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Smart News / Smart News Science

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

A nurse administers an Ebola vaccine on August 7.

Researchers Have Finally Found an Effective Treatment for Ebola

Two treatments have been found to reliably help patients resist the deadly virus—just nine months after a clinical trial began

Trending Today

Rare Lightning Strikes Detected 300 Miles From North Pole

Cool temps, low moisture and a stable atmosphere usually prevent thunderstorms from developing in the Arctic

Trump Administration Overhauls How the Endangered Species Act Is Enforced

Critics say that the new rules limit much-needed protections for at-risk wildlife

A previous strain of the TR4 fungus led banana producers to switch from the Gros Michel strain to the now-dominant Cavendish variety

A Banana-Destroying Fungus Has Arrived in the Americas

The so-called Panama disease targets bananas’ vascular systems to prevent fruit from growing

Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley assigned to first SpaceX crewed launch test out their new space suits.

Future of Space Exploration

Astronauts Test Out Their Sleek New SpaceX Flight Suits

The SpaceX designed pressure suits are more form fitting and maneuverable than the Space Shuttle’s orange suits

An adult Goliath frog caught by a local frog hunter.

How Did the World’s Largest Frog Get So Big? Possibly by Building Its Own Ponds

A new study documents the unique nest-building habits of the Goliath frog

Nom, nom, nom.

New Research

Researchers Think They Know Why Cats Eat Grass

Contrary to popular belief, grass only occasionally makes cats vomit

Every 30 seconds, the United States loses the equivalent of nine Grand Canyons to human development

The U.S. Loses a Football Field-Sized Patch of Nature Every 30 Seconds

A new report outlines the benefits offered by preserving 30 percent of the country’s remaining natural land and oceans by 2030

The Fincha Habera rock shelter in the Ethiopian Bale Mountains served as a residence for prehistoric hunter-gatherers.

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of an Ancient High-Altitude Human Dwelling

A trove of artifacts have surfaced in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains, at a rocky site more than 11,000 feet above sea level

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