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Smart News / Smart News Science

Cool Finds

Fossil Trees Reveal the Oldest Known Forest in Asia

The grove of lycopsid trees is 365 million years old and covers 2.7 million square feet

New Research

The Scientists Who Stared at Gulls

A new study suggests that watching the birds as they approach will slow them down or scare them off

Would you drink it?

Why Scientists Are Making Vodka in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone

It’s perfectly safe to drink, according to a new report

Trending Today

A Crashed Spacecraft Might Have Put Earth’s Most Indestructible Organisms on the Moon

The microscopic tardigrades were part of a lunar library sent aboard the Beresheet lander that crashed last April

Reconstruction of the giant parrot Heracles, with small New Zealand wrens for scale.

This Chonky Ancient Bird Is the World’s Largest Known Parrot

Discovered in New Zealand, the bird has been dubbed ‘Squawkzilla’

Neonics are responsible for 92 percent of the increase in U.S. agricultural toxicity

Toxic Pesticides Are Driving Insect ‘Apocalypse’ in the U.S., Study Warns

The country’s agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to insects than it was 25 years ago

July was the hottest month in recorded history.

Trending Today

Last Month Was the Hottest July in Recorded History

The EU’s weather satellites show the global average was 0.072 higher than July 2016, the previous record holder

Kiwi birds are native to New Zealand.

It Will Take New Zealand 50 Million Years to Recover Its Lost Bird Biodiversity

Half of the country’s unique avian taxa have gone extinct since humans came to the island

Saber-toothed cats likely ambushed plant-eating prey in forests, not open grassland

Fossils Reveal Why Coyotes Outlived Saber-Toothed Cats

Contrary to popular belief, carnivorous cats and canines probably didn’t hunt the same limited pool of prey

Some of the plastic trash pulled from the stomachs of flesh-footed shearwater chicks.

New Research

Eating Even One Piece of Plastic Has Health Consequences for Baby Seabirds

A study of fleshy-footed shearwater babies found plastic increased their cholesterol, impacted their kidneys and disrupted normal growth

Ngwevu intloko skull

After 30 Years, a South African Dinosaur Is Identified as a New Species

The fossil, held for decades at the University of Witwatersrand, was previously thought to belong to the most common dinosaur species in South Africa

An aerial view of meltwater rivers carving into the Greenland ice sheet on August 04, 2019.

Greenland Lost 12.5 Billion Tons of Ice in a Single Day

The amount of ice collectively lost last Wednesday and Thursday would be enough to cover Florida in almost five inches of water

Cool Finds

Nevada Has a Massive New Dark Sky Sanctuary

The night skies at 100,000-acre Massacre Ridge are some of the starriest in the world

The Posbury Clump.

Would You Like to Buy an Extinct Volcano?

The U.K.’s Posbury Clump may not have the snazziest of names, but the site boasts a rich history—and is available for around $60,700

New Research

New 3-D Map Shows Milky Way’s Big Twist

By mapping the distance of Cepheid stars, researchers reveal that our galaxy is warped

Warmer temperatures yield more female hatchlings, while colder temperatures yield more males

Turtle Embryos May Be Able to Influence Their Sex by Moving Around Inside the Egg

When embryos found the so-called ‘Goldilocks’ temperature zone, sex selection was randomized, producing a nearly even split between males and females

Edward was born on Sunday, July 28, at the San Diego Zoo

Artificially Conceived Southern White Rhino Offers Hope for Critically Endangered Cousin

Scientists are working to bring northern white rhinos back from the brink by using southern females as surrogate mothers

Dead vaquita entangled in a gillnet set for Totoaba

There Are ‘At Most’ 19 Vaquitas Left in the Wild

An alarming new study documents the continued decline of the critically endangered porpoise—but it may still be possible to save the species

Female (left) and male (right) black widow spiders

Male Black Widow Spiders Find Potential Mates by Following Other Suitors’ Trails

Although this strategy may seem counterintuitive, researchers say speedy tracking is an important factor in successful courtship

A sentinel chicken gets its blood drawn in Charlotte County, Florida.

Trending Today

Rare, Mosquito-Borne Virus Found in Several Chickens in Florida

The only way to prevent eastern equine encephalitis virus, which causes brain-swelling and has a high mortality rate, is to avoid mosquito bites

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