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Smart News / Smart News Science

The newly identified American Pocket Shark was first discovered in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

This New Shark Species Looks Like a Tiny Sperm Whale

The 5.5-inch-long Mollisquama mississippiensis—one of only two pocket shark specimens known to science—also glows in the dark

Former U.S. ambassador to Canada David Jacobson visits Alert on a much cooler day in 2010.

Trending Today

The World’s Northernmost Permanent Settlement Set a Record High Temperature

The military installation of Alert on Ellesmere Island, 600 miles from the North Pole, hit 69.8 degrees Fahrenheit last week

A rendering of the 363-foot Saturn V projection

Future of Space Exploration

Watch the Apollo 11 Anniversary Show That Was Projected Onto the Washington Monument

The immersive experience combined full-motion projection-mapping artwork and archival footage

The European brown bear hasn't roamed Britain since the Middle Ages—and possibly even earlier.

Wolves and Bears Are Being Returned to a Rare Patch of Ancient Woodland in Britain

The Bristol Zoological Society is launching an animal exhibit that will see the predators share a U.K. habitat for the first time in 1,000 years

Condor 409, pictured here, is the mother of the 1000th condor born since a breeding program was launched to save the critically endangered species.

The California Condor Nearly Went Extinct. Now, the 1000th Chick of a Recovery Program Has Hatched.

“When we confirmed it…it was just this feeling of overwhelming joy,” one wildlife expert said

Biswamoyopterus gaoligongensis

Cool Finds

New Species of Giant Flying Squirrel Discovered in China

Weighing 3 to 4 pounds, the Mount Gaoligong flying squirrel was recently found in Yunnan province

After a queen ant successfully mates with multiple males, she chews off her wings, returns to the ground and starts a new colony

Swarms of Flying Ants Overtaking Great Britain Show Up as Rain on Radar

Once a year, the winged insects take to the skies and engage in mating rituals

Beachgoers on St. Simons Island sprang to action on Tuesday.

Georgia Beachgoers Help Save Pod of Stranded Pilot Whales

All but three of the animals that swam too close to shore made it back to the sea alive

Bonding over a shared experience isn’t just a human thing.

New Research

Chimps Bond Over Movies, Just Like Us

After watching video clips together, chimps and bonobos were more sociable than those that watched the movies alone

The researchers' findings don’t necessarily portend Ciomadul’s imminent eruption, but they do suggest it's worth taking a second look at seemingly extinct volcanoes

New Research

Magma Lurks Below This ‘Extinct’ Volcano in Romania

Rocks in the upper crust beneath Ciomadul are, on average, 15 percent molten, with some areas reaching as high as 45 percent

Ice at the Martian pole. The dark spots are pockets of warming under the ice.

Future of Space Exploration

This Material May Make Human Habitation on Mars Possible

Silica aerogel traps heat and allows light in while blocking ultraviolet radiation, making it a good candidate for building human settlements

The two divers spent an hour or so swimming alongside the giant barrel jellyfish.

Divers Encounter a Human-Size Jellyfish Off the Coast of England

Barrel jellyfish typically grow to a length of up to 3 feet, but this one measured closer to 5 feet long

Researchers previously believed that traces of animal fat left in pottery stemmed from feasts held by Stonehenge's builders.

Did Stonehenge’s Builders Use Lard to Move Its Boulders Into Place?

Animal fat residue found on ceramic vessels suggests the ancient Britons who built the monument greased their wooden sledges with lard

New Research

Study Finds Insects Can Experience Chronic Pain

Injured fruit flies still experience nerve pain after healing, a finding that could lead the way to more non-opioid pain medications

Alan Turing Will Be the New Face of Britain’s £50 Note

Persecuted at the end of his life, the British mathematician and code-breaker is now widely admired as a father of computer science

In 2019, 50 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit stands as one of the most significant artifacts in the world.

Apollo at 50: We Choose to Go to the Moon

Neil Armstrong’s Restored Spacesuit Put Back on Display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

The spacesuit, which Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon during Apollo 11, is available for public viewing and as a 3-D model online

Great Blue Heron

Audubon Photography Award Winners Show the Breathtaking Beauty of Wild Birds

The 10th installment of the competition featured two new categories

Future of Space Exploration

First Moon-Forming Disk Detected Swirling Around an Exoplanet

Telescope observations suggest that a cloud of gas and dust around a planet 370 light-years away may be coalescing into planet-sized moons

Trending Today

One of the Largest Subspecies of Giraffes Is Declared Endangered

Once the largest of nine subspecies, Masai giraffe numbers have dropped by an estimated 50 percent in the last 30 years

Poker poses a challenge to A.I. because it involves multiple players and a plethora of hidden information.

This Poker-Playing A.I. Knows When to Hold ‘Em and When to Fold ‘Em

Pluribus won an average of around $5 per hand, or $1,000 per hour, when playing against five human opponents

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