Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

Riding a Hundred-Foot Wave, Surfer Breaks His Own World Record

Garrett McNamara said he felt awe, joy and excitement as the massive wall of water approached - but no fear

January 31, 2013

China’s Air Pollution Is So Bad That One Entrepreneur Is Selling Fresh Air in Cans

It’s a bleak state of affairs indeed when a Mel Brooks schtickfest from the ‘80s actually predicts the future

January 31, 2013

Just a Nibble of Chocolate Is Enough to Satiate Cravings

Larger portions lead to increased grazing, but there’s no benefit when it comes to banishing cravings.

January 31, 2013

Americans Buy So Many Wings, They’re Now the Most Expensive Part of the Chicken

Each February, the nation’s thirst for chicken wings hits the roof, making the delicate wing the most expensive bit of the bird

January 31, 2013

U.S. Military Wants to Recruit the Smartest Dogs by Scanning Their Brains

The theory is that, by scanning a dog’s level of neural response to various stimuli, including handler cues, the researchers will be able to identify the dogs that will be the quickest learners and therefore the easiest to train

January 30, 2013

Some Microbes Are So Resilient They Can Ride Hurricanes

By comparison, other lifeforms such as fungal spores and pollen don’t thrive nearly as well as the microbes, the survey found.

January 30, 2013

People Have Been Eating Curry for 4,500 Years

Thanks to new research methods and a pile of (very old) dirty dishes, archaeologists have discovered the very ancient origins of a globally popular cuisine.

January 30, 2013

Prince Charles Rides the London Tube for First Time in 33 Years

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall graced the plebeians subway commuters with their presence to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the London tube’s creation

January 30, 2013

Here’s What Three Mummies Might Have Looked Like While Alive

For the first time in over 2,000 years, these three mummies’ faces now stare back at viewers, much as they might have appeared just before their deaths

January 30, 2013

Citrus Greening Will Ruin Morning OJ, No Matter How You Slice It

January 30, 2013

Google’s New Maps Reveal That, Yes, There Are Roads in North Korea

January 30, 2013

1913 Nickel Could Sell for More Than $2 Million

The coin is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist, though this one has an illicit, serendipitous back story

January 30, 2013

To Hear Color, This Man Embedded a Chip in the Back of His Head

Because of a rare condition called achromatopsia—total color-blindness—he lived in a black-and-white world, until he and an inventor paired up to developed the “eyeborg,” a device that translates colors into sound

January 29, 2013