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Smart News / Smart News Science

The device allowed the man to write about 18 words per minute

New Research

New Device Allows Man With Paralysis to Type by Imagining Handwriting

When the man visualizes his written messages, a pair of electrical sensors measure his brain activity and translate it into letters

Lake sturgeons have a striking appearance with their shark-like tails, five rows of bony plates lining their brownish grey bodies called "scutes", and their whisker-like barbels below their rounded snout.

Biologists Catch Enormous ‘Real Life River Monster’ in Michigan

The seven-foot-long female lake sturgeon was microchipped and released promptly back into the water

A 16-year-old gets her Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine from a nurse in Anaheim, California, after use for people 16 and older was approved in April.

First Covid-19 Vaccine Authorized for Kids Ages 12 to 15

Officials and parents hope to vaccinate young teens against the coronavirus in time for summer recreation and school in the fall

A close-up of fossilized plaque on an ancient human tooth.

New Research

Neanderthals Ate Carb-Heavy Diets, Potentially Fueling Brain Growth

Study finds evidence that ancient humans and their Neanderthal cousins ate lots of starchy, carbohydrate-rich foods

Freckles the lobster was kept in a fishtank with other lobsters at the restaurant until the Virginia Living Museum employees rescued him.

Virginia Museum Rescues ‘Freckles’ the Calico Lobster From the Dinner Menu

Most lobsters are brown, but about one in 30 million of the crustaceans are calico-colored

Based on the size of the footballfish and the protruding appendage on the top of its head, state park officials said the fish is female. Female footballfish are the only ones that have the long bioluminescent appendages used to lure other fish toward their mouths.

A Jet-Black, Bioluminescent ‘Football Fish’ Washed Up on a California Beach

The sea creature typically lives in depths of 3,000 feet and rarely shows up on shore in one piece

Via Getty: "Trees burned by the recent Bear Fire line the steep banks of Lake Oroville where water levels are low on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California."

California’s Fire Season May Be Starting Early This Year

The state issued a ‘red flag’ fire warning on May 2, the first one issued in May since 2014, during a stretch of abnormally hot, dry and windy weather

Just one section of a marine worm with a strange, branching body. This species usually lives inside the many-chambered body of a sea sponge

New Research

This Marine Worm Sprouts Hundreds of Butts—Each With Its Own Eyes and Brain

When it’s time to reproduce, each of the worm’s many rear ends will swim off to get fertilized

While Koronon is the first covid-19 pandemic-specific mascot, other ones have also popped up to help fight the pandemic.

Meet Koronon: Japan’s Bright Pink, Masked Cat Mascot Fighting Covid-19

First seen in fall 2020, the giant fuchsia feline hands out masks to raise awareness and encourages social distancing

Objects such as satellites and rocket debris constantly fall out of orbit and burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere before they can hit the surface. Still, larger pieces like the Long March 5B rocket can survive re-entry and pose a threat to inhabited areas.

Debris From China’s Recent Rocket Launch Plunged Into the Indian Ocean

The rocket’s uncontrolled orbit was tracked for days and, upon re-entry, received criticism from NASA

One of the cats from the experiment sits in a Kanisza square, which is four Pac-Man-like circles positioned to create four corners of a square.

Why Cats Love to Sit in Boxes—Even Fake Ones, According to Science

Scientists tested what the Internet has long known to be true: Our feline friends have an “if I fits, I sits” approach to picking the coziest spot

Supporters of the law argue wolves are a threat to livestock. However, only 102 sheep and cattle were killed by wolves last year. Idaho loses about 40,000 cattle to non-predator factors each year.

New Idaho Law Allows Killing of 90 Percent of State’s Wolves

The law allows almost unrestricted hunting methods, including the use of night-vision goggles and shooting from helicopters

A young green sea turtle with a solar-powered satellite tag that was used to track it to the Sargasso Sea.

New Research

Baby Sea Turtles Spend ‘Lost Years’ in Sargasso Sea

Researchers used tracking tags to solve the mystery of where young green sea turtles go after they hatch on the beach

An illustration of Shuvuuia deserti shows the long-legged dinosaur hunting an insect at night.

New Research

Big Eyes and Long Inner Ears Helped This Tiny, Owl-Like Dinosaur Hunt at Night

The chicken-sized Shuvuuia dinosaur had a fragile, birdlike skull, one-clawed hands and long skinny legs

A California condor photographed in Tehachapi, California where this past week a group of the endangered raptors descended on a woman's back porch.

Group of Critically Endangered California Condors Trash Woman’s Deck

The group included 15 to 20 of the massive birds, which amounts to nearly 10 percent of the remaining wild population

Nepal opened up Mount Everest and its other seven peaks this year in hopes of regaining tourists after their mountaineering economy took a devastating hit.

As Cases Surge in Nepal, Covid-19 Reaches Mount Everest

Base camp officials have seen rising numbers of climbers with symptoms and positive coronavirus tests

Using the detected radio wave, Collinson and his team calculated the density of Venus' ionosphere and compared it to measurements taken back in 1992 using the Pioneer Venus Orbiter.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Measures Radio Signal in Venus’ Upper Atmosphere

The measurements help researchers understand how the planet’s ionosphere began leaking

Researchers created a new pasta shaping technique that allowed this noodle to transform from a straight to curlicue after seven minutes in boiling water.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Mighty Morphing ‘Flat-Pack’ Pasta Changes Shape in Boiling Water

The new noodle could save packaging materials by eliminating airspace inside food cartons

The impulse to check your phone after someone nearby checks theirs is an example of the chameleon effect, new research suggests.

New Research

Research Shows Checking Your Phone Is Contagious Like Yawning

The ‘chameleon effect’ helps people blend into a crowd

Authorities have found many captive lion facilities to be overcrowded and at risk of disease outbreaks.

South Africa Announces Plan to End Captive Lion Breeding

The captive lion industry encompasses everything from cub-petting attractions to the sale of lion bones

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