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Smart News / Smart News Science

Squirrels readily resumed normal activities such as foraging after hearing nearby birds' relaxed chatter

Squirrels Eavesdrop on Birds to Check if Danger Has Passed

New study suggests eastern grays exposed to predators’ calls resume normal activities more quickly after tuning in to birds’ casual chatter

Cool Finds

Could This New Mineral Be From a Destroyed Planet’s Core?

Grains of new mineral, edscottite, were found in the Wedderburn meteorite, which was originally collected in Australia in 1951

Astronaut Christina Koch of the International Space Station captured this image of Hurricane Dorian outside the space station’s windows the morning of Sept. 2, 2019.

Hurricane Dorian Batters the Bahamas Before Barreling Along the U.S. Coast

The storm caused historic damage in the Caribbean islands, where it hovered for some 48 hours

Moonlight Helps White Barn Owls Stun Their Prey

Researchers were surprised to find that brilliant white plumage, which makes the owls more visible at night, did not impact the birds’ ability to hunt

Dog Breeding Has Changed Pooches’ Brains

A new study has found that key anatomical differences in dogs’ brains are linked to the behaviors they were bred to perform

A view of the small crater Yutu recently analyzed.

Cool Finds

China Claims Lunar Rover Found a Gel-Like Substance on the Moon

Experts suspect the material may be glass created during a meteorite impact

A Loa water frogs rescued near the city of Calama, Chile.

The Last 14 Loa Water Frogs Had to Be Rescued From Their Natural Habitat

The lone Chilean stream where the frogs live had been dried up by illegal water extraction

An artist's portrayal of the so-called "werewolf syndrome" circa 1575-1580.

Medication Mix-Up Leaves 17 Children Suffering From ‘Werewolf Syndrome’

Thanks to distribution error at Spanish laboratory, anti-baldness medication was sold as acid reflux treatment

Wildlife Trade Conference Imposes Near-Total Ban on Sending Wild African Elephants to Zoos

A loophole continues to allow the practice in “exceptional circumstances”

A wild southern sea otter off Moss Landing in California

Parasite Spread by House Cats Is Killing California’s Sea Otters

To counter the parasite’s spread, cat owners should keep their pets indoor and dispose of feline feces in the trash rather than the toilet or outdoors

Artist Rudolf Bleschka created the diseased fruit models between 1924 and 1932

Art Meets Science

Glass Models of Decaying Fruit Set to Go on View After Two Decades in Storage

Designed to serve as teaching tools, the delicate glassware reveals the ravages of such diseases as peach leaf curl, pear scab and gray mold

Climbing equipment and trash scattered a camp on Mount Everest, according to AFP. Some are calling the mountain "world's highest rubbish dump."

To Clean Up Everest, Nepal Is Banning Single-Use Plastics on the Mountain

Earlier this year, volunteers collected three metric tons of garbage from the famed landmark

Visitors interact with living sound artworks in the "Sonic Succulents" installation by Adrienne Adar

Listen to the Sounds of Succulents at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

An ongoing installation encourages visitors to interact with prickly cacti, palm plants and potted succulents

Rapture Reef before Hurricane Walaka hit in October 2018.

Trending Today

Hawaii’s Rapture Reef Was Flattened by Last Year’s Hurricane Walaka

The first NOAA survey since the Category 3 storm hit found the coral reef in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument was demolished

Trending Today

Astronomers Name Five of Jupiter’s New Moons

A contest earlier this year helped determine the names of the new moons—all named after lovers or offspring of the god Jupiter, aka Zeus

Blindfolded insect larvae opted to perch on twigs matching their body coloring about 80 percent of the time

These Caterpillars Can Detect Color Using Their Skin, Not Their Eyes

In experiments, peppered moth caterpillars successfully camouflaged themselves even when blindfolded

Liane Russell conducted pioneering work into the harmful effects of radiation, and she also discovered that the the Y-chromosome determines maleness in mice.

Women Who Shaped History

Remembering Liane Russell, the Geneticist Who Studied Radiation’s Harmful Effects on Embryos

Russell’s pioneering research led to careful guidelines for administering radiological procedures to women of child-bearing age

Females of the species boast blue-hued legs, as well as an iridescent sheen on their outer shell and abdomen

Turquoise-Tinted Tarantula Discovered in Sri Lanka

The species is only the second member of its genus ever found in the South Asian country

Najin (left) and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos, on the day before their eggs were harvested.

Trending Today

Eggs Successfully Collected from the Last Two Northern White Rhinos

Advances in fertility science will hopefully allow researchers to implant embryos of the species into surrogate southern white rhinos

Potential explanations for the disorder include infectious disease, rat poison, toxic algae and nutritional deficiencies.

Florida Authorities Investigate a Disorder Affecting Panthers’ Ability to Walk

The crippling condition appears to hamper the big cats’ back leg coordination

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