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Smart News / Smart News Science

Popular lore posits that Jimi Hendrix, or perhaps the crew of classic Hollywood film The African Queen, released the invasive species in the U.K., but a new study suggests otherwise.

Contrary to Popular Legend, Jimi Hendrix Did Not Introduce an Invasive Parakeet to the U.K.

A new study debunks several colorful theories about how ring-necked parakeets became the most abundant naturalized parrot across the pond

Six humanoid figures with animal features surround an anoa, a small type of buffalo, in a 44,000-year-old Indonesian cave mural.

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Indonesian Cave Art May Represent World’s Oldest Known Hunting Scene

The finding bolsters the idea that even 44,000 years ago, artistic ingenuity was shaping cultures across the Eurasian continent

An artist's conception of the dust and gas surrounding a newly formed planetary system.

Super-Strong Electric Forces May Have Helped Tiny Clumps of Dust Seed the Planets

Lab experiments with glass beads suggest that, early on, space dust couldn’t help but come together

New York is the largest city to implement legislation requiring bird-friendly construction.

New York Is Poised to Require Bird-Friendly Glass on All New Buildings

Each year, up to a billion birds in the United States die from glass collisions

The Elgin cast, seen on right, reveals sculptural details lost today.

New Research

3-D Imaging Reveals Toll of Parthenon Marbles’ Deterioration

A new study of 19th-century plaster casts of the controversial sculptures highlight details lost over the past 200 years

In 2010, researchers excavating this young woman's grave discovered a waxy cone atop her head.

Cool Finds

Ancient Egyptian Head Cones Were Real, Grave Excavations Suggest

Once relegated to wall paintings, the curious headpieces have finally been found in physical form, but archaeologists remain unsure of their purpose

This turtle was rescued from Cape Cod's frigid waters in November.

Why Do ‘Cold-Shocked’ Sea Turtles Keep Washing Up Onto Cape Cod?

A new study pinpoints some of the factors that may lead to regular strandings of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle

Enceladus' four tiger stripes may have formed during a period of coolness, when the moon's inner sea froze, swelled, and cracked the surface at the south pole.

Swelling, Freezing Seas May Have Given Enceladus Its Tiger Stripes

A combination of an inner ocean, low gravity and thin polar ice may have gifted this Saturnian moon its distinctive feline features

Loss of oxygen allows algae to thrive, which in turn has cascading effects on marine ecosystems.

The World’s Oceans Are Being Starved of Oxygen

An alarming report found that there are 700 marine sites impacted by low oxygen levels—up from 45 in the 1960s

El Quitasol (The Parasol) by Francisco del Goya, digitally doctored into a scene that portrays the consequences of climate change

Art Meets Science

See Four Spanish Masterpieces Updated to Reflect the Consequences of Climate Change

Timed to coincide with the ongoing U.N. Climate Change Conference, the campaign is a digital effort to warn the world

Trending Today

Invasive Mice Are Gnawing the Scalps of Endangered Albatrosses

The mice already kill an estimated 2 million seabird chicks per year, but they now target breeding adults

Microphones picked up ultrasonic sounds produced when tomato or tobacco plants were cut or dried out.

Plants May Let Out Ultrasonic Squeals When Stressed

Human ears can’t hear them, but other plants or animals might

The stretcher bullet (mostly intact) and two fragments of the bullet that fatally wounded Kennedy, as seen from multiple perspectives

Bullets That Killed John F. Kennedy Immortalized as Digital Replicas

The originals remain at the National Archives, but new 3-D scans showcase the ballistics in vivid detail

Science thanks you for your service, elephant seal!

Seals With High-Tech Hats Are Collecting Climate Data in the Antarctic

Scientists hooked the animals up with sensors that monitor how heat moves through deep ocean currents

A dog wears the Canine Auditory Protection System, or CAPS.

The U.S. Army Is Developing Better Hearing Protection for Its Dogs

Like human personnel, military dogs are susceptible to hearing loss from exposure to high levels of noise

New Research

NASA’s Sun-Orbiting Probe Reveals New Secrets of Our Host Star

The first findings from the Parker Solar Probe change what we know about the workings of our nearest star

The capsule dissolves into a star-shaped device that slowly releases the hormone levonorgestrel over the course of a month.

Once-a-Month Birth Control Pill Seems to Have Worked in Pigs. Are People Next?

Scientists used a device that sits in the stomach and slowly releases hormones into the body

One scientist, Dave Willard, took the measurements of the 70,716 bird specimens in this study and recorded them by hand into ledgers like this. This photo shows one of Willard's ledgers, his measuring tools, and a Tennessee Warbler.

Climate Change May Be Causing Birds to Shrink—and Their Wings to Grow

The phenomenon was ‘shockingly’ consistent across a variety of bird species, according to the authors of a new study

The Cosmic Crisp apple

Meet ‘Cosmic Crisp,’ a New Hybrid Apple That Stays Fresh for a Year

Proponents have called it “the Beyoncé of apples”

An amateur astronomer in India doggedly searched for the remnants of the country's Vikram lander after it crashed into the lunar south pole.

Amateur Astronomer Locates India’s Moon Lander Crash Site

After blipping out of contact in September, India’s Vikram lander has now been found strewn across the lunar surface

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