By dissecting the cocoa bean genome, U.S. government scientists backed by a leading candy company aim to safeguard the world's chocolate supply—and possibly make it taste better.

As floodwaters subside in parts of the Midwest, residents along the Mississippi River are urged to defend themselves against another hazard: mosquitoes bearing West Nile virus.

As the Tao tribe of Taiwan celebrated the ritual launch of a newly carved fishing boat, there is concern nuclear waste could affect their catch.

DNA analysis of ancient Danish skeletons, including one with Arabian genes, suggests Scandinavians living 2,000 years ago were more diverse genetically than today, scientists say.

Nomadic cave people's 800-year-old fiber footwear, weapons, and other artifacts have been returned to Mexico after being seized in the U.S. and Canada.

In vibrant headdresses and robes, Inca descendants marked the Andean new year 5516 with prayers to Father Sun.

Voters were more likely to approve a school-funding initiative if they cast their ballot at a school, new research shows.

A tractor army, a harvest of rifles, Midwest floods, and a fleet of naked bicyclists helped flesh out summer solstice week.

Despite media reports, the isolated tribe recently photographed firing arrows at a plane has been observed and protected for years, insiders say.

Violent swings in weather patterns occurred after Earth's climate crossed "tipping points" thousands of years ago, according to a new study of Greenland ice-core data.

The longest day of the year falls on Friday's midsummer solstice—unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere. Get the facts on why the solstice occurs and how people have celebrated through the centuries.

A fiery cave festival in Spain, an Indian butterfly dance, and a Times Square yoga fest -- if previous years are any hint, the 2008 summer solstice should be a day of worldwide rejoicing and revelry.

Wine presses found near sacred Mount Sinai were likely part of the area's earliest winery and probably produced holy wine for export, archaeologists say.

In the matriarchal Mosuo culture of southwestern China, women own property and determine family relationships. But this so-called free-love society is under threat from modernization.

More widespread death and destruction could occur if China rebuilds on the active tectonic faults that caused the May 12 quake in Sichuan Province, scientists say.