Smart News Science

The eight cyclones orbiting Jupiter's north pole.

New Research

New Juno Data Gives Unprecedented Glimpse Beneath Jupiter's Stormy Shell

The massive planet's storm go much deeper than previously suspected and its interior rotates nearly as a solid mass

Photographers and locals are witnessing what's called "blue ice" near Lake Michigan.

Huge Chunks of Blue Ice Appear on Lake Michigan's Straits of Mackinac

Blue ice isn't actually blue, it just appears that way because of how light is reflected on it

Storm Emma has caused one of the UK's largest mass strandings of sea critters along the North Sea coast.

Tens of Thousands of Sea Creatures Wash Up on UK Shores Following Freezing Weather

Piles of starfish, crab, mussels and lobsters collected along the North Sea coast

Thismia neptunis

Cool Finds

After 150 Years, This Bizarre Plant Was Rediscovered in Malaysia

<em>Thismia neptunis</em> spends most of its life underground, only making a rare appearance to bloom

This image shows curved sand dunes but also a strange pattern of boulder piles on the landscape of Mars.

Striking Mars Image Shows Strange Boulder Piles and Undulating Sand Dunes

Though the image looks otherworldly, the likely processes behind these oddities also happen on Earth

U.S. Lifts Ban on the Import of African Elephant Trophies

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has said that it will now evaluate big-game permits on a ‘case-by-case basis’

Experts speculate this why toad doesn't have a face.

Why Doesn’t This Toad Have a Face?

A graduate student and herpetologist turns to Twitter for answers

New Research

No, Your Nose Isn't as Big as That Selfie Makes It Seem

If you take a selfie from just 12 inches away, it may make your nose look 30 percent bigger

An artist's impression of the tiny bird.

127-Million-Year-Old Baby Bird Fossil Offers Peek Into Ancient Avian Development

The baby enantiornithe had a soft sternum and likely could not fly

New Research

Termites Are Moving in With Cockroaches, Taxonomically

The wood-munching critters are technically just social roaches

Johannes Vermeer, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring,' c. 1665

Scientists Study ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ in Hopes of Finding How Vermeer Painted His Masterpiece

The enigmatic work was last examined—and restored—in 1994

The researchers found that the Danger Islands have 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins, more than the rest of the entire Antarctic Peninsula region combined.

Scientists Discover "Super-Colony" of 1.5 Million Adélie Penguins in Images From Space

In other areas of the Antarctic, the black and white birds are in decline—but on the Danger Islands, they thrive

The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Dies

Only two individuals of the subspecies remain in the world

Male flowers of the striped maple tree.

The Mystery of the Sex-Changing Striped Maple Trees

Yes, trees can be male or female. And sometimes they switch it up

The new species of tardigrade, Macrobiotus shonaicus found in the moss of a Japanese parking lot.

New Tardigrade Species Found in Parking Lot in Japan

The adorable microscopic critter has a unique leg fold and lays unusual eggs

Artists interpretation of the earliest stars

New Research

Astronomers May Have Just Detected the Universe's First Stars

A long-sought radio signal indicates the first stars began burning 180 million years after the initial Big Bang

New Research

Some of Earth's Deep Sea Microbes Could Survive on Saturn's Moon

A methane-producing archaea survived simulations of Enceladus' extreme conditions, hinting at the possibility of similar extraterrestrial life

Artist's illustration of PTScientist's Audi Quattro Lunar Rover visiting NASA's 1972 rover.

Trending Today

4G Coverage Bound for the Moon in 2019

A private moon mission scheduled for next year will use an ultra-compact network to beam back live images of the lunar surface

King Penguin

New Research

As Oceans Warm, King Penguins' Food Moves Farther Away. That's a Problem

The already treacherous journey for nourishment will get increasingly challenging for penguins in the years ahead

The latest donation to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is taken down into the frosty underground chamber for storage.

Global Seed Vault Gets Its Millionth Donation and a $13 Million Update

Built in 1998, the vault safeguards the world’s food storage in case of a global disaster

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