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Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Adult male magnificent riflebirds have ultrablack feathers covering most of their bodies.

Inspired by Bird Feathers, This New ‘Ultrablack’ Fabric Absorbs Nearly All the Light That Hits It

Researchers took inspiration from the magnificent riflebird while developing a textile that reflects only about 0.13 percent of visible light, making it the darkest fabric ever reported

Oliver and his father, Ricky

This Toddler Was the First Person to Receive a Test Treatment for a Rare Genetic Disorder. Nine Months Later, His Progress Is Inspiring Hope

Oliver Chu is one of five kids participating in a clinical trial investigating a gene therapy for Hunter syndrome, a disorder with symptoms akin to childhood dementia that limits life expectancy

Researchers used more than 400 samples of materials, such as this carbon-rich substance, to train and test the new A.I. system. 

Cool Finds

A.I. Reveals Signs of Early Life in 3.3-Billion-Year-Old Rocks. Next, It Could Continue the Search in Space

The new approach looks at the distribution of molecular fragments in material, allowing for broad surveys in degraded specimens

The moss spores germinated after enduring space outside of the ISS.

Moss Spores Survived Nine Months Outside the International Space Station. Then, They Grew Normally on Earth

While lunar gardens are still out of reach, the study sheds more light on terrestrial biology that may not be limited to our planet’s surface

Researchers have developed a promising new antivenom effective against more than a dozen venemous snake species, according to trials in mice.

Researchers Create a New Antivenom That Can Combat Bites From 17 Snake Species, Trials in Mice Suggest

Snakebites are among the deadliest neglected tropical diseases, and scientists have long been searching for more effective ways to prevent their devastating effects

The conference billed itself as the first to feature all A.I.-generated research.

A New Conference Presented Scientific Papers Written and Reviewed by A.I. as an Experiment. Here’s What Happened

While some researchers note the models made tasks more efficient, many scientists remain skeptical about using A.I. to author scientific work

Tim Andrews and his wife leave the hospital after he received the pig kidney transplant about nine months ago.

Pig Kidney Transplant Removed From Patient After a Record-Breaking 271 Days

Tim Andrews was the fourth patient in the United States to receive a pig kidney transplant. He will now return to dialysis and wait for a kidney from a human donor

Participants received retinal implants that restored some of their vision. 

Electronic Eye Implant Restored Vision in Patients With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

The device could be a boon for millions with vision loss from advancing age

Hematoids can shed light on blood formation during early human development.

Researchers Created Structures That Produced Blood Cells in the Lab—With a Process That Mimics Real Human Embryos

The advance could carry significant implications for studying blood diseases and early human development

SpaceX's Starship test flight launches from Texas.

SpaceX Successfully Launches Giant Starship Rocket’s 11th Test Flight

The company will soon begin testing the third version of its rocket

Two new studies are shedding more light on the behavior and lifespans of naked mole rats.

Scientists Explore the Mysterious Lives and Longevity Superpowers of Naked Mole Rats

The nearly hairless rodents are extremely resistant to cancer—and can live to be 37 years old

The mold growing on batches of Bayley Hazen Blue cheese changed from green to white between 2016 and the present day.

Scientists Watch Fungi Evolve in Real Time, Thanks to a Marriage Proposal in a Cheese Cave

A new study pinpoints a disruption in a gene that made a beloved blue cheese’s rind go from green to white

An egg with a human skin cell nucleus before fertilization

Scientists Made Functional Human Eggs With Skin Cells in ‘Proof of Concept’ for Advancing Fertility

The research could open up avenues for fertility treatments after additional refinement and trials, but it also raises ethical concerns

The goats are expected to clear roughly 25 acres of the ski area.

This Ski Area Hired a Herd of Goats and Sheep to Help With Landscaping

Jay Peak Resort in Vermont brought in a team of hungry ungulates to help tame overgrown vegetation on its slopes before the snow flies

Members of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry hold a model of a metal-organic framework during the 2025 prize announcement in Stockholm on October 8.

Architects of a New Kind of Molecular Structure Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Metal-organic frameworks can store huge amounts of gas in a tiny space—enabling advances that could help humans fight climate change and tackle other challenges

Nobel Committee member Göran Johansson explains elements of quantum mechanics during a press conference to announce the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics on October 7 in Stockholm.

Three Scientists Receive Nobel Prize in Physics for Pioneering Work That Put Quantum Mechanics on a ‘Human Scale’

The trio’s research in the 1980s demonstrated a bizarre quantum phenomenon in a way people could see and hold

Smoke from wildfires can cause off-putting, ashy flavors in wine.

Wildfires Are Ruining Your Favorite Wines. These Bacteria Might Be Able to Help

Microbes already growing on grape plants may help neutralize one of the compounds responsible for wildfire-exposed grapes’ off-putting flavors, new research suggests

The bridge opened on September 28, 2025.

The Highest Bridge in the World Just Opened in China at More Than 2,000 Feet Above the Ground

The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou broke the record previously held by the nearby Beipanjiang Bridge

 Maria Branyas Morera on her 117th birthday

Scientists Studied the Genes of a Woman Who Lived 117 Years. Here’s What They Learned

Maria Branyas Morera, formerly the world’s oldest person, allowed researchers to take a detailed look at her biology before she died last year

The three missions launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket the morning of September 24.

‘Ultimate Cosmic Carpool’ Sends Three New Missions to Monitor Space Weather and the Protective Bubble Around Our Solar System

The spacecraft will map the boundaries of the heliosphere, study how Earth’s outer atmosphere reacts to solar activity and provide continuous monitoring of space weather

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