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Smart News / Smart News Science

The asteroid Ryugu imaged by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft in 2018

Life’s Genetic Code Requires Five Key Ingredients. The Asteroid Ryugu Has All of Them, a New Study Suggests

The findings further hint that space rocks may have brought the building blocks of RNA and DNA to Earth long ago

Yaks on the Tibetan Plateau have adapted to deal with high-altitude conditions.

This Genetic Mutation Helps Yaks Survive at High Elevations. It Could Lead to Treatments for Nerve Damage in Humans

Animals that dwell at high altitudes have adapted to cope with low oxygen levels, a condition that damages a vital part of nerve cells

Male African striped mice's parenting styles vary greatly: Some fathers groom and protect their pups from the elements, while others ignore or even attack their young.

Some Mice Are Doting Dads, While Others Ignore or Attack Their Offspring. Researchers Just Figured Out Why

In African striped mice, the activity of one gene can dramatically change a male’s parenting style, according to a new study

The mice spent about a month aboard the International Space Station.

These Space-Faring Mice Are Helping Scientists Figure Out How to Keep Astronauts’ Muscles Working Properly

A new study suggests a gravity threshold for maintaining muscle function

Scientists tracked the breeding behaviors of king penguins on Possession Island, part of the French-controlled Crozet archipelago.

King Penguins Seem to Be Benefiting From a Warming World. While That’s Good News for Now, It Could Spell Trouble for the Future

The birds are breeding earlier, and more of their chicks are surviving. But researchers fear this success may not last

The shin bone was found in New Mexico.

This 74-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Bone May Have Belonged to a Surprisingly Large Ancestor of Tyrannosaurus Rex

The massive reptile may have weighed more than 4.5 tons and been 35 feet long—much bigger than its related peers at the time

An 1894 film of a falling cat

How Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet? Researchers Examined Feline Spines to Find Out

Scientists determined that the upper part of a cat’s spine is more flexible than the lower part

Even common backyard birds like house finches are disappearing.

North American Bird Losses Are Accelerating. New Research Suggests Fertilizers and Pesticides May Be to Blame

Scientists found the severest changes in decline rates in places that include hallmarks of high-intensity agriculture

An artist's conception of a magnetar surrounded by a wobbly accretion disk

Astronomers Witnessed the Birth of a Magnetar for the First Time. It Explains the Mysterious Flickering of an Ultrabright Supernova

New research suggests that the highly magnetized remnants of stars are responsible for powering some of the universe’s most brilliant supernova explosions

A pottery vessel analyzed for the study

New Research

Scientists Discover Microscopic Traces of Leaves, Seeds and Toxic Berries on Pots Used by Stone Age Cooks Thousands of Years Ago

Hunter-gatherers in Europe carefully selected ingredients and cooked complex foods, often pairing fish with specific plants, according to a new study

The biggest discrepancies were in Southeast Asia.

Sea Levels Might Be Higher Than We Thought, Putting Millions of People in the Path of Coastal Flooding Sooner Than Expected

A lot of past research has used flawed methodology to estimate current coastal water levels, according to a new study

Some researchers think that two varieties of orcas are so different that they should be considered separate species. 

Do These Severed Orca Fins Covered in Tooth Marks Mean Killer Whales Are Cannibals? It’s Complicated, Scientists Say

Researchers suggest that predation by a subspecies called Bigg’s orcas might explain why members of another one, called resident orcas, stay in such large family groups

The Van Allen Probes spent seven years studying two donut-shaped rings of radiation around the Earth.

A 1,300-Pound Spacecraft Might Be Plummeting Through Our Atmosphere Right Now

The debris poses minimal risk of harming anyone

When tickets went on sale for the “Pokémon Fossil Museum" exhibition, eager fans overwhelmed the Field Museum’s website.

This Museum Is Using Pokémon to Teach Visitors About Fossils. Fans Are Waiting for Hours to Snag Tickets

“Pokémon Fossil Museum” in Chicago compares “fossil Pokémon” from the popular franchise to the real-world creatures they’re based on

Around one-third of Americans take multivitamins, but researchers don't quite understand how they affect people's health.

Taking a Daily Multivitamin Might Slow Some Signs of Biological Aging, a New Study Suggests

Researchers don’t know how these modest changes at the cellular level relate to overall health

An artistic representation of Sonselasuchus cedrus, which may have lived in the forests in what is now Arizona around 215 million years ago

This Ancient Reptile Started Life on All Fours. As It Grew, It Stood Upright and Started Walking on Two Legs Instead

Scientists have identified a strange early crocodile relative that may have looked somewhat like a flightless bird

Lead author Matt von Konrat studying moss found with reburied human remains.

How a Tiny Clump of Moss Helped the FBI Solve a Grave-Robbing Case

Cemetery workers argued that the crimes happened before their employment. But a buried bit of moss told a different story

Dimorphos, on the lower right, surrounded by debris moments after DART's collision in September 2022. The asteroid's larger companion, Didymos, is on the left. 

NASA’s Asteroid-Smashing DART Mission Changed a Space Rock’s Orbit Around the Sun, Marking a First for Humanity

Studying the 2022 collision’s effects can help scientists protect the Earth from celestial objects that might head toward us

When photographer Elliot McGucken heard about a possible superbloom in Death Valley this spring, he drove around 1,000 miles from Montana to California.

Vibrant Wildflowers Are Blanketing Death Valley National Park, Resulting in the Most Breathtaking Bloom in a Decade

Parts of the park are awash in wildflowers, from the cheery yellow blooms of desert gold to the bright purple clusters of sand verbena, along with many other species

A donated super-ager brain

Some People Keep Razor-Sharp Minds Into Their 80s and Beyond. A New Study Reveals Their Secrets

“Super-agers” seem to produce more new nerve cells in a brain region important for memory than other people their age

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