Throughout the course of the long war in Afghanistan, Coalition troops have relied on thousands of military working dogs to help keep them safe, and make their jobs easier. The dogs are trained to detect explosives, to find illegal drugs, to search for missing comrades, or target enemy combatants. Not only are they active on the front lines, but behind the lines they serve as therapy dogs, service dogs, and loyal companions. They also share the same risks as the ground troops, suffering injuries and sometimes death on the battlefields. Gathered here are images of these dogs and their handlers in Afghanistan and back home, from over the past several years, part of the ongoing series here on Afghanistan.

“Adventurers have gone deep underground to discover previously unexplored caves in these pictures. The awe-inspiring snaps show the cavers dwarfed by the huge series natural rock chambers in the Leye – Fengshan Geopark, China. Belgian photographer Francois-Xavier De Ruydts, 33, captured the team of explorers as they trekked through the deep wonderground in January 2014”. – Caters News. Here: Caving expedition in Fengshan, China, Guangxi province. (Photo by Francois-Xavier De Ruydts/Caters News)

Residents of Reddit have found a strange phenomenon. If you make a circle on the floor with anything from tinfoil to scotch tape, the house cat would simply love to sit right in the middle of it. Is it a fake, or do cats actually like sitting in circles on the floor? We cannot answer this question until we test it out ourselves. However, one thing is for sure – cats are curious and adorable creatures that never cease to amaze us. So, if you own a cat, try this experiment yourself, and see if your cat likes to sit in an imaginary circle on the floor.

The Greater Sage-Grouse is certainly a formidable-looking bird. Being the largest grouse in North America and having tail feathers, which look like giant spikes, make for a ferocious sight. These birds are well known for their complicated courtship rituals, in which the males perform a special “strutting display” to attract the females. Another distinct feature of the Greater Sage-Grouse is two large yellow throat sacs (gular sacs), which are inflated by the males during the courtship display. Unlike pelicans, whose gular sacs are used to store fish while hunting, the throat sacks of the Greater Sage-Grouse are merely for display.

Could you ever have guessed that so many superheroes would meet together in one photoshoot? This scenario becomes possible thanks to the project of Sasha Goldberger. He was able to accomplish this by transporting modern superheroes into Elizabethan era. Some of the superheroes, such as the Cat Woman and Wonder Woman, look very natural in their new old-fashioned outfits. On the other hand, Ironman and Hulk look very peculiar in their newly acquired outfits. However, such innovative approach is very popular nowadays. People are fed up with dull and uninteresting ideas, which make them grab onto anything peculiar such as this project. (Photo by Sacha Goldberger)

Nowadays, crossbreeding and gene splicing are creating things that would never have occurred in nature. Thanks to gene splicing, modern man can witness mice that glow in the dark, goats that produce milk which is then used to make bulletproof vests, and even cows that produce milk that is almost identical to human breast milk. One of the latest feats of human genius is the creation of Thompson and Morgan. By combining the genes of tomatoes and potatoes they were able to create a “TomTato”, which is essentially a plant that grows tomatoes and potatoes at the same time. With creations such as this, the world’s hunger problem may be resolved in a few decades.

“Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It was built between 1897 and 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A view of the Glenfinnan Viaduct on March 30, 2012 in Glenfinnan, Scotland. Built by Sir Robert McAlpine, the single track viaduct that is made up of 21 arches is considered to have been one of the largest engineering projects of its time. Today, it is still used by ScotRail and was recently used for scenes in three of the Harry Potter films. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Kahuna, an injured loggerhead turtle, returns to the ocean after years of rehabilitation. It has been two years since Kahuna, a 209-pond loggerhead turtle, was rescued from the wild by biologists at FPL’s St. Lucie Power. Half of one of her flippers had been sliced off, and the other flipper was badly injured. On top of that, she had severe bone infection doctors tried for months to cure with antibiotics, only to have it come back once they stopped the medicine.

Photo: Kahuna is kept calm and steady on the gurney by staff and volunteers.