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Smart News / Smart News Science

An illustration showing iron rain showering down on the exoplanet WASP-76b, where a permanent temperature gradient pushes gassy iron into cooler regions, where it turns into liquid

On This Scorching-Hot Exoplanet, a Forecast of Molten Iron Rain

Winds on WASP-76b blow gaseous iron into cooler regions, where it condenses and falls to the planet’s surface as liquid

Volunteers have placed sandbags along the beach in hopes of preventing further flooding.

U.K. Storms Unearth Bones From Historic Scottish Cemetery—and Archaeologists Are Worried

The burial site, which contains remains from both the Picts and the Norse, is at risk of disappearing due to coastal erosion

This artist’s rendition shows a giant impact similar to the one 4.5 billion years ago that scientists think created the Earth-Moon system.

New Research

The Moon Is Different Than Earth at Its Core

Similarities between lunar samples and Earth’s makeup were throwing off a leading theory of the moon’s origin

Two Rare White Giraffes Killed by Poachers in Kenya

Their coloration is unusual. Their fate, sadly, is not

An artist's impression of a moon forming around a young planet

A Buffer Zone Around Saturn May Have Kept It From Swallowing Its Biggest Moon

A new simulation points to a previously untold chapter in Titan’s history

An Asian trampsnail on a coffee leaf infected with coffee leaf rust.

New Research

Invasive Snails Might Save Coffee Crops From Fungus, but Experts Advise Caution

The snails are an invasive crop pest that are known to eat more than just coffee rust

Deployment of sediment coring device in the Norwegian-Greenland sea from a research vessel during an expedition in 2015.

Chlamydia-Related Bacteria Discovered in the Deep Arctic Ocean

‘What on earth were they doing there?’ one researcher asks

Christian Schmutz of the Swiss Cheesemakers Association hoists a 77-pound wheel of gruyère, which won the World Championship Cheese Contest last week.

Holey Cow Product! Swiss Gruyère Claims Cheese Championship

This is the cheesy content readers crave

Pallid bats use relatively low-pitched sounds for echolocation, making them better at hunting in open spaces like grasslands.

New Research

California Bats Thrive in Forests Recovering From Wildfires

Wildfires leave behind a patchwork of forest densities that can give bats more room to fly and hunt

Reconstruction of the nesting ground of Hypacrosaurus stebingeri from the Two Medicine formation of Montana. In the center can be seen a deceased Hypacrosaurus nestling with the back of its skull embedded in shallow waters. A mourning adult is portrayed on the right.

New Research

Paleontologists Debate Whether New Research Found Signs of DNA in Dinosaur Fossil

The fossils are several times older than the theoretical maximum shelf life of DNA molecules

The dino statues have been returned.

Three Dinosaur Replicas, Stolen From a Utah Park, Have Been Found

‘Why—why would someone steal them?’ asked the artist who recently refurbished the models

Built at the turn of the seventh century, the white plaster-coated road begins in Cobá and ends 62 miles west, at Yaxuná's ancient downtown in the center of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Did a Seventh-Century Warrior Queen Build the Maya’s Longest Road?

Dubbed the “white road” in honor of its limestone paving, the 62-mile path is an engineering marvel on par with Maya pyramids

This illustration, created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), shows the virus' spiky, crown-like fringe that shrouds each viral particle—giving it a “coronated” appearance.

Covid-19

A Guide to What to Know About COVID-19

As COVID-19 spreads around the globe, so does misinformation. Here, you can find facts about the virus and infection it causes

The Only Known Albino Orangutan Is Doing Great After Her Release to the Wild

Alba, who was captured and caged in 2017, underwent nearly two years of rehabilitation

The trajectory of asteroid 52768 (1998 OR2), which approaches the orbits of both Earth and Mars.

The Biggest Asteroid to Fly by This Year Will Zoom Past Earth Next Month

During its visit, the asteroid, called (52768) 1998 OR2, will remain almost 4 million miles away from Earth

Jeremy Bentham's auto-icon is now on display in a glass case in University College London's Student Centre.

English Philosopher’s Dressed-Up Skeleton Goes on View in New Glass Display

When utilitarian thinker Jeremy Bentham died in 1832, he requested his preserved remains be displayed in “an appropriate box or case”

A crew harvesting grapes in Glottertal, Germany, on January 18, 2016. Temperatures must drop below 19 degrees Fahrenheit to harvest. In the final winter months of 2019, it was not cold enough to pick grapes in most vineyards.

A Warm Winter Left Germany Unable to Produce Its Famed Ice Wines

Known for their sweet flavor, ice wines are made from grapes left to freeze on the vine

Erik Farrell stands beside one of the USS Monitor's eight-ton, Civil War-era Dahlgren guns.

Why Did Restorers Search a Civil War Battleship’s Guns for the Remains of a Black Cat?

Clearing out the eight-ton, 11-foot-long cannons gave conservators a chance to follow up on the tale of an unlucky feline

A gyotaku fish print

Art Meets Science

Traditional Japanese Fish Art Could Be a Boon for Conservation

“Gyotaku,” or the art of pressing ink-dipped fish onto paper, represents a wealth of scientifically accurate data on Japan’s marine life

Henneguya salminicola, a parasite that doesn't need to breathe oxygen to survive

This Animal Doesn’t Need Oxygen to Survive

A discovery in a jellyfish-like parasite bucks the typical trends of complex life

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