Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

New Research

Flies in Hospitals Are Full of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

A study of seven hospitals in the U.K. found the bacteria in 90 percent of flies, though they are unlikley to spread the infections

This summer, Fairbanks' Running Reindeer Ranch is offering visitors the chance to practice yoga alongside adult and baby reindeer

Alaska Now Offers Reindeer Yoga Classes

Attendees find their flow as reindeer wander around, grazing on grass, sniffing humans’ belongings and eventually settling down for the session

A Large Fire Is Raging Through the Everglades

Officials are concerned about reduced visibility on motorways and respiratory issues for people in residential areas

New Research

Listen to a Seal Sing the ‘Star Wars’ Theme and ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’

Researchers taught seals how to mimic the tunes to study vocal learning in mammals

Cool Finds

Volunteers Counted All the Squirrels in Central Park

Three hundred people tallied up the number of bushy-tailed residents over the course of 11 days last October

Watch First Footage of Giant Squid Filmed in American Waters

The deep-sea footage also marks a rare sighting of a giant squid in its natural habitat

Poachers’ Poison Kills 530 Endangered Vultures in Botswana

Circling vultures bring attention to poachers, so the scavengers were likely poisoned by illegal hunters hoping to evade detection

Cool Finds

Listen to the First Known Song of the North Pacific Right Whale

Researchers spent years trying to trace the source of the rhythmic, gunshot pattern to the endangered whale species

This geoglyph, previously identified as a hummingbird, actually depicts a hermit, a subgroup of hummingbird known to live in the forested regions of northern and eastern Peru

Scientists Identify Exotic Birds Depicted in Peru’s Mysterious Nazca Lines

The researchers argue that the non-native birds’ presence must be closely related to the etchings’ overall purpose

People are maybe good?

People Are Surprisingly Honest About Returning Lost Wallets

A large new study has found that unwitting subjects were more likely to report a lost wallet as the amount of money inside increased

No horns here!

Cell Phones Are Probably Not Making Us Grow Horns

Scientists and doctors cast doubts on study claiming that prolonged cell phone use is creating bone protrusions on young people’s heads

Lithoredo abatanica, the rock-eating shipworm.

Cool Finds

These Two Newly Described Worms Have Really Strange, Yet Marvelous Butts

One worm species has eyes on its behind and another eats rock then poops sand

The narwhal-beluga hybrid skull.

New Research

This Bizarre Whale Is a Beluga-Narwhal Hybrid

A new study documents what may be the first-known evidence of breeding between the two species

To lower one's risk of contracting infection, avoid eating raw or undercooked shellfish and cover open wounds with bandages before venturing into the water

Warming Waters May Be Driving Flesh-Eating Bacteria to East Coast Beaches

Patients can contract vibriosis by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters, or handling infected animals while sporting an open wound

John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz, the creators of BASIC.

New Hampshire Is First State to Install Highway Marker to Computer Programming

The roadside sign is dedicated to BASIC, a computer programming language developed at Dartmouth College in 1964

The hydrogel mimics the epiphragm, a temporary adhesive layer that hardens when dried and softens when rehydrated with water

New Research

Snail-Inspired Super Glue Can Support the Weight of a 200-Pound Human

The adhesive offers both impressive strength and reusability, avoiding the problems posed by strong but irreversible glues and vice versa

Boaty McBoatface, awaiting orders.

New Research

Results of Boaty McBoatface’s First Research Mission Published

The little yellow submarine named by the internet explored the Southern Ocean, finding surface winds drive mixing in the deep abyss

The bear was only a few years old and had become comfortable around humans.

A Young Black Bear Was Put Down After Humans Fed It, Took Selfies

The more food bears obtain from humans, the more likely they are to lose their natural fear of us

Archaeologists unearthed the cannonballs while excavating the ruins of Zishtova Fortress in Bulgaria

Cool Finds

Trove of Cannonballs Likely Used by Vlad the Impaler Found in Bulgaria

The primitive projectiles probably date to the Romanian ruler’s 1461 through 1462 siege of Zishtova Fortress

Deerfield Beach Pier with fisherman at dawn.

633 Divers Cleaned Up a Florida Beach—and Broke a World Record

The event marked the largest-ever underwater cleanup effort

Page 283 of 545