Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

The irony of trucking fake snow into a city that typically has to spend millions on snow removal was not lost on locals in Moscow.

Moscow Brought in Fake Snow for New Year’s Eve Festivities to Counter an Unseasonably Warm December

A lack of festive atmosphere isn’t the only issue; the city’s snowless New Year’s points to the serious effects of climate change on Russia

Researchers now have video evidence that Atlantic puffins can use sticks as tools to scratch their backs.

In a First, Scientists Film a Puffin Scratching Itself With a Stick

Behold the first evidence of tool use in seabirds

The floor of one of the coffins of Gua, a physician of the governor Djehutyhotep. The paintings, dated to 1795 B.C., show the “two ways”—land and sea—that the dead could use to navigate the afterlife. An even older “Book of Two Ways” has now been unearthed.

Cool Finds

4,000-Year-Old Guide to the Ancient Egyptian Underworld May Be Oldest Illustrated ‘Book’

Archaeologists recovered the remnants of an ancient “Book of Two Ways” from a sarcophagus

This female warrior was buried with an elaborately engraved headdress during the fourth century B.C.

Cool Finds

Tomb Containing Three Generations of Warrior Women Unearthed in Russia

The four Scythians were buried together some 2,500 years ago

The Quadrantids meteor shower, though fleeting, is famous for its especially bright, colorful "fireballs"

How to Catch the Quadrantids, the First Major Meteor Shower of the 2020s

This cosmic light show will peak in the predawn hours of January 4

One of the pig jaws analyzed for the study

People Trekked Across Ireland to Eat Pork at This Ancient Site

A new study suggests travelers brought pigs from far-flung locations to the ceremonial feasting hub of Navan Fort

Some of the Callanish stones, which sit atop the Isle of Lewis in Scotland

Massive Lightning Strike May Have Inspired This Scottish Stone Circle

New geophysical evidence points to ancient burn marks that could have coincided with the building of Scotland’s Callanish standing stones

The moon moves in front of the sun in a rare "ring of fire" solar eclipse as seen from Tanjung Piai, Malaysia on December 26, 2019.

A ‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse Dazzled Viewers in Asia and the Middle East

This celestial event occurs when the moon is near its farthest point from Earth, allowing the blazing edges of the sun to shine around the edges

Parts of Kulubá are already open to the public, and the INAH hopes the newly discovered palace will become accessible “in the medium term.”

Cool Finds

An Ancient Maya Palace Was Discovered in Yucatán State

Archaeologists think it was occupied by Maya elite more than 1,000 years ago

On December 24, 2019, the Potter Park Zoo in Michigan welcomed a healthy male black rhino calf.

Baby Black Rhino Born at Michigan Zoo on Christmas Eve

The birth of the yet-to-be-named male calf marks a milestone for conservationists trying to save the critically endangered species

The headlining image for the upcoming exhibition, "Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Fungi"

Get a Taste for Mushroom Art at This New, Fungus-Forward Exhibition

“Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Fungi” celebrates shrooms like you’ve never seen them before

The star Betelgeuse, as seen by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.

A Giant Star Is Dimming, Which Could Be a Sign It Is About to Explode

Most astronomers, however, say it’s unlikely that the star Betelgeuse will go supernova anytime soon

Employees are contributing to the initiative by supplying reusable cups, plates and utensils for meetings, as well as bringing used plastic packaging materials from home.

Art Meets Science

A Hawaii Museum Has Eliminated the Sale of All Single-Use Plastics

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu hopes to set a positive example in the fight for a more sustainable future

These gene-edited tomatoes grow in grape-like clusters, rather than on long vines.

Gene-Edited Tomatoes Grow in Bunches Like Grapes, Making Them Ideal for Urban Farming

Growing food in urban environments could have important implications for sustainability—if we can produce crops that thrive in tight spaces

Starting in the summer of 2020, it will be illegal in the United States to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vaping devices, under the age of 21.

The Public Health Benefits of Raising the Age for Buying Tobacco Products to 21

Advocates say the new provision will save lives—but some question whether it goes far enough

An image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy, where a red and yellow "candy cane" feature was recently observed by astronomers

A Cosmic ‘Candy Cane’ Was Spotted at the Heart of the Milky Way

The festive feature is made up of a long stream of high-energy particles where stars may be forming

The petite creation measures 10 micrometers long, or roughly a tenth of the diameter of the average human hair.

This Microscopic ‘Gingerbread’ House Is Smaller Than a Human Hair

Although it doesn’t taste great, the silicon house highlights the capabilities of electron microscopy

Laboratory experiments suggest the tooth-like scales of the puffadder shyshark can be degraded by acidifying oceans

Acidifying Oceans Could Corrode the Tooth-Like Scales on Shark Skin

A laboratory experiment hints at another sobering consequence of acid-heavy ocean waters on marine life

It's hard enough to talk about our feelings. Now, try doing it across languages.

The Meanings Behind Words for Emotions Aren’t Universal, Study Finds

Certain emotions may be universal. But the way humans describe their feelings, it seems, is not

X-ray analysis revealed a hidden landscape depicting the birth of Christ.

Cool Finds

Nativity Scene Discovered Beneath 16th-Century Painting of John the Baptist’s Beheading

Experts hope further examination will yield insights on the canvas’ age, background and history

Page 264 of 545