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Smart News / Smart News Science

A mountain gorilla in Uganda

Covid-19

COVID-19 Could Threaten Great Ape Populations, Researchers Warn

No SARS-CoV-2 infections have yet been detected in our closest living relatives. But there is precedent for viruses jumping from people to other great apes

The Baldwins' home was reconstructed in 1966 and is now a museum showcasing the missionary's life in the mid-1800s.

Archaeologists Unearth Remnants of Kitchen Behind Oldest House Still Standing in Maui

The missionary who lived in the house during the mid-1800s delivered vaccinations to locals during a smallpox epidemic

Education During Coronavirus

Stuck at Home? Take Yale’s Most Popular Course Ever: The Science of Happiness

In its first year, the class attracted more than 1,200 students. The online version is abbreviated, but free

In total, the team’s analysis covered 134 populations and 101 species, including lions, orcas, reindeer, and squirrels.

Females Live Longer Than Males—Among Humans and Other Mammals, Too

A sweeping new study of 101 mammal species found that females live, on average, 18.6 percent longer than their male counterparts

Sara Cartelli fills bottles with a hand sanitizer at the Claremont Distillery during the coronavirus pandemic on March 20, 2020 in Fairfield, New Jersey. Distillery owner Tim Koether will offer it to the general public for free.

Covid-19

Distilleries Around the U.S. Shift Production to Hand Sanitizer

Some distilleries are donating their new product to local communities in need

A false color view of Mercury that enhances the chemical, mineralogical and physical differences between the rocks on the planet's surface

Mercury’s Messy Surface May Have Once Had Crucial Ingredients for Life

A new theory suggests the hot, harsh planet’s interior could have contained volatiles like water

Western monarch butterflies spend winter gathered in California's coastal groves.

Your Butterfly Photos Could Help Monarch Conservation

As monarchs leave their winter hideaways, conservationists are seeking assistance in studying their migration routes

Lego Pieces Could Last for 1,300 Years in Marine Environments

The extent of the toy’s durability came as a ‘surprise’ to researchers behind a new study

In lieu of visiting Yellowstone (pictured here) and other national parks in person, try exploring them virtually.

Covid-19

How COVID-19 Is Affecting the United States’ National Parks

Some sites have closed completely, while others are making modifications to promote social distancing

Vergenoegd Löw Wine Estate's Indian runner ducks, which patrol the vineyard for pests

An Army of Hungry Ducks Keeps This Historic South African Vineyard Pest-Free

The vineyard deploys a daily bird-based battalion to pluck snails and insects off their plants

NASA plans to use the Space Launch System rocket to bring astronauts to the moon.

Covid-19

NASA Projects Slowed by COVID-19, but New Mars Rover Perseveres

If Perseverance doesn’t launch this year, it will have to wait until 2022

Urban Coyotes Eat a Lot of Garbage—and Cats

A new study shows how city-dwelling coyotes thrive by feasting on human-linked food sources

A stained glass window designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany is one of many artworks available for your perusal.

Virtual Travel

68 Cultural, Historical and Scientific Collections You Can Explore Online

Tour world-class museums, read historic cookbooks, browse interactive maps and more

Eucalyptus trees sprout "emergency foliage" after a wildfire while their leaves regrow.

How Australia’s Wilderness Is Recovering From Wildfires

Greenery is sprouting from scorched tree trunks as the forests regrow their canopies

A gentoo penguin swimming underwater. This species, as well as others, vocalizes while hunting beneath the water's surface, research shows.

In a First, Researchers Record Penguins Vocalizing Under Water

But the scientists still aren’t sure what the birds are saying

Asteriornis maastrichtensis, the world's oldest known modern bird, had a mashup of chicken-, turkey- and duck-like features.

At 67 Million Years Old, Oldest Modern Bird Ever Found Is Natural ‘Turducken’

Remarkable fossil hints at the traits birds evolved just before an asteroid wiped their nonavian dinosaur kin

A roughly 20,000-year-old engraved, pocket-sized rock that may depict a sun, eye or flower

Cool Finds

Portable, Pocket-Sized Rock Art Discovered in Ice Age Indonesian Cave

The findings further refute the outdated notion that humans’ capacity for complex artistic expression evolved exclusively in Europe

A two-page spread from the We All Rise coloring book

Covid-19

A Detroit Gallery Is Providing Kids With Coloring Books—and Meals—Amid COVID-19

The Library Street Collective’s “We All Rise” coloring book features drawings by around 30 contemporary artists

Restoration work at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has paused as France works to control the spread of COVID-19.

Covid-19

Notre-Dame Restoration Pauses Amid France’s Two-Week Lockdown

Lead decontamination policies enacted in August are now in conflict with measures to prevent spread of COVID-19

Covid-19

These Graphics Help Explain Why Social Distancing Is Critical

The positive outcomes won’t be immediately apparent, but will help reduce the strain on our healthcare system

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