Smart News Science

Neurotoxins secreted by the algae Karenia brevis kill marine life including fish, dolphins and manatees

More Than 600 Tons of Dead Sea Life Wash Up on Florida Coast Amid Red Tide

Crews cleaned up nine tons of dead fish in just 24 hours after Tropical Storm Elsa pushed the fish toward shore

Via Getty: "A state wildlife veterinarian inspects a European starling carcass before shipping it to the University of Georgias Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources headquarters on July 2, 2021."

Mysterious Bird-Killing Illness Spreads to More Mid-Atlantic States

Researchers rule out several pathogens but still don’t know what is causing the deaths

People lie on the ground to view the Perseid meteor shower in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado at an astronomy night event on August 12, 2018.

How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower

Known for its 'fireball' meteors, the Perseid shower began on July 14 and will peak in mid-August

Hurricane Elsa before downgrading to a tropical storm near Barbados

Hurricane Elsa's Early Arrival Could Mean a Busier-Than-Usual Storm Season in the Atlantic

Following Elsa, the fifth hurricane so far, experts now forecast at least 20 named tropical storms and nine named hurricanes in total

A dwarf cow named Rani stands next to a more normal sized cow on a farm in Bangladesh.

This 20-Inch-Tall Cow Could Be the World's Smallest Ever

Meet Rani, a pint-size bovine in Bangladesh, who has drawn thousands of adoring fans to her farm

Similar lunar and climate conditions led to increased flooding in 2015. Pictured, a car drives through high waters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

New Research

Moon's Wobbly Orbit and Rising Sea Levels Will Cause Record Flooding in the 2030s

Clusters of nuisance floods could have major impacts on businesses and public health

A 2018 estimate suggests 50 million giant goldfish may swim in Lake Ontario.

Nearly 30 Football-Sized Goldfish Caught in Minnesota Lake

When tiny fish are released in large bodies of water, they can grow to prodigious sizes, officials warn

Little is known about the zombie frog and its cousins. They are rather plump with narrow mouths and pointed noses. The small, nocturnal amphibians of the genus Synapturanus live mostly underground.

How the Newly Discovered, Mud-Loving 'Zombie' Frog Got Its Name

German team discovers new amphibian species and two others deep in Amazon rainforest

A thin strand of ice seen through a microscope in the process of bending under pressure. When the pressure is released the ice strand will spring back to its original shape.

New Research

Scientists Make Thin Strands of Ice That Bend Without Breaking

Researchers created a new type of ice that is far more elastic than any other water ice ever studied

The Maple Fire photographed burning up Jefferson Ridge in Olympic National Forest, Washington. In court documents, prosecutors alleged that men convicted of illegal logging in the National Forest may have started the Maple Fire.

Innovation for Good

For the First Time, Tree DNA Was Used to Convict Lumber Thieves in Federal Investigation

Genetic evidence showed that two men illegally chopped down and sold valuable bigleaf maple trees inside Olympic National Forest

Via Getty: "An unofficial thermometer reads 133 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek Visitor Center on July 11, 2021 in Death Valley National Park, California."

Death Valley Records Hottest Average Temperature Over 24 Hours

The Stovepipe Wells weather station measured an average temperature of 118.1 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday

Palomar 5 is located about 80,000 light-years from Earth in the Milky Way’s inner halo.

Scientists Discover Bevy of Black Holes in Our Own Galaxy

Palomar 5's unusual cluster may explain some of the Milky Way's star streams and other phenomena

New research finds that sea otters have extremely high metabolisms for their size to keep warm in the cold ocean waters they inhabit.

New Research

With This Metabolic Trick, Sea Otters Stay Warm Without Shivering

Researchers find that the metabolisms of these marine mammals go into overdrive to create heat in cool waters

Next, the Entomological Society’s Better Common Names project will put together working groups that include experts who study the species and people from the insect’s native regions to decide on a new name.

These Moths Will Be Renamed to Stop Use of an Ethnic Slur

The Entomological Society of America is taking suggestions to rename the insect previously called the 'gypsy moth'

A healthy crop of mussels lines the coast, exposed during low tide. Mussels will split open when they overheat, such as in June's heat wave.

Pacific Northwest and Canada's Crushing Heat Wave Cooks Millions of Sea Creatures

The estimated death toll could be more than a billion

Globally, there are about 3,000 species of dragonflies inhabiting freshwater habitats. Each species has a unique color along their bodies or wings that helps them camouflage into their surroundings, attract mates, intimidate rivals and ward off predators. (A male twelve spotted skimmer 
Libellula pulchellapictured)

Warmer Climate May Cause Male Dragonflies to Lose Their Patchy Wings

Dark spots on the insect's wings can cause them to overheat. But as they lose them to adapt to climate change, potential mates may not recognize them

A brown trout caught in Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge

Meth Pollution in Waterways Turns Trout Into Addicts

Like humans, fish can get addicted to methamphetamines and go through withdrawal

The plumes were first discovered in 2006 when the Cassini spacecraft spotted the geysers shooting water and other organic materials at high velocities hundreds of miles into space near the moon's south pole.

Could Methane-Spewing Microbes Be Living in the Depths of a Subsurface Ocean on Saturn's Moon Enceladus?

The hot, chemical plumes could be produced by something similar to Earthly microscopic life forms that consume hydrogen and carbon, then burp up methane

Ingenuity releases its first aerial photos of its shadow cast across the Séítah terrain during its ninth flight.

Innovation for Good

NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Soars 2,000 Feet Through Martian Atmosphere in Its Ninth Successful Test Flight

The aerial trooper set new records for speed and distance, as well as stretched the capabilities of its navigation system

Astronomers used the Keck Observatory in Hawai'i to analyze what chemical building blocks made up the Comet 46/P Wirtanen.

Boozy Comet's Mysterious Heat Source Offers Clues to How Planets Like Earth Obtain Water

The cosmic relic contains minerals from when the solar system first formed and high amounts of methanol

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