Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

Spinach: The Superfood That Could Help Detect Bombs

Now more than Popeye’s favorite food, carbon nanotubes are turning the leafy green into a bomb detector

November 1, 2016

On this day in 1936, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared an axis between Berlin and Rome, coining a term that would be used by both sides in WWII

November 1, 2016

The Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo sits atop a hillside overlooking Lake Alban.

Get a rare look at the pope’s luxurious vacation home

November 1, 2016

One of the world's oldest-known carvings of the Ten Commandments will soon go up for auction.

Cool Finds

The Oldest-Known Carving of the 10 Commandments Is Going up for Auction

But the buyer won’t be able to take it home

November 1, 2016

People crossing a Tokyo street are caught in a mirror. As the country's foreign population grows, racism is thought to be on the rise.

Just how widespread is racism in Japan? An unprecedented survey aims to find out

November 1, 2016

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently awarded grants for some innovative ways to combat wildlife trade

November 1, 2016

New Research

Chill Ways to Recycle Last Year’s Snow

Let it snow!

November 1, 2016

The Edicule which houses the remains of Jesus' tomb

During repair work, archaeologists removed the marble slabs that covered the walls of the limestone cave where Jesus was purportedly laid after crucifixion

October 31, 2016

Cool Finds

A Fish Prized Among King Henry’s III’s Court Could Soon Swim Back Into British Waters

Fish passes will allow shad to finally return to their historic spawning grounds

October 31, 2016

The crew of the International Space Station's Expedition 38

New Research

Space Makes Astronauts Grow Taller, But It Also Causes Back Problems

The inches gained during long stays in space don’t stick around once the adventurers return to Earth

October 31, 2016

Cool Finds

Are You Descended From Witches? New Digital Document Could Help You Find Out

The Wellcome Library manuscript lists people accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch panic of 1658-1662

October 31, 2016

These daisy wheels were found in Saxon Tithe barn in Bradford-on-Avon.

Cool Finds

Join an English Scavenger Hunt for Spooky, Supernatural Scratches

“Witch marks” are all over old buildings in England—and this Halloween, a preservation group is calling on the public to help document them

October 31, 2016

View from under the sea ice of the Ross Sea, Antarctica.

The 25 parties to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources voted to protect 600,000 square miles of the Ross Sea

October 28, 2016

New Research

133-Million-Year-Old Pebble Discovered to Be First Fossilized Dinosaur Brain

Found on a beach in England, the small fossil contains blood vessel, cortex and part of the membrane that surrounds the brain

October 28, 2016

The original Frankenstein didn't create a bride for his creature–and with good scientific reason.

New Research

Scientists Find That Frankenstein’s Monster Could Have Wiped Out Humanity

Thank goodness his creator never finished his proposed girlfriend

October 28, 2016

New Research

New Patch Could Help Reduce Peanut Allergies

A new study shows that a transdermal patch delivering tiny doses of peanut protein could help allergy sufferers tolerate larger exposure to peanuts

October 28, 2016

Cool Finds

Retro-Futuristic “House of Tomorrow” Declared a National Treasure

The property in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is seeking $2 million to return it to its 1933 World’s Fair glory

October 28, 2016

The controversial artist died after 50 years of publishing comics

October 28, 2016

Sharbat Gula was recently detained on charges of having a fake I.D.

October 27, 2016

Since diamonds are forever, your data could be, too.

New Research

New Method Could Store Massive Amounts of Data in Diamond Defects

Scientists use lasers to probe the gem’s flaws, creating data storage that could potentially last forever

October 27, 2016