The Tennessee Aquarium is lighting its Christmas tree using an unusual power source: an electric eel. The eel, known as Miguel Wattson, releases low-voltage bursts of electricity while searching for food, aquarist Kimberly Hurt said.

How does it work? A special system connects the eel’s tank to a strand of blinking lights on a nearby Christmas tree. Miguel emits higher voltage shocks, powering brighter flashes, when he is eating or excited.

Doctors in the United States have, for the first time, placed a human in suspended animation, New Scientist reported.

For the first time, archaeologists have discovered scientific evidence that a 60-year drought likely precipitated the fall of the ancient Assyrian empire, which Biblical prophets predicted decades in advance.

According to historical records, the Assyrian kingdom, centered in modern northern Iraq, collapsed just as the prophet Zephaniah warned it would. Babylonians and Medes together destroyed the kingdom’s capital, Nineveh, around 612 B.C.

Sandwiched between the first moon landing and the disastrous Apollo 13 mission, Apollo 12 often gets overlooked. Humans set foot on the moon for the second time on Nov. 19, 1969, just months after the first mission. According to NASA, mission commander Charles “Pete” Conrad’s words as he left the lunar landing module were “Whoopee! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me.”

A recent study in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution identified one small but significant difference between humans and apes: their spit. The results enlarge the widening gap observed between humans’ and nonhuman primates’ physiology.

The innermost planet in the solar system will make a perfect bullseye when it crosses the sun on Monday. The event, which began at 7:35 a.m. EST, lasts 5½ hours and will be visible in the eastern United States and Canada, and Central and South America, weather permitting.

Cellphone companies can’t seem to explain why their customers suddenly received confusing text messages on Thursday. Many cellphone users received text messages from contacts who hadn’t sent them. The phenomenon seemed widespread, if social media is any indication, and wasn’t limited to a single carrier.