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Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Cool Finds

How Bug Guts Slow Down Planes and What Engineers are Doing About it

Designing the most fuel-efficient plane means keeping wings free of sticky exploded bugs

Graphic design student Oskar Pernefeldt envisions a blue and white flag to symbolize Earth's presence on far off planets like Mars.

Does Planet Earth Need Its Own Flag?

Some think we need a universal flag to stake our claim in space

A prototype of the Predictor pregnancy test (left) and the test as it went to market in the late 1970s (right).

Cool Finds

This is What the First Home Pregnancy Test Looked Like

“Predictor” gave results in just two hours

Cool Finds

New ATMs in China Recognize Your Face

Facial-recognition cash machines were designed to cut down on fraud

Does washing your laundry in warm water really make that much of a difference? Probably not.

The Case for Washing Clothes in Cold Water

Laundry: You’re doing it wrong

Every latrine has it's own unique smell.

These Perfumers Are Analyzing the Stench of Toilets

Fair warning: Toilet chemistry is not for the faint of stomach

New Research

60 NASA Scientists are Trying to Build a Better Parachute

The Supreme Council of Parachute Experts wants to construct a parachute that can help a heavier craft land on Mars

New Research

Scientists Just Mummified a Human Leg to Test Ancient Egyptian Techniques

It took 208 days for Swiss scientists to mummify a fresh leg using natron

Cool Finds

Take a Drone Tour of Ancient History

Drones offer a soaring perspective of ancient sites

The original Pac-Man was kind of a feminist.

Pac-Man Turns 35 This Month

The now-iconic game was originally released by Namco in 1980

Cool Finds

This Surfboard Maps Waves and Gathers Ocean Data for Researchers

Sensors would make surfers into citizen scientists

Healthy ochre sea stars (Pisaster ochraceus)

Cool Finds

This Beer Was Brewed to Save Sea Stars

A new ale sends some proceeds to research on sea star wasting syndrome

Cool Finds

Jerusalem is Running Out of Room for the Dead

A new project looks to save space by building modern catacombs

Cool Finds

A Malaysian Farm is Playing Classical Music to its Chickens

Drug-free chickens roam in a barn filled with tunes from Mozart

Baker's or brewer's yeast, like the sample pictured above, could one day be used for more efficient opiate production.

Engineered Yeast Could Open up a DIY Painkiller Market

The modified microbes could also make cheaper and better opiates

New Research

Will Your Doctor One Day Pay You?

New research shows that incentive-based health programs really do work

New Research

These Scientists Want to Unleash an Army of Caterpillars to Destroy Cocaine Crops

Colombian scientists say the insect could replace cocaine-killing herbicides.

Cool Finds

How Angry AI Will Train Telemarketers to Handle Angry Real People

The robot apocalypse will come with the howling fury of an angry customer service call.

New Research

Twitter is Helping Scientists Spot More Northern Lights

A new study shows the power of social media to pinpoint where and when auroras occur

New Research

Scientists Are Stopping Malaria With Viagra

Viagra can help boost the spleen’s ability to filter out infected blood cells

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