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Smart News / Smart News Science

The latest fire forecast from the European Union's Copernicus satellite.

Three Things to Know About the Fires Blazing Across the Amazon Rainforest

Experts say the majority of blazes were set by farmers hoping to clear land for agricultural endeavors

New Research

Practice Will Make You Better, but Maybe Not the Best

A study replicating the basis of the ‘10,000 hour rule’ suggests that factors besides practice hours determine the skills of elite musicians

The 8-year-old girl lived in the Andes around 1470

500-Year-Old Inca Mummy Repatriated to Bolivia

Dubbed Ñusta, or ‘Princess,’ the mummy represents the first archaeologically significant set of remains to be repatriated to the Andean country

Cool Finds

New Species of Stegosaurus Unearthed in Mountains of Morocco

The new fossil suggests the dinos were around longer and roamed farther than previously believed

This artist's illustration depicts the exoplanet LHS 3844 b, which is 1.3 times the radius of Earth and orbits an M dwarf star. The planet's surface may be covered mostly in dark lava rock, with no apparent atmosphere, according to observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Astronomers Spy the Surface of an Airless, Mercury-Like World

The rocky exoplanet orbits an M dwarf star, leading scientists to question whether such environments could support atmospheres and life

Experts hope the bridge will enable mountain lions to find potential mates and increase the local population's genetic diversity

California Will Build the Largest Wildlife Crossing in the World

The overpass will provide safe passage for mountain lions, coyotes, deer, lizards, snakes and other wild animals crossing the 101 Freeway

A prairie dog eats a bait containing a plague vaccine.

Trending Today

Plague-Infected Prairie Dogs Cause Parks to Close Near Denver

Prairie dog burrows are being dusted with insecticide to stop the spread of the disease transmitted via fleas

One critic of the proposed redefinition says, "It would be hard for most French museums—starting with the Louvre—to correspond to this definition, considering themselves as ‘polyphonic spaces'"

The Term ‘Museum’ May Be Getting Redefined

But experts are divided on the proposed new definition

The spider species featured in the study is unusually social, living in colonies of several hundred females and exhibiting either aggressive or docile tendencies

Hurricanes Are Making This Spider Species More Aggressive

The new findings have broader implications for understanding extreme weather events’ effects on animal behavior

Algarve goats are indigenous to Portugal.

Could Goats Help Solve Portugal’s Wildfire Crisis?

About 11,000 goats are involved in a pilot program to help reduce overgrowth that fuels forest fires

Graduate student Karen Fleming recreated Hilda's face using wax

Art Meets Science

See the Face of Hilda, a Toothless Iron Age Druid Woman

A Scottish university student has recreated Hilda’s likeness out of wax

A Beloved Baby Dugong Has Died After Ingesting Plastic

The orphaned marine mammal became an internet sensation after images of her nuzzling human caretakers went viral

Europe's cave bear population started crashing around 40,000 years ago—roughly the time period when modern humans arrived on the continent

Ice Age Humans Likely Played Major Role in Cave Bears’ Extinction

Researchers have long debated whether human activity or climate change precipitated the species’ demise

Ping incubates the egg as Skipper keeps guard.

Two Male Penguins in Berlin Join Long Line of Same-Sex Pairs to Adopt an Egg

Skipper and Ping have happily nurtured everything from rocks to fish before zookeepers let them incubate an egg

Black squirrels are seen across North America and England

Interspecies Breeding Is Responsible for Some Squirrels’ Black Coloring

Color-changing mutation originated in fox squirrels but spread to eastern gray squirrels via mating

Surfer's Ear growths in Neanderthal ear canals.

New Research

Were Neanderthals Getting Surfer’s Ear From Diving for Seafood?

The bony growths appear after repeated exposure to cold water and were found on half of the Neanderthal skulls examined

The F.D.A. approved pretomanid's use in conjunction with two other drugs

F.D.A. Approves New Treatment for Deadliest Strain of Tuberculosis

The drug regimen involves just five pills taken orally for a duration of six months

Trending Today

Here’s How That Internet-Famous ‘Fish Tube’ Works

The cheap, efficient pneumatic tubes may be a good solution for helping salmon and other migratory species move past dams

A Human-Sized Penguin Once Waddled Through New Zealand

The leg bones of Crossvallia waiparensis suggest it was more than five feet tall and weighed up to 176 pounds

Players who sustained a high number of subconcussive hits suffered more midbrain tissue damage

One Concussion-Free Football Season Can Still Damage Players’ Brains

A new study found that more than two-thirds of subjects experienced a decrease in structural integrity of the brain by the end of the college season

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