Smart News

Cool Finds

A Swarm of Tumbleweed-Like Robots Might Be the Ideal Desert Data Gatherers

The hardy robots can traverse places that would be difficult or very expensive to send human data-gatherers

February 6, 2014

Cool Finds

This Little Minnow Will Be the First Fish Ever Taken Off the Endangered Species List

Thanks to successful conservation efforts, the Oregon chub has successfully rebounded from near-extinction

February 6, 2014

New Research

How You Describe a Dream Could Help Determine What Kind of Psychosis You Have

A recent study found dream descriptions could be used ot distinguish between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

February 5, 2014

Cool Finds

Watch the First Ever NYC Blizzard Caught on Film

Not only is this the first ever film of a blizzard in the Big Apple, it is probably the first ever film of any American blizzard ever

February 5, 2014

Cool Finds

Wikipedia Wants to Archive Famous People’s Voices

If you have a Wikipedia profile, the Wikipedia Voice Intro Project wants to hear you

February 5, 2014

New Research

In the Next 40 Years, Heat-Related Deaths Could More Than Double in the U.K.

As the world warms up, the number of heat-related deaths will likely increase across the board

February 5, 2014

Cool Finds

This Terrifying Parasite Bears an Uncanny Resemblance to the Queen in “Aliens”

Phronima hollow out their prey and ride around in their corpse

February 5, 2014

Cool Finds

A Tiny Scrap of Paper Offers a Glimpse Into Jane Austen’s Inspiration

The small scrap of paper transcribes part of a sermon, the theme of which Austen later explored in “Mansfield Park”

February 5, 2014

New Research

Mosquitoes’ Sperm Can Detect Smells

Mosquitoes’ individual sperm have scent-detecting sensors

February 5, 2014

Trending Today

When Are We Going to Stop Making Famous People Argue About Evolution?

From the Scopes trial to last night’s Nye/Ham face-off, Americans love pointless creationism debates

February 5, 2014

New Research

Human Faces Might Only Express Four Basic Emotions

How many faces can you make? Offhand, you might guess ten, or twenty, but researchers now say…it’s really only four

February 4, 2014

Cool Finds

At Auction: One of the Only Cameras to Ever Make it Back From the Moon

James Irwin’s custom Hasselblad was one of the only cameras to make it back from the Moon… or was it?

February 4, 2014

Cool Finds

Korea Is Using a Kinect to Monitor Its Border

The Microsoft Kinect is at the center of a lively community that includes hackers, artists and, now, South Korea’s border patrol

February 4, 2014

Cool Finds

Shopping Carts Are Way More Dangerous Than You Might Expect

There are a lot of things to fear in this world. Allow us to add another thing to that list: shopping carts

February 4, 2014

Trending Today

What Was the Internet Like the Day Facebook Was Born?

The web was already 15 years old. What else were we up to when The Facebook was born?

February 4, 2014

Cool Finds

Psychiatric Records for African American Patients Are Rare, And This Hospital Has a Century’s Worth

Researchers are attempting to digitize and preserve the tens of thousands of patient records from the Central State Hospital

February 4, 2014

New Research

Third-Hand Smoke Is Dangerous, Too

Like a Virus, Nicotine Can Stick to Clothes And Surfaces for Days

February 4, 2014

Trending Today

California’s Crucial Reservoirs Are Running Low, And That’s Even Worse Than It Sounds

An ongoing drought has drained California dry

February 3, 2014

Cool Finds

It Takes Just Five Seconds to Find Out If You’re a Good Liar

But maybe don’t read too much into this test

February 3, 2014

Cool Finds

No One Knows Why Ancient Egyptians Built This 4,600-Year-Old Pyramid

The new pyramid joins the list of other mysterious step pyramids built before the Great Pyramid at Giza

February 3, 2014