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Smart News / Smart News Science

Out of 381 pairs of identical twins involved in the new study, 39 had more than 100 differences in their DNA.

New Research

Many Identical Twins Actually Have Slightly Different DNA

In a new study of over 300 pairs of identical twins, only 38 had perfectly identical DNA

These huntsman spiders—their full scientific title is Sparassidae, Damastes sp.—prefer to sit and wait in traps they built for the kill.

Huntsman Spider Weaves Leaves Together to Trap Unsuspecting Frogs

Researchers have observed four arachnids hiding in retreats made from binding leaves together with silk

If the platypus looks like a mixture of bird and mammal features, it's because it is.

New Research

Platypus Genes Are Just as Odd as the Creature Itself

These egg-laying, lactating animals have genes in common with mammals as well as birds

The basking shark's scientific name, Cetorhinus maximus, approximately translates to "big-nosed marine monster."

Twenty-Six-Foot-Long Basking Shark Washes Up on Maine Beach

Though often mistaken for great whites, these sea creatures are filter feeders and gentle giants of the sea

When plants became scarce in the winter, hunter-gatherers tweaked their diets to consume more fats and oils, such as from an animal's lower limbs, brain and organs, leaving plenty of lean meat as leftovers.

Ancient Humans May Have Tossed Meaty Scraps to Wild Wolves, Boosting Domestication

Both species competed for similar prey, but sharing their kills may have eased the competition

Los Angeles County is the most at risk for climate-related disasters out of 3,000 counties analyzed in the United States.

Los Angeles Rated Most Susceptible to Natural Disasters, According to FEMA Data

The report explains how damaging hypothetical, extreme weather scenarios would be and does not represent how frequently devastation actually occurs

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to an abundance of wildlife such as polar bears and caribou, which the region's Indigenous communities rely on and hold sacred.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Will Not Face Mass Oil Drilling—for Now

Large oil companies skipped out on the auction, but environmentalists say a worrisome precedent has been set

Health workers in protective suits cull ducks in Karuvatta after the H5N8 bird flu strain was detected.

Avian Flu Outbreak in India Results in Mass Poultry Culls

No cases of avian flu have been detected in humans during the current outbreak

This is the first time that dwarfism has been documented in captive or wild giraffes.

Scientists Report First Instances of Dwarf Giraffes

Two individuals spotted in the wild seem to have classic long necks but unusually short, stubby legs

An Evening Grosbeak sits on a branch covered in rime ice in Minnesota.

The Wintertime Wonder of Unusual Ice

Rime ice in the Midwest and hair ice in the United Kingdom have people wondering: Why does ice do that?

Swinhoe’s softshell turtles were pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat destruction and by hunters who sought the turtles' meat and eggs.

The ‘Last’ Female Swinhoe’s Softshell Turtle Died in 2019. Now, Researchers Found Another, Renewing Hope for the Species

Conservationists have been scrambling to save the most endangered turtles in the world from extinction

Steamboat Geyser erupted 32 times in 2018 and 48 times each in 2019 and 2020, beating the previous record of 29 eruptions in 1964.

New Research

Reawakened Geyser Is Not a Precursor of Yellowstone Eruption, Study Finds

The researchers ruled out several theories on why the Steamboat Geyser began erupting in 2018 after three years of silence

As the fastest sinking city in the world, Jakarta, Indonesia is already experiencing the devastating outcomes of subsidence.

In Many Parts of the World, the Ground Is Literally Sinking

Extracting underground natural resources is causing land to sink in on itself, which will put 635 million people at risk by 2040

Along the Potomac River, somebody spotted a bird so vibrant that it looked splattered as if it was splattered with gobs of bright paint.

A Visit From a Dazzling Bird Drew Crowds of People Into a Maryland Park

A painted bunting was spotted along the Potomac River, far from its home in the south

This 3D version of Schröder's staircase was crowned the best illusion of 2020.

Art Meets Science

See the Most Mind-Bending Optical Illusions of 2020

You can create your own version of the winning design with a free, printable kit

The study found that the more dramatic changes in color were clustered around dams, agriculture and urban areas.

A Third of the United States’ Rivers Have Changed Color Since 1984, Satellite Images Reveal

The transformation from blue to shades of yellow and green raises concerns that waterways have been increasingly imperiled since 1984

Scientists at the National Black-footed Conservation Center in Colorado inoculated 120 black-footed ferrets against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine Reaches America’s Endangered Ferrets

Black-footed ferrets are close relatives of minks, which have seen coronavirus outbreaks on fur farms

Look out for the Atlas' "Twist" and Spot's bourre in the nearly three-minute-long video.

Dancing Boston Dynamics Robots Show Off Their Sweet Moves

These bots can’t resist a bop

The U.K. has been inching away from its reliance on fossil fuels and towards renewable energy sources, like wind and solar power, after setting a goal in 2019 to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Wind Turbines Generated More Than Half of Great Britain’s Energy on Boxing Day

A powerful storm sent the wind turbines whirling, generating a record-breaking contribution of electricity

Researchers say some of this woolly rhino's internal organs may still be preserved.

Melting Russian Permafrost Yields New Woolly Rhino Specimen

Russian researchers say this may be the best-preserved woolly rhino ever found

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