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Smart News / Smart News Science

The Great Sphinx in the Giza Necropolis

New Research

Wind May Have Helped Sculpt Egypt’s Famous Sphinx

New research suggests that a natural rock formation served as the sculpture’s foundation

Aaron James is now five months out from his whole-eye and partial-face transplant.

Surgeons Perform World’s First Whole Eyeball Transplant on Arkansas Veteran

The patient, who suffered a severe electrical accident in 2021, currently has no vision in the transplanted eye, but doctors say he’s recovering well

The aftermath of a multi-vehicle pileup on I-55 on Oct. 23, 2023 that occured because "super fog" lowered visibility.

Dense ‘Super Fog’ Causes Deadly Car Crashes in Louisiana

The thick haze lowers visibility to less than ten feet and forms when smoke from smoldering leaves, brush or trees mixes with moisture in cool air

By 2030, coal production is projected to rise to 460 percent above what’s consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Fossil Fuel Production on Track to Increase Despite Climate Promises, Report Finds

World governments are planning to produce 110 percent more coal, oil and gas in 2030 than is allowed under the Paris Agreement, U.N. says

The galaxy cluster Abell 2744, which lies in front of the galaxy containing the newly discovered black hole

Astronomers Spot the Oldest Black Hole Ever Seen, Shedding Light on the Early Universe

Dating to just 470 million years after the Big Bang, the ancient cosmic structure could help researchers understand how the first black holes formed

Cheetahs may give up their prey to a larger predator, such as a lion or leopard, if one comes along while they are eating.

Cheetahs Become More Nocturnal in Extreme Heat, Study Finds

Hunting later at night may force the big cats to surrender their prey to larger carnivores, such as lions and leopards

Euclid's image of the Perseus Cluster, a group of galaxies 240 million light-years from Earth. The view includes about 1,000 galaxies in the cluster, with more than 100,000 additional ones in the background.

See the First Dazzling Images From the Euclid Space Telescope

The European Space Agency’s observatory will map one-third of the sky over six years in a mission to understand the universe’s dark matter and dark energy

Some species of kingfisher hunt for fish by diving head-first into the water as quickly as 25 miles per hour.

How Kingfishers Dive Head-First Into Water Without Getting Concussions

Thanks to a new genetic analysis of 30 kingfisher species, researchers are one step closer to understanding the birds’ dramatic hunting style

Wildcats appear very similar to domestic cats, but they are slightly larger with longer legs.

Domestic Cats Could Breed Scottish Wildcats Out of Existence

Just a few decades of intermixing affected the DNA of all sampled modern wildcats, researchers say, suggesting the species may be “genomically extinct”

Magnets can levitate over superconductors, which expel a magnetic field.

Paper That Claimed a Room-Temperature Superconductor Breakthrough Is Retracted by the Journal ‘Nature’

The discovery, which would have revolutionized energy, was surrounded in controversy from the start

The asteroid sample that is now on display at the National Museum of Natural History. By studying the retrieved space rocks, scientists aim to better understand how water and organic material first arrived on Earth.

How to See NASA’s Bennu Asteroid Sample in Person

A tiny piece of the space rock made its public debut at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, as scientists study the rest of the sample

Orcas are highly social and are likely learning the boat-ramming behavior from one another.

Orcas Sink Another Boat in the Strait of Gibraltar

The crew is safe, but the marine mammals did so much damage to the Polish sailing yacht that it couldn’t make it back to port

The pair of asteroids, captured by NASA's Lucy spacecraft on November 1, 2023, from around 270 miles away.

NASA Finds a Surprise Second Asteroid During a Flyby Mission

While testing its tracking system, the agency’s Lucy spacecraft discovered that Dinkinesh is not one space rock, but two

Patients who are at high risk of lung cancer can get screened with low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans.

Millions More Smokers Should Be Screened for Lung Cancer—Even if They Quit Long Ago

The American Cancer Society released new guidance on who should get yearly scans for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death around the world

Researchers examined how key genes behave across the sea star body by staining genetic material with fluorescent labels.

A Starfish ‘Body’ Is Just One Giant Head, Study Finds

Genes associated with the torso are largely absent in a species of starfish, upending how scientists perceive these creatures

New research suggests rats can mentally navigate to locations they've visited before.

Rats Can Use Imagination to Navigate in Virtual Reality, Study Finds

Like humans, the rodents appear to be able to visualize walking through locations they’ve previously visited

The Beatles perform at the Circus Krone Building in Munich on June 24, 1966. The newly released song features contributions from all four band members.

The Beatles Release Their Last Song, ‘Now and Then,’ Featuring A.I.-Extracted Vocals From John Lennon

Based on a demo recorded by Lennon in the 1970s, the song is the “closest we’ll ever come to having him back in the room”

An artist's rendition of the collision between Earth and the protoplanet Theia, which, according to the prevailing theory, resulted in the moon's formation.

Mysterious Lumps in Earth’s Mantle May Be Remains of the Crash That Formed the Moon

Chunks of a protoplanet called Theia became lodged within Earth after the two worlds smashed together, new computer simulations suggest

Cats have 26 different facial movements that combine to make 276 distinct expressions, according to a new study.

Cats Make Nearly 300 Different Facial Expressions

From ear position to pupil size, a new study examines how felines express themselves while interacting with one another

After making headlines this summer for "stealing" surfboards in Santa Cruz, the California sea otter known as 841 has been spotted with a new pup.

California’s Surfboard-Stealing Sea Otter Has Given Birth to a Pup

Otter 841 made headlines for her “unusual” behavior this summer, which biologists now say could’ve been related to pregnancy hormones

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