas that reside in warm lakes and other stagnant bodies of water. They make their way up a person's nose, latch on to the brain where they start feeding on brain cells, and eventually cause death within two weeks.

Two days ago, the Naegleria has claimed its latest victim. A boy from Arizona spent a day with his family in Lake Havasu to celebrate their father's birthday. They frolicked on the beach, splashed around, the works. A week later he started complaining about a headache that wouldn't go away. He was taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with what they thought was meningitis.

It wasn't only until later after the boy had passed away did they realize the real culprit. Doctors have speculated that the kid got infected by the Naegleria a few days before his death, coinciding with his time down at Lake Havasu.

It is indeed a sad story. On top of that though is the alarm that this news has brought to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). They've noticed a considerable spike in the number of deaths from the Naegleria. This year alone, there have been six victims already in North America. They speculate that, though these cases are rare, it could eventually rise in the future.

Michael Beach of the CDC said that "This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better. In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases." He also warns the public to not panic about it. Nose clips can reduce the chances of the Naegleria from getting into your head. To begin with, the amoeba has to be sprayed way up your nose for it to latch on. Which means, don't be too boisterous when playing in warm water and try to be more careful when you're doing somersaults.

Some lab tests have been able to stop the amoeba though, but Beach remains that there is little chance of survival once a person gets infected.

Recent developments in the medical field have already given us an HIV-killing enzyme. But while it's been known for quite a few months now of a certain lizard being able to cure diabetes, certain natural conservationists are pulling out all the stops in order to protect this highly endangered species.

The lizard in question is the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard (otherwise known in scientific circles as Heloderma horridum charlesbogerti). Its venom is now being used as treatment for diabetes, but despite this, the Nature Conservancy in Guatemala has an ongoing campaign to let people know how widely misunderstood this reptile is.

Even without the whole diabetes-curing "super power," the beaded lizard is still a magnificent creature. Here's why:

• It's around 20 inches long with striking yellow markings and stripes on its tail.
• It has a long, forked tongue and belongs to the only family of venomous lizards in the world. (Its poison is not fatal to humans, but can kill small animals.)
• It endures high temperatures and long periods of drought by becoming totally inactive (a behavior known as aestivating).
• During its dormant period (from January to June), the beaded lizard survives on the food stored in its tail.

Considering that there are around 200 of these creatures left out in the wild these days, the Nature Conservancy in Guatemala is taking certain measures to protect them. Just some of the threats that the lizards face include a dwindling habitat, poaching, and being killed by the locals due to mythological fears.

It's long been believed that the beaded lizard is more poisonous than a rattlesnake, can cause lightnings to strike, and can even cause a miscarriage if a pregnant woman merely looks at it. The Nature Conservancy has already conserved 50,000 acres of land in the Motagua Valley where the lizards call home, and are working on having the species recognized internationally as endangered.

Scientists are eying a 37 mile stretch of the Great Wall of China where the stone is rapidly eroding. Because of this, scientists are now speculating that, if this continues, the Great Wall will be totally reduced to dust in 20 years.

So why is that certain 37 mile section of the wall getting destroyed? In ancient times, the wall was put up to defend China from the Mongol hordes. Today though, the wall is facing a battle against the encroaching desert north of China, the Badain Jaran desert. A former curator of a local museum in the Minqin county area explains:

This section of Great Wall was made of mud rather than brick and stone, so is more prone to erosion. Similar erosion happened in other places, but the situation is worse here. Frequent storms not only eroded the mud, but also cracked the Wall and caused it to collapse or break down.

So if this continues for twenty years, does that mean that the whole 4,000 mile stretch of wall will be destroyed? Well, it might not just be the sandstorms that could harm the stone. Acid rain could also be a factor. Either that or, well, a possible meteor crash in 2029.

This sounds like a scene straight out of the movie Eight-Legged Freaks. But for officials in the Texas' Lake Tawakoni State Park, it's anything but, well, a walk in the park. A massive web is covering a big area of their park, and by massive, we're talking Aragog-massive.

Harry Potter allusions aside, entomologists, scientists, and arachno-philes are currently debating about the cobweb that's covering a 200-yard (that's around 182 meters) patch of land and forestry in the park.

Some spider experts have deduced that the great blanket of web was spun by social cobweb spiders who work together. It's either that or a whole bulk load of spiders have dispersed over the area and spun their own webs individually, but have managed - because of sheer eight-legged populations - to make it look like one big web.

A Texas Forest Service entomologist has assumed that this is a most unusual occurrence in nature - maybe even a once-in-a-lifetime event. Up to now, experts are still baffled as to how this all came to be, and until samples are sent into the experts, they can't tell as of yet what sort of spider can be laid as culprit.

Now with a cobweb of this size, you can only imagine the amount of mosquitoes and other insects that it would trap. Park superintendent Donna Garde recounts: "At first, it was so white it looked like fairyland. Now it's filled with so many mosquitoes that it's turned a little brown. There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs." Man, how's that for some pre-Halloween loving?

A fellowship of nine has been formed recently in the hopes of finding what could be the web-bound body of a poor unfortunate hobbit. Hah, we kid.

Previously, we reported on a study done by a research team from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Michigan State University. In that study, it was determined that violent games were more popular among kids. Now, here's an update to that: it's now said that violent games could actually be healthy for kids!

Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, it's been said that violent games don't necessarily lead to violence among children and that they (the kids) could actually benefit from playing video games.

Massachusetts General Hospital's Cheryl Olson SC.D. commented that "this idea that 'M' rated games cause shootings or major violence just doesn't hold water."

One portion of the study focused on the actual benefits, with anger management being one possible factor on why it's healthy. Olson continues, "We don't know whether playing to get anger out is a good thing or a bad thing for any individual child, but we suspect that it might be healthy for a lot of kids."

Another benefit: social interaction. The study found that the kids are more likely to be playing with a couple of friends in tow, whether in the same room or over the net. In their study, none of the kids fell into the "solitary violent gamer up in his room" stereotype.

Do note that these findings are based on a focus group of 1,200 seventh and eight graders. And from what we know about focus groups (no matter how large), they still tend to be too limited to make a general theory out of - there's still some room for allowance here. So, the researchers still suggest constant vigilance among the parents, and that they should be aware of the types of games their kids play, nonetheless.

The conclusion, though, from Olson rests:

It's not going to ruin them, they're not going to go out and pick up a gun. Violent video game play is typical and normal for kids nowadays. That doesn't mean that parents have to like it, but they shouldn't panic about it

Now how's that for a safe, clean answer? We're not trying to recommend violent games to kids here. We're just saying that, hey!, it's normal.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just launched a new service in Second Life and what's their agenda this time? The weather bureau just bought a whole island to themselves and will be offering some educational experiences to your virtual avatars.

Called Meteora, the new island was launched last Thursday by NOAA's Earth System Research Lab. They'll have a planetarium, a tsunami-training beach, and offer submarine, hurricane, and weather balloon rides. As part of a statement, ESRL director Alexander MacDonald said:

We're experimenting with new ways to conduct science and public education that appeal to a different sensibility and may help a new audience get excited about Earth science... Our site offers visitors a way to experience the planet through reality-based virtual adventures...

Having Earth science research take this initiative to bridge a gap to a new audience, especially one of the virtual next-gen, is a good sign. Who knows how far the NOAA's mission will arrive? Only time will tell, but in the mean time, hooray for weather balloon rides (even though they're just viurtual)!

The World Wildlife Fund (now called World Wide Fund for Nature) has introduced a new species into its great cat family. A new kind of the tree-hopping clouded leopard has been discovered in South-East Asia, in the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Right now, it's creatively dubbed as *drumroll* the Bornean clouded leopard. If you wanna be scientific about it, Neofelis diardi.

Although scientists have been observing this furry for a couple of years now, they never realized how unique it actually was. As early as 1821 (almost two centuries ago!), the clouded leopard was filed under Neofilis nebulusa. It's always been believed that the "stripe-spotted" great cats inhabiting both the mainlands and outlying islands have been of the same species. Until now, of course.

DNA tests from the National Cancer Institute have revealed that there are 40-odd genetic differences between the mainland cats and those in the Borneo islands. They've even dated this evolutionary branching to about 1.4 million years ago. Now just so you know, between lions and common leopards, there are around 56 genetic differences. Clearly, if two different leopards have 40-ish genetic differences, then that makes them unique enough to have their own scientific name descriptor.

Now as for the Bornean clouded leopard, they have the trademark clouded spots, but they sport 1) gray fur that's darker than their mainland cousins, 2) a double stripe down its back, and 3) the longest canine teeth relative to size of any other feline. They are the main predators in the islands, feeding on birds, lizards, monkeys, and small deer.

It's still to be confirmed if Steve Jobs has any form of influence in the identification of this leopard. (teehee!)

The crisis of today's kids facing obesity is a daily issue some of us have to contend with. As you're reading this, maybe your own kid or sibling is down in the living room, with butt firmly glued to the sofa, and staring right at the TV set. We don't need Captain Obvious to tell us that kids these days (that includes kids of all ages, 1 to 92) need exercise in their lives.

With this, the exergaming project was launched. The results of the 24-week gaming-exercise project have finally been revealed by Konami. Surprise of all surprises, you do lose weight with exercise-friendly games, more specifically something like Dance Dance Revolution.

Test subjects in the project were required to play DDR for at least 30 minutes each day, five times a week. The factors that West Virginia University (the guys administering the tests) monitored weight, blood pressure, body mass index, arterial function, fitness levels and attitudes towards exercise among the kids.

Results? The found out that the DDR workout had improved their general health and reduced risks for lifestyle-related diseases. They now have evidence that, if kept consistent, playing the game improves arterial function and blood flow among the overweight children. Not that all the test subjects they had lost weight, however, what's important is that none of them gained any.

What's interesting here, though, is what some would call the "non-quantifiable" results (data that can't be measured in numbers and figures). They've observed that, after the testing period, some of the participants which have felt awkward about exercising before now actually have confidence in continuing their battle against obesity. They've exhibited a new desire to maintain their health regiment.

"No pain, no gain," or so they say. Get the dance mat out, and time to bust a groove!