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Smart News / Smart News Science

Two new studies document the myriad of threats facing Earth's 124 wild coffee species

More Than Half of All Coffee Species Are at Risk of Extinction

The popular Arabica bean, used in such rich blends as Java, is amongst the species threatened by climate change, deforestation

Eyes of Queen conch, Caribbean (Strombus gigas).

The Bahamas’ Conchs Have Undergone ‘Serial Depletion’

But it’s not too late to save them

Meet Juliet, a Sehuencas water frog recently collected from the Bolivian cloud forest.

Cool Finds

A Year Later, Match.com Profile Pays Off for World’s Loneliest Frog

The 2018 Valentine’s Day stunt raised funds for an expedition that located five new Sehuencas water frogs, including a mate for lonesome Romeo

New Research

Scientists Use AI to Decode the Ultrasonic Language of Rodents

The DeepSqueak software translates the high-pitched communication into sonograms, which can be analyzed to determine what mice and rats are saying

East Antarctica, despite lagging behind West Antarctica, is still losing ice to the tune of some 50 billion tons per year

Antarctica’s Ice Loss Has Reached 250 Billion Tons Per Year

The continent’s annual ice loss has sextupled since 1979, jumping from 40 billion tons to 250 billion tons in 2017

‘Bouncing’ Baby Orca Spotted Among Endangered Population

Researchers hope the new baby will reverse an unfortunate trend that has seen no southern resident orca calves survive over the past three years

Trending Today

Why the Nation of Georgia Wants to Make Wine on Mars

Researchers there are looking for grape varieties that can grow in Martian soil and survive high radiation and carbon monoxide

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has severed all ties with Watson

DNA Pioneer James Watson Loses Honorary Titles Over Racist Comments

The renowned scientist has a long history of controversial commentary on not only race, but issues spanning gender, religion and sexuality

Wyatt Walker poses for a 3-D scan of the sculpture's missing right arm

Art Meets Science

College Basketball Player Lends a Limb to Armless Roman Statue

The 6-foot-9 forward for North Carolina State University posed for a 3-D reconstruction of the sculpture’s missing arm

New Research

Scientists Predict Sun Will One Day Turn Into Giant Crystal Ball

New observations of white dwarfs confirm theory that the star remnants transition into solid structures as they cool

The Galveston pack carries red wolf DNA previously thought to be lost forever

Pack of Wild Dogs in Texas Carry DNA of Nearly Extinct Red Wolf

Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild in 1980, but a new study suggests the species’ DNA lives on in a pack of Texan canines

Budgie love triangles are more complex than you might think

When Choosing a Mate, These Female Birds Prefer Brains Over Beauty or Brawn

After observing initially scorned male budgies performing complex cognitive tasks, females shifted mating preferences

Romaine lettuce was recently affected by an E. coli outbreak

The Government Shutdown Is Affecting FDA Food Inspections—but Don’t Panic

FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says the agency will resume scheduling inspections of ‘high risk’ foods next week

Shucked oyster shells lay beneath the moonlight at Fanny Bay Oyster Company on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.

New Research

Oysters Open and Close Their Shells as the Moon Wanes and Waxes

A new study suggests the mollusks may widen and narrow their shells depending on movement of plankton, which shifts with the lunar cycle

In trials, the app correctly identified breathing patterns indicative of impending overdose 90 percent of the time

This App Tracks Breathing to Identify Opioid Overdoses Before They Turn Deadly

Second Chance transforms smartphones into sonar systems, tracking users’ breathing and sending for help if a potential overdose is detected

Cool Finds

Planet Hunter TESS Is Already Spotting Hundreds of Crazy New Worlds

The first data from the space telescope’s mission tallies more than 200 potential planets, including some just 50 light-years away

An Iguana Species Last Documented by Charles Darwin Has Been Reintroduced to a Galápagos Island

The Galápagos land iguana on Santiago Island was decimated by invasive animals like cats, dogs and pigs

What Llama-Poop-Eating Mites Tell Us About the Rise and Fall of the Inca Empire

Lake-dwelling mite populations boomed at the height of the Andean civilization but dropped following the arrival of Spanish conquistadors

Why Scientists Want to Engineer Spicy Tomatoes

With genetic tinkering, the fruits may offer an easy source of capsaicin, the beneficial compound that gives peppers their heat

New Research

Dragonflies Embark on an Epic, Multi-Generational Migration Each Year

Monarch butterflies aren’t the only migratory marathoners in North America

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