Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

Mountain goats carry bacterial diseases that are lethal to bighorn sheep and also compete for food.

To Protect Bighorn Sheep, Authorities Kill 58 Mountain Goats in Grand Teton National Park

The cull is part of an effort to safeguard the park’s vulnerable sheep herd from the non-native species

Over the past decade, scientists have debated how often overdiagnosis occurs in screenings, with the most widely cited estimates at about 30 percent. New research suggests overdiagnosis occurs in 15 percent of breast cancer screenings.

Breast Cancer May Not Be as Overdiagnosed as Previously Thought

New research finds overdiagnosis occurs in 15 percent of cases detected using mammograms

An illustration of the six-wheeled rover, which has a drill and onboard instruments to sample and analyze the Martian surface. 

Europe’s Mars Rover Unlikely to Launch in 2022 Due to Russian Invasion

The robot designed to search for traces of life on the Red Planet was originally scheduled to ride a Russian rocket into to space this fall

Wildfires blazed through Big Sur in January 2022.

We Are Changing Climate Faster Than We Can Adapt, New IPCC Report Warns

Despite the ‘irreversible’ impacts of a warming planet, scientists emphasize there is still time to act

For the study, researchers surveyed 426 adults who had at least two dogs and had experienced the loss of one of their dogs.

Dogs May Mourn the Loss of Other Household Pets

Grieving canines ate less, slept more, and sought more attention from their human companions after the death of a furry friend, according to a survey

Head-on collisions between galaxies like the one seen in Arp 143 (pictured) may be how rings of new stars form.  

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Galaxies Caught in Triangular Tug-of-War

A collision between two galaxies may have sparked the odd shape

Browntail moth caterpillars have small hairs that can cause a poison ivy-like rash and difficulty breathing in humans.

Rash-Causing Moths Are Spreading in Maine Because of Climate Change

The outbreak of browntail moths in the state will likely grow worse as temperatures increase, researchers say

Doctors were performing an electroencephalogram (EEG) on a patient with epilepsy when he unexpectedly passed away.

Brain Scans of Dying Man Suggest Life Flashes Before Our Eyes Upon Death

An elderly epilepsy patient unexpectedly died during a brain scan, revealing bursts of activity associated with memory recall, meditation, and dreaming

ONE Condoms become the first condoms approved for anal sex by the FDA. 

FDA Approves First Condom for Anal Sex

Health experts say FDA authorization may increase condom usage during anal intercourse and reduce sexually transmitted infections

Africa was home to an estimated 5 million elephants a century ago, but today there are just 415,000 individuals left.

Elephant Tusk DNA Exposes Illegal Poaching Networks

The new study suggests a shift in major smuggling routes

The new study suggests a distinction in our brains between instrumental music and vocal music. 

Some Neurons in Your Brain Respond to Singing but Not Other Music

Researchers tested 15 participants’ responses to 165 different noises, including toilet flushing, road traffic, instrumental music, speaking and singing

An artist’s impression of two Dearc sgiathanach, the newly-discovered species that is a close cousin of dinosaurs

Largest Jurassic Pterosaur on Record Unearthed in Scotland

The giant flying reptile had an eight-foot wingspan and lived around 170 million years ago

Magpies are highly social and live in groups of two or 12 individuals that defend, occupy, and breed cooperatively.

Sneaky Magpies Outwit Scientists by Removing Tracking Devices

The trackers were supposed to track movement behaviors but instead uncovered an unusual problem-solving behavior

Scans of the astronaut's neural networks were taken before they blasted off into space, as soon as they landed safely back home, and some cosmonauts had an additional brain scan seven months after their return to Earth. (Pictured: Astronaut Bruce McCandless II during an untethered spacewalk in 1984)  

Long-Term Space Travel May ‘Rewire’ Astronauts’ Brains

The changes may help the organ adapt to microgravity, but they seem to persist for several months after returning to Earth

Only in recent decades have researchers found that the fish have been gliding through the sea floors for hundreds of millions of years.

Rare Baby Ghost Shark Caught in New Zealand’s Chatham Rise

There are about 52 known species of chimaera, half of which were discovered in the last two decades

Rye Riptides in Norway

Good News

After 462 Days At Sea, a Mini Boat Launched by New Hampshire Middle School Students Washed Ashore in Norway

The little boat traveled over 8,000 miles across the Atlantic and was found by a sixth grade student in Norway

Black-legged ticks, also called deer ticks, carry a variety of diseases that can be passed to humans.

Scientists Edit Tick Genes for the First Time

Altering tick genomes could bring scientists closer to managing ticks and tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease

A typical black bear in the western United States (pictured) is around half of Hank’s size.

DNA Shows At Least Three Large Black Bears Are Breaking Into Tahoe Homes, Not Just ‘Hank the Tank’

Bears have damaged at least 30 properties in the area

The patient was treated for HIV using stem cells from umbilical cord blood, a less invasive and risky method compared to bone marrow transplants.

First Woman Has Been ‘Cured’ of HIV Using Stem Cells

The novel treatment using umbilical cord blood could help dozens of people with both HIV and aggressive cancers

Out of 250,000 known marine species, scientists suspect all 126 marine mammals emit sound.

Good News

Scientists Propose the Creation of a Global Aquatic Sound Library

The first-ever international audio collection of aquatic ecosystems would aim to uncover unidentified fish species, discover regional dialects and more

Page 174 of 538