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Smart News / Smart News Science

Future of Space Exploration

Astronomers Make Massive Discovery on the Far Side of the Moon

The heavy core of a giant asteroid may be buried beneath the moon’s South Pole-Aitken basin

Future of Space Exploration

The International Space Station Is Open for Business—and Tourists

NASA is relaxing its restrictions on commercial activities on the ISS as part of an effort to free up funding for other projects

The Chilean crocus, "Tecophilaea cyanocrocus," was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 2001. It's been considered "critically endangered" under ICUN guidelines ever since.

Plant Species Have Been Disappearing 500 Times Faster Than Normal, Thanks to Humans

Researchers call the results “frightening” because it’s likely “gross underestimate” and the problem is probably much worse

A field photo showing the impact deposit containing deformed pink sandstone.

An Ancient Asteroid Crater May Be Hiding Off Scotland’s Coast

Scientists think they have honed in on the spot where the collision occurred 1.2 billion years ago

An individual who opts for chicken over beef every day for a year could lower their emissions by roughly the same amount released by driving a car for 3,700 miles

Choose Chicken Over Beef to Dramatically Cut Carbon Footprint, Study Shows

By swapping beef for a poultry-based product just once a day, an individual can reduce their dietary carbon footprint by around 48 percent

All you'll need to see Jupiter is a pair of binoculars

Tonight Is the Best Time of the Year to See Jupiter and Its Many Moons

Jupiter will reach opposition the night of June 10, forming a straight line with Earth and the sun

Another newly described species, "Litoria vivissimia," has a similarly pointed nose

New Research

Meet the Newly Described Long-Nosed Pinocchio Frog

The tree frog’s nose alternately sticks out straight or droops downward—much like a certain fictional wooden puppet

When you're sad, it makes your dog sad.

Keep Calm and Don’t Stress Out the Dog

When humans feel anxious, their dogs do too, according to new study

Researchers extracted paint and canvas fiber samples from a known forgery supposedly dating to 1886 but actually created during the 1980s.

Art Meets Science

Cold War Nuclear Bomb Tests Are Helping Researchers Identify Art Forgeries

Traces of carbon-14 isotopes released by nuclear testing enable scientists to date paintings created post-World War II

Megachile rotunda

Found: A Bees’ Nest Built Entirely of Plastic Waste

It could be a sign of bees’ adaptability to a changing environment—but the habit might also be causing them harm

The Chinese giant salamander is the world's largest amphibian, weighing upwards of 140 pounds and growing to a length of more than 5.9 feet

Giant Salamander Goo Is Great at Gluing Gashes

Although slightly less durable than other surgical adhesives, a compound derived from the amphibian’s skin secretions performs better overall

Cool Finds

A 10-Mile-Wide Ladybug Swarm Buzzed Over San Diego

At first, meteorologists thought the shadow on the radar was a storm. But this cloud didn’t bring rain

People enjoy a hot afternoon at the Astoria Pool in the borough of Queens on August 17, 2015, in New York City.

New Research

Heat Waves Could Kill Thousands of People in U.S. Cities if Climate Goals Aren’t Met

A new study calculates that as temperatures increase, up to 5,800 people will die in New York and 2,400 in L.A. during the hottest years

People who drink exclusively from plastic water bottles ingest an additional 90,000 microplastics each year, researchers found.

Americans May Be Ingesting Thousands of Microplastics Every Year

A new study found that we consume between 74,000 and 121,000 plastic particles annually—and that’s likely an underestimate

Instead of the tennis ball, imagine this Boykin spaniel holding an ornate box turtle in its mouth, ready to deliver it to conservation researchers.

Very Good Dogs Helped Track Threatened Turtles in Iowa

The dogs are trained to find ornate box turtles and bring them to researchers—part of an effort to save the struggling species

New Research

Nanoscale Structures Give Dragonfish Their Terrible, Invisible Teeth

Crystals in the enamel and an unusual interior structure render the giant teeth invisible, making the fish one of the deep seas’s most fearsome hunters

Artist's rendering of the planets orbiting PDS 70.

Future of Space Exploration

Astronomers Snap a Rare Picture of Two Baby Planets

The Very Large Telescope imaged Planets PDS 70b and PDS 70c about 370 light years away creating a gap in the gas and dust disk around their star

The almost 3-year-old female offspring (left) and her 12-year-old mother (right)

The National Zoo’s Female Asian Water Dragon Successfully Reproduced Without a Male

This is the first time facultative parthenogenesis has been recorded in both the species and the reptilian Agamidae family

The experience unfolds across five rooms: the Recycle Bank, the Coral Tunnel, the Net Guard, the Jellyfish Station and the Bubble Mall.

Art Meets Science

A New Pop-Up Exhibit in NYC Immerses Visitors in a Deep-Sea Experience

Designer Randy Fernando says the show strives to be “interactive and playful,” while also “incorporating touches of activism”

Lots of snacks, please.

Elephants Use Smell to Sniff Out Snack Quantities

When presented with two lidded buckets containing sunflower seeds, elephants seemed able to choose the one with more food

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