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Smart News / Smart News Science

Each finger is made of two layers of hydrogel that react to temperature by contracting and leaking water.

New Research

This Robotic Hand Stays Cool by Sweating

The robot is three times more efficient at sweating than the animal kingdom’s best, humans and horses

Staff won’t be able to check properly until March, because further exposure to cold air could kill any surviving bees.

10,000 Rare Bees Feared Dead After Attack at U.K. Castle

A local councillor deemed the perpetrators ‘morons’

Researchers conducting excavations near Bath Abbey have uncovered the remains of an apse dated to between the late eighth and late tenth centuries.

Cool Finds

Newly Unearthed Anglo-Saxon Monastery May Have Hosted England’s First Coronation

In the millennia since Edgar the Peaceful’s 973 coronation, the content of the royal ceremony has remained largely the same

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has produced the highest resolution image of the sun's surface ever taken. In this picture, taken at 789 nanometers (nm), we can see features as small as 30km (18 miles) in size for the first time ever. The image shows a pattern of turbulent, “boiling” gas that covers the entire sun.

See the Sun’s Surface Move in ‘Unprecedented’ Detail

The images were taken with the immensely powerful Inouye Solar Telescope, which could shed light on some of the sun’s more confounding secrets

The red-breasted nuthatch eavesdrops on chickadee conversations to get advanced notice of predators like pygmy owls.

New Research

Nuthatches Heed Chickadees’ Warning Calls—but They’re Wary of False Alarms

Nuthatches prefer to check the facts before they ‘retweet’ chickadees’ alerts

This deer mouse certainly looks pretty stressed and scared.

When Stressed Out, Mice’s Fur Turns Gray Quickly

A new study gives scientific backing to an old adage—and suggests that stress might affect the human body in dramatic ways

The Cape coral snake is a venomous species that lives in arid regions of southern Africa.

New Research

The Future of Antivenom May Involve Mini Lab-Grown Snake Glands

The antiquated technique used to produce antivenom requires injecting venom into horses and this new method may someday remove that step from the process

A new type of aurora, called auroral dunes, produces horizontal, undulating stripes of green that resemble mounds of sand on a beach.

A New Type of Aurora Ripples Across the Sky in Horizontal Green ‘Dunes’

Originally observed by citizen scientists, the unusual light show might help researchers better understand a poorly studied layer of the atmosphere

The mesmerizing rainbow sheen of jewel beetles Sternocera aequisignata might help camouflage them from predators.

Glitzy Beetles Use Their Sparkle for Camouflage

A new study suggests eye-catching iridescence isn’t just for standing out in a crowd—it can conceal, too

Chagyrskaya Cave in Siberia's Altai Mountains, where researchers uncovered Neanderthal stone blades that resemble tools excavated in Europe

Neanderthals May Have Trekked 2,000 Miles to Siberia

A new tool analysis suggests European Neanderthals migrated east at least twice

Asiatic cheetahs—like this one photographed in Iran—haven't had a stable population in India in decades. Now, the government has clearance to introduce African cheetahs into several wildlife ranges in the Indian subcontinent.

After Decades-Long Battle, Cheetahs Can Be Reintroduced in India

Officials will now move forward with an experimental—and controversial—plan

People walk past closed entrance of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Forbidden City and Parts of Great Wall Close Temporarily in China to Limit Spread of Coronavirus

Authorities are trying to reduce the number of big crowds as China celebrates the Lunar New Year

A researcher holds a platypus for a Melbourne Water study conducted in 2017.

Australia’s Droughts and Fires Present New Dangers to the Platypus

Threats to the semi-aquatic, egg-laying mammals demand action, experts say

Félicette, a former stray who was sent into space by French researchers in 1963, now has a bronze statue in her honor at France's International Space University.

Félicette, the First Cat in Space, Finally Gets a Memorial

Last month, a team unveiled a bronze statue honoring the feline, who launched on a suborbital mission in 1963

Luca Parmitano and Christina Koch with milk and a cookie.

The First Cookies Baked in Space Have Returned to Earth

They took up to 130 minutes to bake, but the cookies could help scientists make future space missions a little more palatable

The remains of Takabuti, a young woman who was murdered in the 7th century B.C. in Egypt

This 2,600-Year-Old Mummy Died in a Violent Backstabbing

Researchers concluded she was murdered by someone who forced a blade into her chest from behind

An artist's illustration of Allosaurus jimmadseni, a newly described species of Jurassic carnivore

Newly Described Meat-Eating Dinosaur Dominated During the Jurassic Period

The new species is the oldest Allosaurus described yet and was a top predator of its time

A statue of Pliny the Elder at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore in Como, Italy

Cool Finds

This 2,000-Year-Old Skull May Belong to Pliny the Elder

The Roman statesman launched a rescue mission when Vesuvius erupted but lost his life in the process

The rain brought relief from fire, but coaxed funnel spiders from their hideouts.

Australia Rains Bring Relief From Fires—and a Surge in Deadly Spiders

Encouraged by wet and hot conditions, male funnel-webs spiders are venturing out to find mates

Nesyamun was a priest and scribe whose duties included ritualistic chanting and singing.

Education During Coronavirus

Listen to the Recreated Voice of a 3,000-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy

Media outlets have likened the sound to a “brief groan,” a “long, exasperated ‘meh’ without the ‘m,’” and “rather like ‘eeuuughhh’”

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