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Smart News / Smart News Science

The Orion spacecraft after landing in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA Sets Sights on Crewed Moon Missions After Orion Capsule’s Return to Earth

Next, the space agency wants to send astronauts to orbit—and land on—the moon

Singer Celine Dion on stage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.   

What Is Stiff Person Syndrome? Celine Dion Announces Diagnosis of Rare Disease

The neurological disease affects about one to two people in a million

Only a quarter of American adults have received their flu shot this year. 

U.S. Flu Hospitalizations Highest in a Decade

The CDC estimates that 120,000 people have been hospitalized since October

2 million years ago, Greenland was roughly 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it is today. 

New ‘Astounding’ Analysis Argues That Greenland Used to Be a Lush, Diverse Ecosystem

Scientists found evidence of over 100 types of plants and animals that lived in the northern part of the island around two million years ago

Professor Bruce Jayne demonstrates how wide a Burmese python can open its mouth to swallow prey.

Here’s How Burmese Pythons Eat Such Big Prey

Stretchy connective tissue between the snakes’ cranium and lower jaw allows them to open their mouth four times wider than their skull

The highly contagious virus is airborne and can spread through contaminated surfaces like kennels and leashes.

Dogs Are Impacted by an Intense Flu Season, Too

A surge in canine influenza cases has likely resulted from changes in human behavior due to relaxed Covid-19 guidelines

The skull of an elasmosaur found in Queensland, Australia

In Rare Find, Scientists Unearth Fossil of Large Marine Reptile With Both Head and Body

Skeletons of elasmosaurs are often found without their skull

A composite of the SKA telescopes that combines real images with an artist's impression. 

Construction of World’s Largest Radio Telescope Begins

Scientists will use its instruments to study the early universe

A drawing of the extinct Steller's sea cow

An Extinct Sea Cow May Help the Restoration of California’s Dwindling Kelp Forests

Researchers are modeling out what the ocean may have looked like when the seaweed-munching mammal roamed the shores

In this composite image from the Geminid meteor shower in 2014, more than 100 meteors can be seen.

How to Watch the Radiant Geminid Meteor Shower

The spectacle, often one of the best showers of the year, will peak December 13 to 14

In this image from December 4, Orion gets closer to the moon in advance of its December 5 flyby. 

Orion Spacecraft Completes Final Moon Flyby

The capsule is scheduled to return to Earth on December 11

The last surviving thylacine's skull

Remains of Last Surviving Tasmanian Tiger Discovered in Museum Cabinet

Researchers found the lost body of the female thylacine after 85 years

 The federal government considers marijuana an illegal Schedule I drug, making it notoriously difficult to research.

New U.S. Law Will Boost Marijuana Research

The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act will make it easier for researchers to access marijuana and study its therapeutic uses

A cast of Patagotitan mayorum's skull

This 122-Foot-Long Dinosaur Will Barely Fit in London’s Natural History Museum

The replica titanosaur, based on fossils discovered in 2012, goes on view in March

Ant species across five subfamilies exchange milk-like substances.  

Scientists Just Discovered That Ants Make Milk

Adults and larvae consume a nutrient-rich fluid released by pupae

Denver banned the use of lead pipes in 1971, but tens of thousands of homes built before then contain them.

EPA Approves Denver’s $700 Million Plan to Remove Lead Pipes

Colorado’s capital city will also get federal funding for the replacement project

The federal government employs a total of 5,159 dogs, but only about 7 percent come from the United States.

U.S. Faces Bomb-Sniffing Dog Shortage

The pandemic has exacerbated an already short supply of specially-bred canines that detect explosives

A pack of grey wolves in Yellowstone National Park. 

Parasites Make Grey Wolves More Likely to Become Pack Leaders

Research has shown that infected animals can engage in riskier behavior than their uninfected peers

Elon Musk at a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

Elon Musk Wants to Test Brain Implants in People

The device, which would sit in the skull, has not received regulatory approval for use in humans

The northern long-eared bat was listed as threatened in 2015. It will officially be reclassified as endangered in January 2023. 

Decimated by Fungus, the Northern Long-Eared Bat Is Now Endangered

A disease called white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats in North America

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