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Smart News / Smart News Science

Bronze-tailed Comet (Polyonymus caroli) perched on a cactus in Peru.

New Research

Hummingbirds in the Andes Go to Chilly Extremes for a Good Night’s Sleep

The longer a bird spent in a state of torpor, the less body mass it lost overnight

Left: an artist's rendering of the GW Orionis system depicts its misaligned rings of dust and gas. Right: a view of GW Orionis

A Rare Planet Might Be Hiding in This Oddly Shaped, Triple-Star System

Two new studies explain why GW Orionis, a rare triple-star system 1,300 light years away, looks so misshapen

View of shore at Crissy Field in San Francisco, Alcatraz in the distance.

Photographs Capture Eerie Skies That Cloaked the Bay Area in an Orange Glow

Smoke from more than 20 major fires burning in the surrounding region shrouded the city through the morning hours

A lower resolution copy of a 3,200 megapixel image of Romanesco broccoli. The photo was taken by a camera being built to help the Vera Rubin Observatory's telescope study space.

Scientists Tested Out the World’s Largest Digital Camera on a Piece of Broccoli

Soon, it’ll photograph the cosmos. But first, scientists used it to snap a highly-detailed picture of an ordinary vegetable

Yakutia [pictured] is 83.4 percent forested, making it "one of the most fire-hazardous Russian regions.

‘Zombie Fires’ May Have Sparked Record High Carbon Emissions in the Arctic

Increasing temperatures due to climate change and wildfires may be propelling the region into a fiery new normal

Parasitic dodders use outgrowths called haustoria to leech water and nutrients from their host plants.

New Research

Parasitic Plant Waits for Host’s Signal Before Flowering

Dodders grow into tangled masses of leafless tendrils also called wizard’s net and strangleweed

In one example of redlining, this Home Owners' Loan Corporation map depicts part of Chicago, Illinois and labels neighborhoods as "hazardous" (red) or "best" (green). Borrowers could be denied access to credit if their homes or businesses were located in "hazardous" neighborhoods, typically economically disadvantaged neighborhoods with large minority populations.

How Redlining Made City Neighborhoods Hotter

A growing body of research highlights the connection between systemic discrimination and the local climate

The total emissions released increased as temperatures rose, doubling when temperatures went from 104 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit

On Hot Days, Asphalt Can Release as Much Air Pollution as Cars

During heat waves, pavement can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, which unleashes harmful particles into the air

The blue areas in this composite image from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 orbiter show water concentrated at the Moon's poles. Homing in on the spectra of rocks there, researchers found signs of hematite, a form of rust.

Why Is the Moon Covered in Rust? Even Scientists Are Stumped by This Metal Mystery

Without oxygen and water, how is the substance

All classes are free and open to the public.

Education During Coronavirus

Take Free, Online College Classes Featuring Anthony Fauci and Other Covid-19 Experts

MIT’s class includes live-streamed lectures on Tuesday mornings and Purdue’s self-paced course offers a certificate in contact tracing

As the researcher taps the page, numbers appear on screen.

With a Simple Piece of Paper, Engineers Create Self-Powered, Wireless Keyboard

Scientists at Purdue University have found a way to make a piece of paper digitally interactive

Green lasers pointed at a plastic mannequin head wearing a face shield show how the droplets from a cough or sneeze escape around the sides.

New Research

Face Shields and Valved Masks Don’t Fully Stop the Spread of Aerosols

A new visualization shows how droplets from a cough or sneeze escape around the sides of a plastic face shield

A recent study found that a single pair of used blue jeans can release, on average, 56,000 microfibers per wash.

Microfibers From Blue Jeans Are Polluting Arctic Oceans

Researchers found that bits of denim are much more prevalent in our oceans than previously thought

How would you calculate the weight of a T. Rex based only on its bones? There's at least two ways to find the answer, experts found.

How to Weigh a Dinosaur

A new study reveals the proper technique to weigh these extinct creatures

Polish explorers check a footage from a remote-operated vehicle deep in the Czech Republic's deepest cave.

New Research

World’s Deepest Freshwater Cave Is Twice as Deep as Previously Thought

New research shows the Hranice Abyss in the Czech Republic is 3,280 feet deep

This illustration depicts what Andromeda's gaseous halo might look like if it were visible to humans on Earth. At three times the size of the Big Dipper, the halo would be "easily the biggest feature on the nighttime sky," per the NASA statement.

Andromeda’s Halo of Gases Is Bumping Up Against Our Own, Scientists Say

Researchers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope mapped the gaseous halo that surrounds the Andromeda Galaxy

A photo of a highland wild dog in Papua, Indonesia. A new genetic study confirms that these wild dogs are in fact a surviving population of the New Guinea singing dog, which was thought to be extinct in the wild.

New Research

Thought to Be Extinct, New Guinea’s Singing Dogs Found Alive in the Wild

A new genetic study confirms that the unique dogs, thought to be extinct in the wild, still exist outside of human care

The Siesta after Millet, Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Sleep Experts Make the Case Against Daylight Saving Time

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine called for the abolishment of seasonal time changes last week

A miniature version of the Hampton Court hedge maze is one of the most complicated mazes the amoebas solved.

New Research

A Mini Version of Britain’s Royal Hedge Maze Is No Match for Amoebas

The study demonstrates how cells navigate the human body to provide immunity or carry messages

An artist's rendering of the 250-million-year-old animal Lystrosaurus in a hibernation-like state.

Hibernation May Be a 250-Million-Year-Old Survival Trick

Paleontologists studying this strange creature’s tusks say they’ve found evidence the animal slowed its metabolism during hard times

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