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Smart News / Smart News Science

New York is the second state to pass a ban on single use plastic bags. California was the first.

New York to Introduce State-Wide Ban on Plastic Bags

But the plan has drawn criticism from both business groups and environmental advocates

The Toad mountain harlequin frog is one of more than 500 species endangered by the fungal outbreak

World’s Deadliest Pathogen On Record Devastates More Than 500 Amphibian Species—and We Don’t Know How To Stop It

The powerful fungus essentially ‘eats’ its victim’s skin alive, weakening the system before triggering cardiac arrest

New Research

Raging Rivers May Have Washed Over Mars for Billions of Years

A study of 200 river systems shows the waterways persisted even while the atmosphere was disappearing and the Red Planet was drying up

At 8, Jo Cameron broke her arm and didn't tell anyone for days because she didn't notice. Decades later her doctors found she had osteoarthritis by chance and she underwent surgery to remove the bone in her hand. A few drug store pain killers was all she need to ease her pain.

A Scottish Woman Doesn’t Feel Pain or Stress. Now Researchers Think They Know Why

Genetic analysis revealed that Jo Cameron has a previously unidentified mutation that may affect pain relief, memory and mood

Mini mum fits comfortably on a human's thumbnail

Meet ‘Mini mum,’ ‘Mini scule’ and ‘Mini ature,’ Three New Frog Species Among the World’s Smallest

The newly discovered amphibians are all about the size of a thumbnail or smaller

Trending Today

International Expedition Will Excavate the Dino-Rich ‘Jurassic Mile’

More than 100 paleontologists are heading to the fossil-filled Morrison Formation

The most recent vortex on the left and the first one discovered in 1989 by Voyager 2.

New Research

There’s a Dark and Stormy Vortex Brewing on Neptune

It is the sixth massive dark and stormy vortex found on the planet since 1989 and the only one astronomers have watched develop

New Research

A Network of Lakes Lies Under East Antarctica’s Biggest Glacier

The water underneath the Totten Glacier may force researchers to recalculate how quickly climate change may melt the massive ice sheet

New York County Bans Unvaccinated Children From Public Places

The drastic measure comes as officials try to curb a severe measles outbreak

Scotty’s skeleton is scheduled to go on view at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in May 2019

Cool Finds

Meet Scotty, the Largest and Longest-Lived T. Rex Ever Found

The dinosaur weighed an estimated 19,555 pounds and likely lived into its early 30s

For the first time, two female astronauts will conduct routine tests outside the International Space Station later this month while a team of women at NASA direct the work from the ground. Left: Christina Hammock Koch; Right: Anne McClain

NASA Cancels First All-Female Spacewalk Due to Spacesuit Size Issues

NASA didn’t have two properly fitting and space-ready suits for both women

Trending Today

Thousands of Invasive Cane Toads Overtake Florida Community

A mild winter and rain has led to a spring explosion of the amphibians, which are clogging pool filters, lawns and driveways

South Dakota National Guard distributes drinkable water at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Midwest Floods Lead to ‘Humanitarian Crisis’ on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Water-logged and muddy lands are making it difficult for emergency aid to reach people in need of help

Immature (red) and mature (blue) neurons in the hippocampus of a 68 year-old

New Research

The Brain May Actually Keep Generating New Cells Well Into Old Age

An analysis of 58 brain samples found that neurogenesis declines over time and is particularly poor among those with Alzheimer’s

The baby, whose name is Itzmara, (Not Pictured) was delivered via C-section at 37 weeks, three weeks shy of full term because doctors feared that the fetus inside her, which was still growing, would crush her internal organs.

A Baby Girl in Colombia Was Born With Her Twin Inside Her Abdomen

It is a rare condition known as ‘fetus-in-fetu.’ In this case, the malformed twin was removed and the baby is doing well

Illustration of the GRAPES-3 Muon telescope in a lightning storm.

New Research

How Much Electricity Can Thunderstorms Produce?

Researchers used a cosmic ray detector to clock one storm in at a shocking 1.3 billion volts

Grady's mother gave birth via caesarean section on April 16, 2018

Baby Monkey Born Using Frozen Testicular Tissue, Giving Hope for Infertile Childhood Cancer Survivors

Around 30 percent of pediatric cancer patients are rendered infertile by chemotherapy or radiation treatments

An Orangutan Was Shot 74 Times. She Survived.

Dubbed ‘Hope,’ the orangutan was blinded by gunshots to her eyes. She also sustained bone fractures and had been stabbed with a sharp tool.

Around 20 percent of the time, the bears returned a playmate’s expression within one second of seeing it

Sun Bears Mimic Each Other’s Facial Expressions to Communicate

Previously, precise facial mimicry has only been observed in humans and gorillas

An illustration of what Avimaia schweitzerae and its nest may have looked like.

Cool Finds

First-Ever Fossilized Mother Bird Found With Unlaid Egg

The rare 110-million-year-old bits of shell shine light on the reproduction during the age of dinosaurs

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