Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

Cool Finds

Scientists Find a Tiny Speck of Comet Inside a Meteorite

The little fragment found in Antarctica was protected from the elements and preserves the chemical signature of the early solar system

New Research

New Analysis of Depression-Era Fossil Hunt Shows Texas Coast Was Once a ‘Serengeti’

Over 11 million years ago, the area was full of animals

Nepal's first solo mission to measure its iconic peak will determine whether Mount Everest lost some of its height after an earthquake in 2015.

Trending Today

Nepalese Expedition Seeks to Find Out if an Earthquake Shrunk Mount Everest

Scientists and climbers have trained for three years to prepare to take various types of survey’s from the summit of the world’s highest peak

EgNo 4180 and her 2019 calf photographed by the CCS aerial survey team in Cape Cod Bay on 4/11/19.

Three Endangered Right Whale Calves Spotted in New England Waters

A total of seven calves have been born this year, but the species is not ‘out of the woods,’ researchers say

New Research

Eating Your Veggies Is a Better Way to Get Your Vitamins Than Taking Supplements, Study Shows

Vitamins in some supplements were actually harmful at high doses, while exceeding the daily nutritional limit in food didn’t show the same risk

Experts believe the Neolithic dog is the first canine to undergo forensic facial reconstruction

Thanks to Facial Reconstruction, You Can Now Look Into the Eyes of a Neolithic Dog

The collie-sized canine was buried in a cavernous tomb on Scotland’s Orkney Islands around 2,500 B.C.

All of the Denisovan specimens found to date originated from a cave in Siberia

The Hominins We’ve Been Calling Denisovans Are More Diverse Than Previously Thought

Researchers have identified three distinct Denisovan lineages, including one that could constitute an entirely separate species

New Research

A World War I Soldier’s Cholera Seemed Odd. 100 Years Later, Researchers Have Sequenced His Bacteria’s Genome

The cholera bacteria in his body may not have even been the cause of his symptoms after all, the new analysis found

2007 OR10 is the largest object in our solar system with out a name.

The Largest Unnamed Object in the Solar System Needs a Title—and You Can Help

2007 OR10 needs a snazzier moniker; the public can now choose between ‘Gonggong,’ ‘Holle’ and ‘Vili’

The 13 bones and teeth were found in a cave on the island of Luzon

Cool Finds

A New Human Ancestor Species Was Discovered in the Philippines

‘Homo luzonensis’ boasted an eclectic mix of features comparable different species of hominins

Conditions were ripe for fossil-making when this tiny dinosaur walked through the mud some 120 million years ago. In the lower right corner of this image, you can even see splash mark from a rain droplet.

‘Exquisitely Preserved’ Skin Impressions Found in Dinosaur Footprints

The fossils were so well-preserved that the researchers could even see marks left by raindrops

Cool Finds

These Ecologists Borrowed Tricks From Astrophysicists to Count Endangered Orangutans

The thermal-imaging expertise of astronomers helped researchers find the great apes in the hot, humid jungles of Borneo

The sizable specimen was carrying 73 developing eggs at the time of her capture

Cool Finds

Record-Breaking 17-Foot-Long Burmese Python Found in Florida

The 140-pound snake is the largest ever captured in the Florida Everglades’ Big Cypress National Preserve

To help your feathered friends, start by turning off excess outdoor lighting as often as possible.

These Cities Are the Most Dangerous for Migrating Birds

A new study has identified Chicago, Dallas and Houston as the riskiest spots during both the spring and fall migrations

That's some bad news for hay fever sufferers.

New Research

Allergy Season Is Getting Longer and Nastier Each Year

An extended and intensified allergy season is one of the most visible effects of climate change

Cool Finds

This Is the World’s Tallest Tropical Tree

The yellow meranti in Malaysia’s Sabah state is 330 feet tall and weighs more than a jetliner

Pools where 11 orcas and 90 belugas—all caught illegally—were kept, in Srednyaya Bay near the city of Nakhodka in Russia's Far East, according to Getty. The whale were going to be sold to Chinese amusement parks.

Russia Will Free 97 Orcas, Belugas Held in Cramped ‘Whale Jail’ Since Last Summer

Authorities and international scientists have signed an agreement pledging to release the whales “back into their natural environment”

Until now, it was thought that great white sharks avoid kelp forests.

Watch Rare Footage of a Great White Hunting Seals in a Kelp Forest

A new study dispels the belief that the sharks are too large to maneuver through dense kelp growths

Aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.

New Research

There Hasn’t Been a Huge Earthquake on California’s Major Fault Lines in 100 Years

Major ground-rupturing quakes have not taken place along the faults since 1918, but that may mean the next century will be on shaky ground

A juvenile male gorilla lingers beside his mother's body

Gorillas Appear to Grieve for Their Dead

Scientists found that expressions of grief even extended beyond members of the same peer group

Page 291 of 545