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Smart News / Smart News Science

With Omicron’s high transmissibility and record number of infections, public health experts encourage the use of high-quality masks to prevent spreading the airborne virus.

Biden Administration Plans to Provide 400 Million N95 Masks to Americans Amid Omicron Surge

Starting next week, adults can pick up three free masks each at pharmacies, community centers and vaccination sites

The 55-faceted gemstone is believed to be the largest cut black diamond in the world.

A Huge Black Diamond, Purportedly From Outer Space, Is Now Up for Sale

The gem known as the ‘Enigma’ is expected to fetch around $7 million at auction, though experts are skeptical of its cosmic origin

Staff members from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in Hong Kong investigate a pet shop that was closed after hamsters tested positive for the coronavirus.

Covid-19

Hong Kong Will Cull Thousands of Hamsters and Small Animals After Delta Variant Was Detected in a Pet Shop

Though there is no evidence of domestic animals passing the disease to humans, officials say they are acting out of caution

A murder of crows flies around an apartment building in downtown Sunnyvale, California.

A California City Overrun With Crows Turns to Lasers and a Boombox to Scare Them Away

City employees will spend an hour every night shining green lasers and playing corvid distress calls to humanely harass the birds into leaving

The T. rex specimen was discovered in 1987 by fossil hunter Stan Sacrison in South Dakota's Badlands.  

Good News

Dinosaur Fan Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Is Not Stan the T. Rex’s Mystery Buyer

A cast of the prehistoric giant made a guest appearance from the actor’s home office on ESPN’s ManningCast

The newly recognized species, Taksinus bambus, is the first known tarantula to nest exclusively inside bamboo stalks.

Good News

A Wildlife YouTuber Discovered This New Species of Tarantula in Thailand

The bamboo-dwelling spider is so distinct from others that it’s been declared a new genus and species

The elite used the highly-prized, donkey-like creatures for travel and warfare.

This Ancient Wild Ass Was the Earliest Known Animal Hybrid Bred by Humans

Called a kunga, the donkey-like creature may have been considered a status symbol about 4,500 years ago

Betty White poses with a parrot at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2014.

Good News

Animal Shelters See an Influx of Donations in Honor of Betty White

Fans donated thousands of dollars to local animal shelters on what would have been her 100th birthday

NASA astronaut Tim Kopra (left) performs blood draw on European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake for the recent study.

Space Is Destroying Astronauts’ Red Blood Cells

The discovery could complicate long-term space travel, including future Mars missions

Researchers examined 24 Martian sediment samples collected from six exposed locations in the Gale Crater that contained mudstones of an ancient lake.

‘Intriguing’ Carbon Isotopes on Mars Could Be From Cosmic Dust, UV Radiation or Ancient Life

NASA scientists compared the data to chemical signatures of biological processes on Earth and found some similarities to billion-year-old microbes

The explosion was likely the biggest volcanic eruption recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years.

Why the Eruption in Tonga Was a ‘Once-in-a-Millennium’ Event for the Volcano

The blast, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific, left thousands of Tongans without access to water and power

Using data and data visualization software that mapped the asymmetrical bubble, the research team calculated that at least 15 supernovae have gone off over millions of years and pushed gas outward, creating a bubble where seven star-forming regions dot the surface.  

A Star-Producing, Cosmic Bubble Shrouds Our Solar System

Researchers created a 3-D model of Earth’s galactic neighborhood

In the last two decades, cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. have tripled. In one year, 476,000 individuals come down with flu-like symptoms accompanied by a distinct bulls-eye rash.

Lyme-Spreading Ticks May Thrive in Warmer Winter Conditions Across North America

In a new study, insects carrying the disease were more likely to survive cold or fluctuating temperatures than their uninfected peers

When putting on or taking off a mask, handle it by the edges or straps to avoid contamination.

Covid-19

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

Regularly check for stretched-out straps, staining and soiling, which can compromise masks’ ability to filter viruses like Covid-19

Five cats pile onto a Starlink satellite dish in a snowy yard.

Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds

The devices—developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX—have a warming feature to prevent snow buildup from disrupting the signal

A female dolphin cald swims about her mother at the Madrid Zoo and Aquarium in 2018.

Female Dolphins Have a Fully Functional Clitoris

A new study finds surprising similarities between human and cetacean sexual anatomy

Reseachers observed sodium atoms breaking up into crystal particles that resemble tornado-like structures after entering a quantum state.

MIT Physicists Formed Quantum Tornadoes by Spinning Ultra-Cold Atoms

The experiment documented what happens when atoms cross from classical physics to quantum behaviors

In the largest-ever study of horse bones to date, researchers examined equine remains from 171 unique archaeological sites including castles and medieval horse cemeteries.

The Horses of Medieval Times Weren’t Much Bigger Than Modern-Day Ponies

A study of the remains of 2,000 specimens reveals the steeds were around 4 feet 10 inches tall

University of Manchester paleontologist Joe Davis sprawls out next to the 32-foot-long skeleton.

Naturalists Accidentally Discover Britain’s Largest Ever, Near-Complete Marine Reptile Fossil

The skeleton measures more than 32 feet in length, with a 6.5-foot-long skull that weighs about a ton

Dogs may even be able to suss out which sounds are words and which are just nonsense.

Good News

Dogs Can Tell the Difference Between Human Languages

Canines in the study could differentiate between Spanish, Hungarian and nonsense words

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