Young World Showcase

Recently, the fossilised remains of an ancient whale with huge, fearsome teeth, was discovered. Researchers have dubbed this 12-million-year-old, 17 metre long creature, as ‘Leviathan’. This massive creature shared many features with modern day whales except one — the Leviathan was an aggressive predator that hunted down whales and other large fish. Researchers also note that around this time there was another fierce prey in the waters, a 15 metre long shark. It is likely that the two fought each other.

Superman has had it and so has Batman, now it is Wonder Woman that gets a costume change. After 70 years of fighting crime in her traditional attire, DC Comics (the publisher of Wonder Woman) issued the heroine a new costume. The costume, designed by Jim Lee, reflects modern times and yet incorporates her bracelets, tiara, and magic lasso. Wonder Woman was created by noted psychologist and inventor Dr William Moulton Marston in December 1941. Along with Superman and Batman, she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company’s 1944 inception.

A sophisticated lost language, dating back to over 3,500 years ago, took years of hard work by humans to be translated. The same task has been accomplished by a computer program in hours. The program looked for correlations and correspondences at the various levels of the language. It then mapped the similarities between Ugaritic and other older similar languages. By cross-referencing and repeating the process hundreds of thousands of times, the program arrives at a fully deciphered Ugaritic. The language was spoken in ancient Syria and closely resembles the language used in ancient Sumeria.

Scientists have developed a smart sheet of paper. This ‘smart sheet’ can automatically fold into a boat or a plane — or whatever shape it is programmed to be. Although a very basic first step, this programmable matter will allow people in the future to carry along tools that can be programmed to be in any shape needed. The sheet is comprised of interconnected triangular sections that are programmed to fold in a certain manner. The shape-shifting sheets demonstrate an end-to-end process that is a first step towards making everyday objects whose mechanical properties can be programmed.

For 25 years he has interviewed world leaders, entertainers and leading personalities. Larry King is set to retire after more than 50,000 interviews and winning numerous accolades along the way. King hosts Larry King Live on CNN, transmitted around the world, but originally started off in radio on May 1, 1957. Though he started as a DJ, he quickly established himself by getting interviews of personalities and hosting shows of his own. He also briefly did some sports commentary but eventually it was his own show in 1978. He eventually moved to CNN in June 1985 where he garnered worldwide respect and attention.