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Smart News / Smart News Science

A 3D model of the skull likely belonging to Béla, Duke of Macsó

New Research

Forensic Analysis Identifies Skeleton as a Medieval Hungarian Duke Who Was Brutally Murdered 750 Years Ago

Based on DNA evidence and numerous cut marks on the bones, scientists think that multiple assailants attacked Béla, Duke of Macsó, in 1272. The victim was likely unarmed and unprotected by armor

Members of the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Nation caught the crafty female wolf on camera.

Watch a Wolf Cleverly Raid a Crab Trap for a Snack. It Might Be the First Evidence of a Wild Canid Using a Tool

Footage from British Columbia shows just how intelligent wild wolves can be, but scientists are divided as to whether the behavior constitutes tool use

Elephant seals on South Georgia island

Bird Flu Wiped Out Nearly Half of the Females in the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Drone Images Suggest

Scientists recorded a 47 percent drop in breeding females in South Georgia’s three largest elephant seal colonies after bird flu hit. Scaled to the whole island, that’s a potential loss of more than 50,000 of the animals

A team of doctors at NYU Langone transplanted a pig kidney into a brain-dead patient and reversed its rejection twice during the 61-day study.

Scientists Reverse Human Rejection of Pig Organ Transplant for First Time

A new study reversed transplant rejection twice, uncovering the reasons for transplant rejection on a cellular level

Concrete Coral by artist Leandro Erlich features 22 concrete cars submerged roughly 20 feet deep about 780 feet off the coast of Miami Beach.

Art Meets Science

Miami Beach’s Newest Art Installation Is Underwater—and It Doubles as a Habitat for Fish and Coral

Crews lowered 22 concrete cars to the ocean floor to create “Concrete Coral,” an installation by artist Leandro Erlich. The piece is the first phase of a project called REEFLINE

One of the woolly mammoth's legs

Scientists Extract the Oldest RNA Ever Found, Revealing How a Woolly Mammoth’s Genes May Have Functioned 40,000 Years Ago

The frozen remains of a juvenile woolly mammoth named Yuka preserved details about the animal’s last moments alive

Amabala, a 5-year-old female who was born in captivity, is raising four healthy cubs.

Watch Four Furry and Adorable Cheetah Cubs on the Smithsonian National Zoo’s Online Feed

The “strong, active” and “vocal” babies were born during the government shutdown, and they and their 5-year-old, first-time mother, Amabala, are thriving

An artist's impression of a coronal mass ejection on a star

In a First, Astronomers Saw a Distant Star Shoot Some of Its Plasma Into Space

The powerful coronal mass ejection would have likely destroyed the atmospheres of any potentially habitable planets nearby

Modern-day crocodiles like this one arrived in Australia about 3.8 million years ago. But a distant branch of them that lived there tens of millions of years ago included some members that dropped from trees onto prey. 

Paleontologists Unearthed Australia’s Oldest Known Crocodile Eggshells. The Reptiles’ Relatives May Have Hunted From the Trees

The eggshells belonged to an extinct group of crocs, some members of which were “drop crocs” that plunged onto prey

Remoras hitch a ride on a humpback whale.

Watch Suckerfish Hitch a Wild Ride on Humpback Whales in Rare Video Footage

Suckerfish—also known as remoras—are harmless, but the whales didn’t seem to be fans of their hitchhiking

Scientists have identified a new species of non-biting midge—a type of small fly—from 151-million-year-old specimens discovered by an amateur fossil hunter.

This Amateur Fossil Hunter Discovered a 151-Million-Year-Old Insect—and It’s a New Species

Retired teacher Robert Beattie, now 82, has been digging up remnants of the past ever since he was a child

The 1999 Leonid meteors as seen from the Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign

Dark Moon, Shooting Stars: How to Catch the Stunning Leonid Meteor Shower This Weekend

A waning crescent moon will offer stargazers an optimal viewing experience this year, with 10 to 15 meteors visible each hour from Sunday into Monday

The ˁAin Samiya goblet, pictured here as a replica, is currently held by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The real artifact is damaged, with some of the picture missing.

Scholars Thought This Ancient Silver Goblet Told One Myth for 50 Years. Is It Actually Telling Another Story?

A new study asserts that the Bronze Age goblet may be one of the earliest known depictions of cosmology, featuring gods creating celestial order from chaos

Tiny but mighty: Downy woodpeckers drill into trees with a force 20 to 30 times their body weight.

Downy Woodpeckers ‘Grunt’ as They Turn Their Bodies Into Hammers to Drill Into Trees

Researchers studied the combination of muscles and breaths that the tiny birds use as they strike trees with their beaks

The specimen was discovered in Western Australia. 

This Newly Discovered ‘Lucifer’ Bee From Australia Was Named After Its Devil-Like Horns

Researchers hope the discovery shines a light on bee conservation Down Under

This glimpse of the northern lights was captured in Missouri on November 11, 2025.

The Sun Erupted With the Year’s Largest Solar Flare This Week, and Space Weather-Fueled Aurora Activity Could Continue

The last in a series of three coronal mass ejections hit Earth on Wednesday, so experts are keeping an eye on geomagnetic storm potential

More than 200 river dolphins died in Brazil's Lake Tefé in the fall of 2023, with water temperatures soaring as high as 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit, according to a new study.

Water Temperatures in Amazon Lakes Reached Hot Tub Levels in 2023, Killing Fish and Dolphins

Brazil’s Lake Tefé reached 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit during the severe drought and heat wave

A remnant of a Type Ia supernova

The Universe’s Expansion May Be Slowing Down, Not Speeding Up, New Research Suggests

A new study challenges a long-held idea that the universe’s expansion is accelerating

The daily pills are designed for use among those whose high cholesterol is not reaching healthy targets despite taking other medications.

New Daily Pill Could Potentially Be Life-Saving for Americans With High Cholesterol Levels, Researchers Say

The medication, which significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks, could be a promising alternative to expensive and unpopular injectables

Eastern hellbenders are known as "snot otters" because they're covered in a slimy, protective coating.

Scientists Are Releasing the Lovingly Nicknamed ‘Snot Otters’ Into Ohio Waterways in a Big Success for Conservation

Eastern hellbenders, the largest amphibians in North America, are in trouble, but conservationists are hard at work to help the wrinkled wonders survive

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