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Smart News / Smart News Science

A Jorō spider, which was the victim of sensationalized reporting in the U.S. earlier this year

Spider Slander Runs Rampant Online

Nearly half of news stories about spider bites contain misinformation, which experts say can hurt conservation efforts

A night of tossing and turning might lead to more selfish behvaior the next day, a new study suggests. 

Sleep Deprivation Could Make People More Selfish, Study Finds

Researchers measured charitable donations, looked at brain scans and conducted questionnaires to track changes in generosity

Magic mushrooms remain illegal in the U.S. for recreational use, but researchers have tested psilocybin as a treatment for a variety of mental illnesses. 

Psychedelic ‘Magic Mushroom’ Ingredient Could Help Treat Alcohol Addiction

Study participants taking the drug psilocybin with talk therapy showed an 83 percent decline in heavy drinking

Australia is home to roughly 200 million rabbits, which are not native to the country and damage crops and ecosystems. 

How Two Dozen Rabbits Started an Ecological Invasion in Australia

The country’s “most serious pests” can be traced to one shipment from England in 1859, study shows

Drought conditions caused Dinosaur Valley State Park's Paluxy River to dry up, revealing tracks not usually visible. 

Drought Exposes Dinosaur Tracks in Texas

The 113-million-year-old footprints were largely made by the carnivorous Acrocanthosaurus

The Gorner Glacier and the Monte Rosa area

Swiss Glaciers Shrank to Half Their Size Since 1931

Historical images reveal dramatic change in Alpen ice coverage

Dugongs have disappeared from waters off of China.

Dugongs Are ‘Functionally Extinct’ in China, Research Suggests

Scientists found no verified sightings of the massive marine mammals in the region since 2000

An industrial fracking well

Children Living Near Fracking Sites Have an Increased Risk for Leukemia, Study Suggests

Researchers find negative health impacts for young people and newborns related to oil and gas development

Four pairs of "human doubles" included in the study

Art Meets Science

Doppelgängers Don’t Just Look Alike—They Also Share DNA

New research finds genetic and lifestyle similarities between unrelated pairs of “virtual twins”

A pod of orcas feeding in the Atlantic Ocean

Orcas Are Breaking Rudders Off Boats in Europe

These interactions around Spain and Portugal might be a trend among juveniles, scientists say

A new study suggests that dogs might produce tears of happiness when they're reunited with their owners after time apart. 

Do Dogs Really Cry Tears of Joy When Reunited With Their Owners?

Experts are divided about a new study suggesting dogs’ tears are associated with emotion

James Webb Space Telescope composite image of Jupiter 

See the James Webb Space Telescope’s Stunning New Images of Jupiter

Its Near-Infrared Camera captured auroras, moons and the Great Red Spot

Firefighting foam can contain 'forever chemicals,' which are in many products including food packaging and nonstick cookware. These compounds accumulate in air, soil and water.

Scientists Find a New Technique for Breaking Down ‘Forever Chemicals’

The man-made toxins are everywhere and linked to numerous health problems

A flash flood in Moab, Utah outside Arches National Park. 

Southwestern Flash Floods Submerge Cars, Strand National Park Visitors

Millions were under flood watch over the weekend as rains overwhelmed a wildfire-scorched landscape

A homeowner spotted the moth on the wall of his garage in early July.

First U.S. Sighting of Massive Atlas Moth Confirmed

The insect may have escaped from an illegal cocoon-selling operation

Researchers found chewing gum can increase metabolic rates by up to 15 percent.   

Chewing Uses More Energy Than You’d Think

And it may have influenced the way our jaws and teeth evolved

A female Aedes aegypti mosquito

How Can Mosquitoes Find Humans So Easily?

A sophisticated sense of smell makes the Earth’s deadliest animal hard-wired to hunt us

A variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus)

This Arctic Snailfish Is Loaded With Antifreeze Proteins

But climate change could threaten these cold-adapted fish, scientists say

Dropping water levels in Lake Mead, a reservoir of the Colorado River, revealed this formerly submerged boat.

Western States Are Fighting Over How to Conserve Shrinking Water Supply

The Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people, is drying up

A second asteroid may have struck the dinosaurs at the end of Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago

The Dinosaur-Killing Asteroid May Have Had a Companion

A newly discovered crater suggests a second impact that would have triggered underwater landslides and tsunamis

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