Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

Paleontologists Matt Lamanna and Ruben Martinez with the skull of Sarmientosaurus

New Research

Newly Discovered Dinosaur Species Had Great Eyesight and a Droopy Head

Sarmientosaurus weighed as much as two elephants but had a brain the size of a lime

April 27, 2016

This artist's concept shows the distant dwarf planet Makemake and its newly discovered moon. Makemake and its moon, nicknamed MK 2, are more than 50 times farther away than Earth is from the sun.

Think Big

Hubble Spies a Tiny Moon Orbiting Dwarf Planet Makemake

Our solar system still has plenty of surprises

April 27, 2016

A print of Lake Suwa from the series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.

Historic records from “citizen scientists” in Japan and Finland give researchers centuries of data on ice conditions

April 27, 2016

Flashing lights embedded in the ground make crossing and texting safer in Augsburg.

Cool Finds

A German City Installed Traffic Lights For Texters

In Augsburg, distracted smartphone users don’t have to look up to stay safe

April 27, 2016

For one hour on May 7, silence will reign at a British supermarket.

Cool Finds

A British Store Will Go Quiet For Customers With Autism

Shh—people are shopping

April 27, 2016

Weird Animals

Audubon Pranked Fellow Naturalist by Making Up Fake Rodents

Annoyed with naturalist and houseguest Constantine Rafinesque, John J. Audubon dreamed up 28 non-existent species

April 27, 2016

Prince's Minnesota home and studio is known as "Paisley Park."

A la Graceland

April 26, 2016

New Research

“Shark Vision” Shines Light on Biofluorescent Species

Using a specially designed filter, divers uncovered the glowing patterns on the skin of catsharks

April 26, 2016

Protestors sit outside a local town hall.

Local artists want the Venkatappa Art Gallery to stay public

April 26, 2016

A visualization of the Varying Length Model of the cosmic web.

Cool Finds

Take in the Beauty of This Gravity Web That Connects Galaxies Across the Universe

A new simulation visualizes how distant galaxies might be connected

April 26, 2016

A statue of Julian of Norwich at Norwich Cathedra. She is one of the first-known women writers in the English language.

Cool Finds

For the First Time, See Two Early Medieval Books Written By Women On Display Together

The manuscripts detail the authors’ experiences

April 26, 2016

Builders work on the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement arch in April 2016. Once complete, the massive arch will be slid over the reactor's current concrete sarcophagus.

The New Safe Confinement is one of history’s most ambitious engineering projects—and it comes not a moment too soon

April 26, 2016

A late night blaze guts one of India’s favorite museums, destroying valuable collections and exhibits

April 26, 2016

Cool Finds

An Israeli Brewery Recreated a 2,000-Year-Old Beer

Beer brewed as in Biblical times

April 25, 2016

A CMS collision event as seen in the built-in event display on the CERN Open Data Portal.

CERN’s latest data dump includes raw information from the Large Hadron Collider

April 25, 2016

The page of The Consolation of Philosophy once stolen from The Cambridge Songs

Cool Finds

‘Lost’ Medieval Music Performed for the First Time in 1,000 Years

Researchers and musicians at Cambridge reconstruct songs from ‘The Consolation of Philosophy’

April 25, 2016

Cool Finds

This “Sweaty” Billboard Kills Mosquitoes

Gross gimmick or Zika-fighting innovation?

April 25, 2016

New Research

Bed Bugs Are Picky About Certain Colors

But don’t buy new sheets just yet

April 25, 2016

What’s the weed equivalent to an alcoholic drink?

April 22, 2016

Cool Finds

Oldest Message in a Bottle Ever Found

The 108-year-old message in a bottle from a British marine researcher washed up on a German beach

April 22, 2016