World's Biggest Snake Ate New Prehistoric Croc Species

NationalGeographic.com | February 5, 2010 | A new species of prehistoric croc has been unearthed in Colombia—and the ancient reptile was likely prey for the largest known snake ever to have slithered the Earth, a new study says.

But if you're hoping for a prehistoric clash of the titans, you're out of luck: The 7-foot-long (2.1-meter-long) crocodile relative—called Cerrejonisuchus improcerus—wouldn't have stood a fighting chance against the 45-foot-long (13.7-meter-long) Titanoboa cerrejonesis, researchers say. (See pictures of Titanoboa, the biggest snake in history.)

World's Largest Digital Camera to Watch for Killer Asteroids

NationalGeographic.com | June 22, 2010 | If a planet-destroying asteroid is headed for Earth, scientists now have a much better chance of spotting it.

From its perch atop Hawaii’s dormant Haleakala volcano, the PS1 telescope, which boasts the world's largest digital camera, has begun full-time operations, snapping hundreds of high-resolution photos each day as it scans the sky for space rocks and strange stellar phenomena.

First Working Replacement Lung Created in Lab

NationalGeographic.com | June 24, 2010 | For the first time scientists have reconstructed working lungs in the lab and transplanted them into a living animal.

The achievement is a breakthrough in biomedical engineering that could lead to replacement lungs for humans in the near future, experts say.

Currently, the only way to replace diseased lungs in adults is a lung transplant, a high-risk procedure that's vulnerable to tissue rejection.

In a new study, researchers took lungs from a living rat and used detergents to remove lung cells and blood vessels, revealing the organ's underlying matrix.

This lung "skeleton"—made of flexible proteins, sugars, and other chemicals—consists of a branching network that divides more than 20 times into smaller and smaller structures. (See an interactive graphic of lung structure.)

The Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu)

Touregypt.net | How the Great Pyramid was built is a question that may never be answered. Herodotus said that it would have taken 30 years and 100,000 slaves to have built it. Another theory is that it was built by peasants who were unable to work the land while the Nile flooded between July and November. They may have been paid with food for their labor.

The flooded waters would have also aided in the moving of the casing stones. These stones were brought from Aswan and Tura and the water would have brought the stones right to the pyramid. This pyramid is thought to have been built between 2589 - 2566 BC. It would have taken over 2,300,000 blocks of stone with an average weight of 2.5 tons each. The total weight would have been 6,000,000 tons and a height of 482 feet (140m). It is the largest and the oldest of the Pyramids of Giza.

11 Inspiring Life Lessons from Bruce Lee

Ibtimes.com | June 7, 2010 | Bruce Lee was an actor, philosopher, film director, producer, screenwriter and martial artist. He was born in November 1940 and died July 1973 from a mysterious brain hemorrhage.

Many consider Bruce Lee to be one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. His films took martial arts to a whole new level.

He was a pioneer when it came to making Chinese martial arts more popular in the west. He still to this day is considered a legend, and his philosophy lives on through his martial art Jeet Kune Do and through his writing.

Michael Jordan: The Greatest Basketball Player Ever

Bleacherreport.com | June 20, 2010 | Martial Arts had Bruce Lee, hip hop had Tupac Shakur, music had Elvis Presley, jokes had Chuck Norris, football had Jim Brown, radio has Howard Stern, and comedy had Richard Pryor.

And basketball?

Basketball has Michael Jordan.

Coming out of North Carolina, Jordan was primed for success after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls with the third pick of the 1984 NBA Draft.

The 10 biggest World Cup Upsets

CNN.com | June 22, 2010 | You could argue that the real spirit of the World Cup is distilled in those fleeting, beautiful moments when the artists and millionaires are humbled by the amateurs and the underdogs.

If that's the case, then South Africa 2010 is shaping up as a vintage tournament in the competition's history with European giants including France, Italy, Spain and England all on the wrong end of shock results against supposedly lesser opposition.

Ten Shocking World Cup Moments

CNN.com | June 2, 2010 | Every four years, the World Cup produces a smorgasbord of stunning football, great goals and controversial moments that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Here CNN Sport takes a closer look at some of the more contentious incidents from the past 18 stagings of soccer's premier tournament -- events that sparked widespread debate.

We have selected 10 that we believe not only gripped the world of football, but sent shockwaves around the globe as well -- but do you agree with our list?