Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

This 17th-century French noblewoman will become the first woman ever included in the curriculum for the nation's high school exams.

Madame da La Fayette will infuse a much-needed POV into France’s literary curriculum

March 21, 2017

Sesame Street to Introduce Julia, a Muppet with Autism

Some characters are confused by Julia’s behavior, but they come to embrace her differences

March 20, 2017

You know what he looks like, but you probably don't know his actual last name.

Chef Boyardee Was A Real Person

What’s more: Hector Boiardi was a respected chef who even helped cater Woodrow Wilson’s second wedding

March 20, 2017

A diver documents dead coral in the Great Barrier Reef near Lizard Island in May 2016 after a bleaching event.

New Research

Repeat Bleaching Destroys Massive Swaths of the Great Barrier Reef

Rising ocean temperatures have taken a toll on the World Heritage Area

March 20, 2017

A scanning electron microscope image of the water bear.

New Research

How the Remarkable Tardigrade Springs Back to Life after Drying Out

A particular protein helps these these tiny critters survive dehydration for over a decade at a time

March 20, 2017

This illustration, depicting Uncle Tom's Cabin antagonist Simon Legree looming over, and perhaps preparing to beat, Tom, appeared in the 1853 edition of the book. Pro-slavery Southerners argued that the book misrepresented slavery by cherry-picking the worst examples.

White Southerners Said “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Was Fake News

So its author published a “key” to what’s true in the novel

March 20, 2017

Mt. Etna spews lava during the early hours of Thursday, March 16, 2017

Ten people were injured in the surprise blast

March 17, 2017

New Research

So Is ‘Mona Lisa’ Smiling? A New Study Says Yes

Compared to other similar images, the masterpiece’s mouth registered as happy to almost 100 percent of the participants

March 17, 2017

The Whanganui River has finally been granted legal status.

It’s the end of more than a century of struggle

March 17, 2017

The future Lucy Maud Montgomery Museum and Literary Centre.

L.M. Montgomery’s Ontario Home Will Open As a Museum

While living in the village of Norval, the beloved author enjoyed stunning literary success. But this chapter of her life was tinged with darkness

March 17, 2017

False-color x-ray of the purported 1.6 billion-year-old red algae

New Research

At 1.6 Billion Years Old, These Fossils Could Be the Oldest Complex Life

Three types of ancient red algae-like fossils captivate scientists, but many questions remain

March 17, 2017

This grapefruit-sized object is Vanguard TV-3, an exact replica of Vanguard 1 that failed to launch into orbit. It's now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

The World’s First Solar-Powered Satellite is Still Up There After More Than 60 Years

This tiny grapefruit-sized satellite will still be up there well into the 2100s if we don’t take it down

March 17, 2017

Did Catherine Parr Write a Propaganda Song for Henry VIII?

‘Gaude gloriosa Dei mater,’ purportedly penned by the king’s sixth wife, will be performed in London for the first time in more than 470 years

March 17, 2017

These reproduction huts in Jockey Hollow are similar to what Washington's army would have used during the brutal winter of 1779-1780.

Washington’s Army Celebrated St. Patrick’s Day to Cure Winter Blues

Washington declared the day a holiday in an attempt to raise morale and acknowledge the army’s many soldiers of Irish descent

March 17, 2017

The goldfish in question, decked out in his customized wheelchair.

The contraption, though surely built with the best intentions, may do more harm than good.

March 16, 2017

Spiral Jetty is on its way to becoming Utah's official work of land art.

Trending Today

Utah Chooses New State Works of Art

Ancient rock art and Robert Smithson’s “Spiral Jetty” are poised to become state symbols

March 16, 2017

Commuters in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam use makeshift face masks to protect them from smog. Doctors are warning that climate change will affect human health, in part by increasing air pollution.

Medical associations join forces to sound the alarm on climate change and human health

March 16, 2017

Cool Finds

A Missing Oxford Comma Just Changed the Course of a Court Case

Call it pedantic, but comma wars are a thing

March 16, 2017

New Research

Check Out the Most Detailed Tornado Simulation So Far

A supercomputer created a simulation of the F5 “El Reno” tornado which devastated part of Oklahoma in 2011

March 16, 2017

Joseph Lister's work was influenced by Louis Pasteur's work on fermentation.

The Idea of Surgeons Washing Their Hands is Only 154 Years Old

The world of surgery before that was much grosser and less effective

March 16, 2017