OFFBEAT

As one world leader after another paid homage to Nelson Mandela at a memorial service, the man standing at arm’s length from them appeared to interpret their words in sign language. But advocates for the deaf say he was a faker.

A planet has been discovered that should not be there. Astronomers have discovered a planet so strange that they say it should not even be in existence.

Memories may be passed down through generations in DNA in a process that may be the underlying cause of phobias.

A Georgia prison yard recently had a special delivery for inmates, when a small helicopter flew over the facility and dropped tobacco products inside the gates, a local news station reported.

Reports last week that researchers could be just six months away from producing the world’s first artificial meat, using thousands of stem cells bred in a laboratory, sent a wave of fascination around the world. Yet there is an even more ghoulish prospect ahead: the idea of eating artificial food made from humans.

Forget Google Glass, smartwatches and even the biohacker who inserted a microchip under his skin, Motorola is hoping to trump them all with its microphone tattoo.

It’s no secret trans fats are unhealthy. But now that the Food and Drug Administration is pushing to remove them from the food supply, there may be some unintended consequences: America’s favorite snacks won’t last as long on grocery store shelves, they could be more expensive, and they might not taste as good.

One out of every five sun-like stars in the Milky Way galaxy has a planet about the size of Earth that is properly positioned for water, a key ingredient for life, a study released on Monday showed.