SOCIETY

Scientists looking to reduce the environmental impact that comes from raising animals for slaughter aim to produce a test-tube hamburger by the end of this year.

In Belgrade, Serbia, a swift change in the weather has caused popular floating restaurant Alexander to sink completely into the Danube River.

Rosenmontag, known as Rose Monday, is one of the highlights of the German Karneval. Similar to Mardi Gras, it is celebrated on the Monday before Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent in Germany. In the Rose Monday parade in Düsseldorf this year, many of the floats were meant to mock politicians while sending a political message to the crowd. Take a look at some of the most satirical parade floats in celebration of Rose Monday.

The Brooklyn noise pop music duo, Sleigh Bells, appeared on Saturday Night Live on Feb. 18 to play songs from their second album, “Reign of Terror,” which will be released on Feb. 21. Watch Sleigh Bells' performance in anticipation of their new album here.

According to the latest study released by comScore, Inc., a market research firm, people are beginning to watch longer videos online. The duration of an average video has jumped from 5.8 minutes in December 2011 to 6.1 minutes in January 2012. Despite the growth in video duration, viewers actually dropped during that period. In January, 2012, 181 million U.S. Internet users watched about 40 billion videos compared to the 182 million users who watched 43.5 billion videos in December.

It's almost Mardi Gras 2012, and people around the world are preparing for the carnival season that comes before Lent. But how did Mardi Gras get started? What does its name mean? How did it take root in New Orleans, and how is it celebrated around the world? Here are five things to know about Mardi Gras history and in traditions, from how the holiday is celebrated worldwide to why some believe the carnival's roots lie in ancient Rome.

Exactly five years after her first scandal, another sex tape of Kim Kardashian has reportedly surfaced on the Internet with new leaked photos - allegedly of Kardashian - in some compromising acts. But is it really her?

On Saturday night, concerned family members called the Columbia, S.C., police department to report that Tom Sponseller, President of the South Carolina Hospitality Association, was missing.

Khloe Kardashian made a big impression in the second season premiere of Khloe and Lamar, but not the one she'd hoped for. While constructing a sexual chamber of love for her husband, Khloe ends up installing a sex swing in their room... and sending it crashing down on the couple's first try. Watch the clip from the E! TV show here.

Whitney Houston has only been dead about ten days and was only laid to rest a day ago, but it is evident that people are attempting to cash in any way they can. In order to curtail this, Whitney Houston's family has removed everything that was not bolted down from room 434 at the Beverly Hilton, where the famed singer died.

The 2012 Brazil Carnival is not only attracting millions of spectators, but celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Fergie were spotted at the Rio de Janeiro Parade.

Downton Abbey may have just aired its second season finale in the U.K., but fans of the PBS Masterpiece show are already eager to get whatever season three spoilers they can. Here's everything we know so far, from the future of John Bates to Cora's American relatives and the WWII focus of the third season.

Quincy Hedges, a 17-year-old teenager, was killed in a New York State Thruway crash in Plattekill, N.Y. Saturday when the car in which she was traveling veered off track and struck a tree. Two others, driver Daniel Brown and passenger Connor Vasquez, were both wearing seatbelts and were treated for minor injuries at a hospital in Poughkeepsie.

The black velvet dress and pair of earrings worn by Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard along with other Hollywood celebrity memorabilia like Charlie Chaplin's cane will be up for bids at the Hollywood Legends auction in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Workers of Frankfurt airport, the third busiest airport in Europe, have been on strike since Thursday, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled. And there may not be any end in sight either as the union representing the workers said they will uphold their strike for weeks, if necessary.

Flames engulfed a five-floor Hoboken building for nearly 12 hours late Sunday. Three residents suffered smoke inhalation and over a dozen were left homeless after the fire. The Hoboken fire started at around 7 p.m. Sunday in a building on Washington Street. Firefighters from Hoboken, Newark and Elizabeth rushed to the scene, but the stubborn fire was not extinguished until early Monday.

Cissy Houston, mother of singer Whitney Houston, reportedly won’t publicly admit that her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, has a drug problem, but is trying to keep the teen on the right path, according to a report. Cissy and others won't admit out loud that Bobbi Kristina has a drug problem, a family friend told The Daily Beast. But they know it and have been trying to keep her straight even before Whitney passed. But losing your mother and the life you're accustomed to al...

Elizabeth Smart, a young woman from Utah who was kidnapped for nine months when she was 14-years-old, has married her Scottish fiancé, Matthew Gilmour, in Hawaii. The wedding comes just one month after the couple became engaged.

An astonishing site occurred in Yosemite National Park, Calif. where it appeared that a waterfall suddenly turned to fire and magma began to pour off the cliff of Horsetail Fall.

Police on Sunday detained two members of the Italian navy accused of killing two Indian fisherman they mistook for pirates off the coast of Kerala, officials said.

Following reports that Whitney Houston's family wants her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown to enter rehab after the funeral, reports are that Bobbi Kristina disappeared after her mother's funeral service and was getting high. Houston's funeral service was held at her childhood church, New Hope Baptist Church, in Newark, N.J. on Saturday. The singer was buried on Sunday, next to her father at a cemetery in New Jersey.

Whitney Houston is being buried beside her father John Russell Houston at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, N.J. on Sunday and TMZ is currently showing a live stream. You can watch the footage here. Note that Houston's funeral service and burial are private matters and so TMZ couldn't get too close.

A group of young, semi-clad Ukrainian women gate crashed into the Indian embassy in Ukraine's capital Kiev last month, tore down the Indian flag and threw it on the ground.

Elizabeth Smart, the Utah woman who was kidnapped and raped when she was 14, married her boyfriend Saturday in a private ceremony at the Mormon temple on the North Shore of Oahu in Hawaii.

A 47-year-old man who is wanted in connection with the death of a clergyman at his vicarage near Bristol has been arrested in Kent, police said.

In the wake of a bus accident that took away seven lives, including that of four small children in Goa in India, the state government ordered cancellation of the Goa Carnival- 2012. The carnival was supposed to start in Panaji Saturday evening.

Algerian security forces have found a large cache of weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles, which they believe were smuggled in from neighboring Libya, a security source briefed on the discovery told Reuters on Saturday.

Twitter users are requesting prayers for singer Ray J, who was seen breaking down at Whitney Houston's funeral as he touches her casket. Houston's funeral was held on Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J.

Korean Pop, known by its throngs of shrieking teenage fans as KPop, filled the Bercy music stadium in Paris, France, on Feb. 8 to watch their favorite Korean Pop groups and stars sing and dance while computerized music blared from gigantic speakers and a light show bathed singers and fans alike in an array of flashing colors.