Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

Cool Finds

Stunning Images Capture Peacock Spiders’ Flashy Colors

Beautiful and acrobatic, these tiny, vibrant creatures shake their tail fuzz in elaborate mating dances

July 26, 2016

The cave is supported by six pillars hewn from the same rock.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Are Trying to Digitally Preserve an Ancient Cave Before It’s Demolished

The 5th-century cave is in the way of an airport expansion

July 26, 2016

The leaves stained with Albert I's blood

New Research

Bloody Leaves Help Solve 82-Year-Old Royal Mystery

King Albert’s untimely death sparked a range of conspiracy theories about the cause

July 26, 2016

The final VCRs will ship later this month, but if recent history is any indicator, it doesn’t mean the VHS format will vanish for good

July 26, 2016

Hygiene sticks excavated at Xuanquanzhi station along the Silk Road

New Research

Ancient “Poop Sticks” Offer Clues to the Spread of Disease Along the Silk Road

The parasites found within the 2,000-year-old-feces smeared on bamboo suggest more than commodities made the trip

July 26, 2016

The country unveils an ambitious plan to protect its national bird

July 25, 2016

Data from the Viking biology experiments, which is stored on microfilm, has to be accessed using a microfilm reader.

Cool Finds

NASA Is Finally Digitizing the Viking Mission’s 40-Year-Old Data

No more microfilm

July 25, 2016

Athletes with Down Syndrome compete in the first-ever Olympic-style competition for people with the condition.

Cool Finds

Italy Just Hosted the First Olympics-Like Competition for People With Down Syndrome

The unique competition drew 1,000 athletes

July 25, 2016

Cool Finds

This App Puts a Museum in Your Phone

Get out and get some culture with a newly released app that gives art a smart spin

July 25, 2016

"Memory Wound" is within view of Utøya, where Norway's July 22 massacre occurred.

“Memory Wound” will evoke the brutal losses of the July 22 tragedy

July 25, 2016

Australian press photographer Gary Ramage photographs British troops in Afghanistan in 2010.

Updated Law of War manual removes references that equate journalism to participation in hostilities

July 22, 2016

New Research

Researcher Discovers First Written Evidence of Laws of Friction in Leonardo Da Vinci’s Notebooks

A scientific breakthrough was dismissed as a useless doodle—until now

July 22, 2016

Cool Finds

Common African Union Passport to Allow Free Movement Across the Continent

The African Union unveiled a new passport earlier this week that will allow citizens to cross between its 54 member states without visas

July 22, 2016

No more guessing passwords

July 22, 2016

An artist's rendition of the Rio Olympics facilities for the 2016 Summer Games. Some of the media accommodations were apparently built on top of remnants of Brazil's slave history.

As Brazil looks forward to an Olympic future, it buries its past

July 22, 2016

An artistic rendering shows an early proto turtle Eunotosaurus (foreground) burrowing into the banks of a dried-up pond to escape the harsh arid environment present 260 million years ago in South Africa.

New Research

Why the Turtle Grew a Shell—It’s More Than Safety

Its armor may have developed for more than safety

July 22, 2016

Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it

July 22, 2016

New Research

New Brain Map Doubles Number of Known Regions

Neurologists have found 97 new areas in the brain and expect to add even more

July 21, 2016

Cool Finds

Museum Unveils Henry VIII’s Flagship

The Mary Rose sank almost 500 years ago, but following more than 30 years of restoration, the remains of the warship are open to the public

July 21, 2016

A researcher examines inscriptions by 16th century Europeans in a cave on Mona Island

Cool Finds

Cave Graffiti Shows Natives and Europeans Had Early Dialogue in the Caribbean

Cave art from both Taíno people and Spanish explorers in a cave on Mona Island shows the two had some early cultural understanding

July 21, 2016