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Smart News / Smart News Science

Many airports have implemented pollinator-friendly programs or developed apiaries on their grounds to help support bees.

A Swarm of Bees Delayed a Flight for Three Hours

When the plane’s engine turned on, the pollinators simply left the aircraft—and passengers were finally able to board

An artist's impression of a doomed planet skimming the surface of its star.

In a First, Scientists Witness a Dying Star Swallowing a Planet

Astronomers believe the doomed world was a gas giant about the size of Jupiter

The Neo P1 starts at $179, roughly five to ten times the price of a normal pothos plant.

Could Genetically Modified Houseplants Clean the Air in Your Home?

A Parisian start-up wants to filter harmful chemicals indoors with engineered pothos plants

This ailing oak tree, seen being trimmed in winter 2023, was removed from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo due to safety concerns.

Chicago Cuts Down Oak Tree Older Than the City Itself

At an estimated 250-300 years old, the ailing tree needed to be removed for safety reasons

Mammoth and elephant tusks are elongated incisors, so they're made of the same materials as other teeth.

Male Woolly Mammoths Had Testosterone-Fueled Aggressive Episodes

By studying preserved tusks, scientists suggest the mammals experienced a yearly condition known as musth, like male elephants do today

Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton in 2015

The ‘Godfather of A.I.’ Now Warns of Its Dangers

Geoffrey Hinton quit Google this week to speak his mind on artificial intelligence, which he says may soon grow smarter than—and even manipulate—humans

Fossils in Wales reveal a glimpse into marine life 462 million years ago. In this illustration based on the new finds, the tall sponge in the foreground is less than one inch in height.

This Trove of Fossils in Wales Is Revealing Secrets of Early Animal Life

Scientists have uncovered 170 species from around 462 million years ago, unveiling surprises about when tiny marine creatures evolved and disappeared

Using suction-cup sensors attached to three humpback whales, researchers captured video footage of the animals rolling around on the ocean floor.

Watch Whales Exfoliate Their Skin on the Ocean Floor

Migrating humpbacks used sand and rubble to slough off dead skin and barnacles, a behavior that may be both practical and social

A spinning 3D view of one person's cerebral cortex. Pink indicates above average activity and blue shows below average activity.

Researchers Use A.I. to Decode Words From Brain Scans

A new tool translates “something deeper than language,” generating text that captures the gist of podcasts or silent films viewed by participants

Male California sea lions are polygamous and must fight to defend their territories and their harems.

Why Male California Sea Lions Are Getting Bigger

The “raccoons of the sea” have varied diets, allowing them to grow large to compete for mates

Before they made their big flight to the South Pacific, the snails were adorned with dots of red, UV-reflective paint to help conservationists find them in the dark.

Scientists Reintroduce 5,000 Snails to French Polynesian Islands

The project’s organizers say it’s the largest-ever release of creatures that are extinct in the wild

The new Richard Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History opens in New York City on May 4.

New York’s Natural History Museum Unveils a Canyon-Like New Wing

With butterflies, bugs and an atrium that looks like it’s carved into rock, the Gilder Center will open its doors to the public on May 4

A vineyard in the Mudgee wine region of Australia.

Climate Change Is Threatening Vineyards in Australia

Winemakers are looking for ways to adapt and grow fruit that’s more resistant to heat and drought

A sign for Covid-19 testing in New York City on March 9, 2023.

As Public Health Emergency Ends, CDC Will Stop Tracking Community Levels of Covid-19

The agency will continue to monitor cases of the virus based on hospitalizations and wastewater testing

California condors are the largest birds in North America.

Twenty Endangered California Condors Die Amid Avian Flu Outbreak

Scientists fear the deaths could set back the slow-breeding birds’ recovery by at least a decade

One of the many Edicaran biota fossils within the bounds of Nilpena Ediacara National Park, which is now open in South Australia.

The World’s Newest National Park Protects 550-Million-Year-Old Fossils

The 148,000-acre Nilpena Ediacara National Park in South Australia is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of life’s evolution on Earth

Balto and his sled driver, Gunnar Kasson, at the unveiling of Central Park's Balto statue in 1925.

Balto’s DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog

Scientists sequenced the famous canine’s genome as part of a larger project studying the genes of 240 mammal species

Climate activists with the group Declare Emergency spread paint on the plexiglass case of Edgar Degas' Little Dancer, a sculpture on display at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Climate Activists Smear Paint on Degas Sculpture’s Glass Case

Sitting beside “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen,” the protesters urged Biden to declare a climate emergency

Poppies in bloom in Antelope Valley, California, on April 11, 2023.

The Science of California’s ‘Super Bloom,’ Visible From Space

The state’s unusually wet winter provided the right conditions for dormant wildflower seeds to bloom all at once

The first image to show the shadow of black hole M87 as well as its jet

First-of-Its-Kind Image Captures a Black Hole’s Shooting Jet

The finding could help reveal how black holes launch such high-energy ejections

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