Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

Researchers looked for eight specific neurological and behavioral criteria that indicate sentience, such as the ability to learn and feel pain.

Lobsters, Crabs and Octopuses Will Now Receive Welfare Protection as ‘Sentient Beings’ in the U.K.

The report outlines recommendations for best practices to reduce animal cruelty and suffering

Aside from discovering the fascinating geology of the Gulf’s floor, the team also found diverse sea life thriving on or near the vents and their mineral structures. Researchers photographed tubeworms living on or near the vents seen here.

Kaleidoscope of Deep-Sea Life Found Near Hydrothermal Vents Off Mexican Coast

Some of these unique features reached temperatures up to 549 degrees Fahrenheit

The team used morphological data and DNA testing on a male and female (pictured) specimen to describe it.   

A New Himalayan Snake Species Was Discovered in an Instagram Post

When Virendar Bhardwaj uploaded a photo of a snake at his home in Chamba, India, scientists realized it has yet to be described by science

For the Deep Space Food Challenge, teams were asked to design food production technology that would support a crew of four astronauts during long-term space missions without resupplying and achieve the most outstanding amount of food output with minimal inputs and virtually no waste. (Pictured: NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur aboard the ISS)  

Innovation for Good

From an Electric Cow to Space Bread, NASA Announces First-Round Winners of Deep Space Food Challenge

The competition aims to solve nutrition and food security issues in outer space and on Earth

The coronavirus is suspected to attack specific cells in the nose that help olfactory nerves, which sense smell, operate. 

Up to 1.6 Million People in the U.S. Have Long-Term Smell Loss Due to Covid-19

After six months of smell loss, the chance of recovery drops to less than 20 percent, and around 5 percent of all cases will result in permanent loss

Experts aren’t recommending one jab over the other, instead advising individuals to make the decision be made based on personal factors.

CDC Panel and FDA Authorize Covid-19 Boosters for All Adults

Americans 18 and older will be eligible for a booster shot of their choice, pending approval from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky

Humans contract Lyme disease from the bite of a blacklegged tick, which carries the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Humans contract Lyme disease from the bite of a blacklegged tick, which carries the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.

First-Ever mRNA Vaccine for Lyme Disease Shows Promise in Guinea Pigs

Instead of eliciting an immune response for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, the vaccine targets proteins found in tick saliva

Spider keeper Jake Meney holding the "megaspider" that was donated to the Australian Reptile Park.

This Australian Zoo Is Milking Its Giant Funnel Web Spider to Make Lifesaving Antivenom

The Australian Reptile Park says the arachnid—nicknamed ‘Megaspider’—is the largest individual of this species they’ve ever seen

By studying the friction generated in a finger snap, a team of scientists concluded that it would've been physically impossible to snap while wearing the Infinity Gauntlet.

If Marvel Obeyed Physics, Thanos Couldn’t Have Snapped While Wearing the Infinity Gauntlet

Inspired by the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ movie, a group of scientists investigated the friction behind the iconic finger snap

While only partial, the eclipse will still have 97 percent of the Moon cast with Earth’s shadow during the phenomenon’s peak. A tiny sliver of the Moon will glow while the rest of it will appear a dim-reddish brown color characteristic of a lunar eclipse.  

November’s Full Moon Lunar Eclipse Is a Once-in-a-Thousand-Years Event

For those in North America, the six-hour-long phenomenon will take place in the early hours of the morning on November 19

Rising water sent arachnids like the Arabian fat-tailed scorpion fleeing into local villages.

Scorpions Swept Into Egyptian Homes by Floods Sting More Than 500 People

Rising water following a rare storm in Aswan forced the arachnids out of their underground burrows in search of dry land

Researchers predict the Last Ice Area will survive the longest in a warming world—but how long the ice will last is unclear. Some estimates suggest the ice will be gone entirely by 2100.

The ‘Last Ice Area’ May Provide a Final Refuge for Arctic Life in a Warming World

The Arctic Ocean region may provide a sanctuary to animals who need the summertime frozen habitat for survival

Scientists counted more than 10,000 teeth to find out how quickly the fish regrows its lost chompers.

This Fish Loses and Regrows 20 Teeth Each Day

The Pacific lingcod replaces its 500-plus teeth at a rapid pace, according to new research

The researchers named the mineral davemaoite, after the well-known geophysicist Ho-kwang (Dave) Mao.

From Deep Within Earth’s Mantle, This Never-Before-Seen Mineral Hitched a Ride to the Surface in a Diamond

Scientists previously synthesized the mineral in a lab using immense amounts of pressure, but they were surprised to find it in nature

As bald eagle populations shoot up, disputes between the birds of prey do, too, especially near nesting territory.  

Watch Bald Eagles Tussle in the Middle of a Minnesota Street

The raptors may have gotten entangled during a territorial fight or courtship dance

The special lobster will spend the rest of her life at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire.

Rare ‘Cotton Candy’ Blue Lobster Is a 1-in-100 Million Catch

The crustacean’s bizarre blue hue could be due to genetics or diet

Mollusks maintain the symmetry of their pearls by adjusting the thickness of each layer of shimmering nacre. If one layer of the pearl’s nacre is thinner, the next layer is thicker and will balance out irregularities over time to create a smooth, uniform pearl that isn’t lopsided.

How Pearls Obtain Their Remarkable Symmetry

A concept called ‘pink noise’ brings order to seemingly disorderly patterns seen in classical music, seismic activity, economic markets and even pearls

Species like seals, sharks, seahorses and eels have found their way back to the river in recent decades.

Once Deemed ‘Biologically Dead,’ a New Report Shows London’s River Thames Recovering

Though wildlife populations are recovering, climate change and sewage still threaten the river’s health

A new study from Japanese researchers found that a stationary cat can track its owner's location by their voice. 

Your Cat May Know Where You Are Even When They Can’t See You

New research suggests domesticated cats keep a ‘mental map’ of their owner’s location, an ability previously unknown in felines

Pictured: Richard's pipits (Anthus richardi) are migrating on an east to west axis instead of heading south towards warmer latitudes.

Bird Migration Patterns Are Changing—and Climate Change May Be to Blame

As winter months approach, some feathered friends have started migrating east to west instead of north to south

Page 183 of 538