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Smart News / Smart News Science

Flight Attendants May Face Increased Risk for Many Cancers, Study Finds

Flight attendants are exposed to a number of possible or probable cancer-causing factors

New Research

Australian Feral Cats Eat More Than a Million Reptiles Per Day

A new study shows cats snack on 258 reptile species, and could push some to the brink of extinction

Mosquitoes are vectors for many diseases that infect humans—add one more, Keystone virus, to the list. It's spread by Aedes atlanticus (pictured: the related a. aegypti).

Mosquito-Borne Keystone Virus Has Been Found in Humans for the First Time

But the virus may have been infecting people for much longer than scientists realized

New Research

The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’

Microphones and high-speed cameras show that what happens when a water droplet hits water is surprisingly complicated

New Research

Extinct Gibbon Species Discovered in 2,000-Year-Old Chinese Tomb

It’s believed the species represents a new genera of apes that may have died out just 300 years ago

HHV-6, one of the viruses found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

New Research

Childhood Virus May Have a Role in Alzheimer’s Disease

A study of 1,000 brains found two common types of herpes viruses were more prevalent in those suffering from the dementia-inducing disease

Researchers studied delicate hyoid bones, which support and ground the tongue, in fossils like these from Northeast China.

Actually, T. Rex Probably Couldn’t Stick Out Its Tongue

The tongues of bird-like dinosaurs and pterosaurs, however, may have been more mobile

New Research

China’s Plastic Ban Will Flood Us With Trash

New study reports China’s ban on importing foreign plastic could cripple global recycling programs and lead to 111 million tons of homeless plastic

River eels exposed to cocaine suffered muscle damage and other health effects.

Cocaine in the Water Is Hurting River Eels

When researchers exposed eels to the illicit drug, the animals became hyperactive and suffered muscle damage

This striped dolphin, photographed in the Gulf of Corinth, may be grieving a relative. A new study examines the evidence.

New Research

Study Suggests Dolphins and Some Whales Grieve Their Dead

An analysis of 78 instances of cetaceans paying attention to their dead suggests grief may be part of being a highly social animal

A Towering, Toxic Plant That Causes Burns and Blindness Has Appeared in Virginia

The giant hogweed, an invasive species, is more typically seen in the Northeast

The early life stages of these oceanic behemoths are a mystery to researchers.

Cool Finds

Teeming Manta Ray Nursery Discovered in the Gulf of Mexico

Almost all of the rays in the area are rarely seen juveniles, which can reach wingspans of 23 feet when they grow up

DNA from this panda skull, found in Cizhutuo cave in southern China, is the oldest panda DNA ever sequenced.

This Ancient Panda Skull Belongs to a Previously Unknown Lineage

The fossilized skull represents a panda line that split from today’s fluffy creatures 183,000 years ago

Prototype of one of the magnets that will be used in the upgraded Large Hadron Collider.

Trending Today

The Large Hadron Collider Is Getting A Huge Power Boost

A multi-year upgrade will lead to up to 10 times the collisions, and perhaps the discovery of mysterious new particles

A crab spider spins out fine silk fibers for its aerial dispersal. The image is displayed as a negative to make the silk easier to see.

Before Soaring Through the Air, Tiny Crab Spiders Study the Wind

A recent study sheds new light on spider flight

Double burial of two plague victims in the Samara region, Russia

Bacteria in Ancient Teeth Push Back Origins of the Bubonic Plague

The deadly disease may have been transmitted to humans at least 800 years earlier than previously believed

I can haz more habitats?

New Research

The UK’s Hedgehogs (and Other Mammals) Are In Danger

The island nation’s mammal populations have seen a steep decline in the last two decades, with hedgehog numbers decreasing by two-thirds

Stephen Hawking's memorial stone in Westminster Abbey.

Trending Today

A Message From Stephen Hawking Is On Its Way to a Black Hole

After his ashes were interred at Westminster Abbey, a musical composition and “message of hope” were broadcast toward 1A 0620-00, the nearest black hole

The continent is now losing 219 billion tons of ice a year, a staggering figure scientists say could raise sea levels six inches by 2100.

New Research

Antarctic Ice Loss Has Tripled Over the Past Decade

Since 1992, the continent has lost more than 3.3 trillion tons of ice, triggering a quarter-inch rise in global sea levels

These two views from NASA’s Curiosity rover, acquired specifically to measure the amount of dust inside Gale Crater, show that dust has increased over three days from a major Martian dust storm. The images were taken by the rover’s Mastcam.

Massive, ‘Unprecedented’ Dust Storm Puts Mars Rover at Risk

Engineers have not received any transmissions from the Opportunity rover since Sunday

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