Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

New Research

We Know How Stressed Whales Are Because Scientists Looked At Their Earwax

A new study looks at stress hormone levels in whale ear wax, showing how hunting and climate change have impacted he giant beasts

No need to get out of dodge quite yet.

The Eruptions of an Italian Supervolcano Seem to Follow a Pattern

And a new study suggests that Campi Flegrei could be entering a new phase of activity, though a major eruption in the near future is unlikely

Cool Finds

Massive Impact Crater Found Under Greenland’s Ice

Radar scans and sediment samples indicate a large meteorite blasted through the ice sheet between 3 million and 12,000 years ago

Orangutan mothers waited an average of seven minutes before alerting infants to a potential predator's presence

Orangutans Are the Only Non-Human Primates Capable of ‘Talking’ About the Past

Mothers waited several minutes before alerting offspring to potential predators, pointing toward capacity for displaced referencing

Heatwaves May Dramatically Reduce Insect Fertility

Sperm production dropped by nearly three-quarters among male beetles exposed to lab-induced temperature increases

Artist's rendition of Mirarce eatoni.

New Research

This Dino-Era Bird Was as Advanced as Modern Species. So Why Did It Disappear?

An enantiornithine fossil found in the western U.S. sat in storage for 25 years before it was officially described

The unusual primate has baffled scientists since its discovery in 1920

DNA Analysis Offers Insights on Origins of Extinct Jamaican Monkey

The unusual creature had few teeth, rodent-like legs, a squat body and a slow-paced lifestyle

The fire in Griffith Park was largely extinguished by late Friday

How the Los Angeles Zoo Prepares Its Animals to Face Natural Disasters

The institution sprung into action late last week, evacuating birds and some smaller primates before firefighters contained a nearby blaze in Griffith Park

A new study has found that moths like the Antherina suraka, pictured here, may use their scales to avoid detection by bats.

Deaf Moths May Use Their ‘Fur’ To Avoid Hungry Bats

Fur-like scales on the insects’ thoraxes absorb the echoes of bat calls, according to new research

Cool Finds

Massive Shark Nursery Found Off the West Coast of Ireland

Thousands of eggs and hundreds of catsharks were spotted during a deep sea coral reef survey 200 miles west of the island

Listen in on Orca Chatter with a New App

The team behind the app hopes that citizen scientists will help experts locate struggling southern resident killer whales

The color-enhanced image was created by citizen scientists Gerald Eichstädt and Seán Doran using data from the spacecraft's JunoCam imager, according to NASA.

Cool Finds

Juno’s Latest Photo of Jupiter Is Breathtaking

The image, processed from JunoCam’s raw data, shows storms and winds in the planet’s Northern Temperate Belt

By 2050, Earth's population is projected to swell to 9.8 billion, placing strain on limited food, resources

Soon, the Average Human Will Be Taller, Heavier. That Will Lead to Increased Food Demand

Between 1975 and 2014, average adult grew 1.3 percent taller and 14 percent heavier, triggering 6.1 percent uptick in energy consumption

A "mud pot" like this one in Yellowstone National Park is moving across Southern California, for reasons that are not clear to scientists.

A Gurgling ‘Mud Pot’ Is Crawling Across Southern California

Scientists don’t know why the muddy spring is moving, but it poses a threat to the infrastructure in its path

Burket's warbler

New Research

This Rare Warbler Is Three Species in One

A warbler discovered in Pennsylvania is the offspring of a hybrid female and a male from a completely different genus

Water found deep within the planet's interior contains different ratio of heavy hydrogen isotopes and normal hydrogen, pointing toward separate point of origin

Where Did Earth’s Water Originate? Solar Nebula, Study Suggests

Researchers say the hydrogen contained in these clouds of gas and dust contributed to formation of one out of every 100 water molecules found on Earth

New Research

Gravity Map Reveals Tectonic Secrets Beneath Antartica’s Ice

Satellite data shows East and West Antarctica have very different geologic histories

The Science and Cell teams sequenced a total of 64 ancient human genomes

This Week Has Offered a Slew of Insights on the Western Hemisphere’s First Humans

Studies reveal rapid yet uneven movement south in at least three migratory waves, complicating story of the Americas’ settlement

A mid-level solar flare captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in 2017.

Did a Huge Solar Storm Detonate Deep Sea Mines During the Vietnam War?

Dozens of underwater devices seemed to explode without cause in 1972

The fossilized crania of three long-snouted cetaceans.

The Mystery of Ancient Dolphins’ Super-Long Snouts

A new study suggests the extinct cetaceans used their snouts to hit and stun prey, much as swordfish do

Page 299 of 537