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Smart News / Smart News Science

New Research

Komodo Dragons Have Skin That Looks Like Chain Mail

CT scans show layered bone covers the adult reptile’s body, likely to protect them when fighting for mates and food

Sketches of the salamanders.

New Giant Salamander Species Is the World’s Largest Amphibian

A new study has revealed that Chinese giant salamander consists not of one species, but three

Researchers studied brain mapping in two professional foot painters

Art Meets Science

Inside the Brains of Artists Who Paint With Their Feet

Two artists born without arms possess complex “toe maps” similar to more typical neural “hand maps”

A copper band found at the McQueen shell ring is similar to ceremonial objects seen at sites in the Great Lakes region

Cool Finds

Grave Hints at Interaction Between Early Humans Living in Great Lakes, American Southeast

Parallels between burial sites in the two regions suggest long-distance networks emerged earlier than previously believed

Trending Today

Once Thought to Be Extinct, This Lucky Clover Has Recovered Enough to Come Off the Endangered List

Running Buffalo Clover, which once spread on trampled ground left by bison, has made a comeback in the Midwest and Appalachians

Birds given doses of a common pesticide lost significant body mass, fat stores

Common Pesticides Delay Songbird Migration, Trigger Significant Weight Loss

Within six hours of ingesting a high dose of pesticide, sparrows lost six percent of their body weight and 17 percent of their fat stores

New Research

Rats Learned to Play Hide and Seek to Help Study the Brain

The animals squeaked and jumped for joy during the game, a sign that they enjoy play just as much as humans

Remnants of Greater Adria in the Taurus Mountains

Cool Finds

Study Reveals Lost Continent Demolished by Europe

Painstaking research recreates the history of Greater Adria, which slipped under the Eurasian plate 120 million years ago

The skull of the 1.77-million-year-old Stephanorhinus rhino.

New Research

1.7-Million-Year-Old Rhino Tooth Provides Oldest Genetic Information Ever Studied

Researchers read the proteins preserved in the tooth enamel of an ancient rhino, a trick that may allow them to sequence fossils millions of years old

The Atlantic ghost crab uses teeth in its stomach to produce guttural growls when danger nears.

Ghost Crabs Use Teeth in Their Stomachs to Ward Off Predators

The crustaceans produce guttural growls when danger nears

Based on the speed and trajectory of a newly detected object, astronomers believe it came to our solar system from beyond. This illustration shows the first known interstellar object to fly though our solar system, 'Oumuamua.

Astronomers Spot a Comet That Likely Came From a Different Solar System

After ‘Oumuamua, the newly detected rock is just the second known object to visit from interstellar space

Found: A Hub Where Humpback Whales Share Their Songs

A new study has found that whales from diverse locations gather at the Kermadec Islands, where they seem to transmit unique ditties

Archaeologists found traces of a milk protein in seven prehistoric Britons' calcified dental plaque

Cool Finds

Prehistoric Farmers’ Teeth Show Humans Were Drinking Animal Milk 6,000 Years Ago

A new study suggests Neolithic Britons processed raw milk to reduce its lactose content

"Being Human" features some 50 works of art and artifacts

Art Meets Science

This London Gallery Is Working to Be One of the World’s Most Accessible Museums

The Wellcome Collection’s latest permanent exhibition focuses on design features and curatorial approaches suggested by individuals with disabilities

Cool Finds

Massive ‘Ice Dragon’ Ruled the Skies Above Ancient Alberta

The newly described pterosaur with a wingspan over 30-feet was one of the largest flying creatures to ever exist

The Harvest moon is the full moon each year that falls closest to the autumnal equinox.

A Rare Harvest ‘Micromoon’ Will Light Up the Sky on Friday the 13th

The United States hasn’t experienced a nation-wide full moon on this superstitious date since 2000

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Ancient Footprints Reveal a Snapshot of Neanderthal Family Life

A group of 257 footprints in Normandy come from 10 to 13 people, mostly children scampering around near the beach

The team's findings could help researchers develop more effective methods of preserving organs harvested for transplant.

How Antarctica’s Only Native Insect Survives the Freezing Temperatures

Antarctic midges rely on a process known as rapid cold hardening to protect against the southernmost continent’s harsh conditions

Victor Vescovo piloting his sub, Limiting Factor.

Trending Today

American Becomes First to Visit the Five Deepest Spots in World’s Oceans

Victor Vescovo recently concluded his Five Deeps Expedition, piloting a custom-built submarine to the deepest trenches on Earth

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew revealed a trove of 16 Civil War cannonballs (seen here) at the same beach where the latest specimens were found

Cool Finds

Hurricane Dorian Unearths Civil War Cannonballs at South Carolina Beach

At first, the couple who discovered the pair of cannonballs thought they’d simply stumbled upon a rock

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