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Smart News / Smart News Science

Study suggests that early humans had opposable, ape-like big toes built for grasping

Researchers Suggest Big Toe Was Last Part of Foot to Evolve

Early hominins’ big toes were equipped for life on the ground and in the trees

New Research

Why Astronomers Want to Look for Earth’s Mini-Moons

A new, powerful telescope in Chile will be able to detect tiny asteroid chunks circling our planet, which could be a goldmine for researchers

New Research

Tools Offer More Complex, Cooperative Picture of Easter Island Society

Basalt axes from one quarry area indicate cooperation between clans, not warfare over resources as previously hypothesized

A French Theme Park Taught Crows To Pick Up Trash

Park hopes that its avian garbage collectors will encourage humans to properly discard their rubbish

Extreme weather events likely had severe consequences, depleting harvests and weakening humans and livestock alike

Animal Fat Found in Clay Pottery Reveals How Ancient People Adapted to Drought

Neolithic farmers switched from cattle to goat herding, abandoned communal dwellings for smaller households to adjust to new climate

Caelestiventus hanseni.

New Research

Rare Desert Pterosaur Fossil Discovered in Utah

The rare Triassic fossil is the most complete early pterosaur ever found, and gives new insight into the evolution of the first flying vertebrates

Cool Finds

Fog Sculptures Are Enshrouding Boston’s Historic Parks

Artist Fujiko Nakaya brings five fog installations to life to mark the Emerald Necklace Conservancy’s 20th anniversary

An Andean flamingo looks after a Chilean flamingo chick in a scheme to prompt the birds to breed.

U.K. Heat Wave Triggers Rare Flamingos to Lay Eggs for the First Time in 15 Years

None of the eggs were fertile, but conservation officials have hatched a plan to encourage the flamingos to breed again

Early humans made stone tools out of whichever rocks happened to be lying nearby, ignoring quality in favor of convenience

Laziness May Have Contributed to the Decline of Homo Erectus

Researchers suggest early humans pursued “least-effort strategies” when crafting tools, collecting resources

Coral and its symbiotic algae

New Research

Algae and Coral Have Been BFFs Since the Dinosaur Age

A new study shows that the relationship between coral polyps and zooxanthellae that produces colorful coral reefs began 160 million years ago

An Ediacaran fossil from the National Earth Science Museum, Namibia.

Mysterious, Plant-Like Fossil May Have Been One of the Earliest Animals

New research suggests that soft-bodied organisms called Ediacarans may have been related to an animal of the Cambrian era

Northern Black Widow

New Research

Citizen Scientists Show Black Widows Creeping North In Canada

Study shows online observations can help researchers refine the range maps of many species overlooked by field biologists

Bonobos are known to make at least 38 distinct calls

New Research

Why Humans Are the Only Primates Capable of Talking

New study suggests ape vocalizations vary according to neural abilities, not vocal anatomy

New Research

This New Zealand Natural Wonder Is Probably Gone for Good

A new study reconfirms that the Pink and White Terraces were destroyed by a volcano in 1886 and can’t be dug up

Bermuda

A Unique Enzyme Gives Bermuda Fireworms Their Glow

A new study reveals the secret to the invertebrates’ dazzling mating ritual

Trending Today

Fire Closes Yosemite Valley Indefinitely

Smoke and flames from the Ferguson Fire have closed the roads to the National Park’s most popular attraction at the height of tourist season

One-fifth of the men who presided over the Roman Empire were assassinated

Why Roman Emperors Were More Likely to Be Assassinated During Droughts

Low rainfall leads to poor harvests, starving troops, more mutinies and higher risk of regicide

Do you smell something, Bob?

New Research

Ocean Acidification Is Frying Fish’s Sense of Smell

By the end of the century, the ocean is predicted to become two-and-a-half times more acidic, which is bad news for sea life.

Wild-caught elephants live shorter lives and reproduce poorly in captivity

Captured Elephants Die Up to Seven Years Sooner Than Those Bred in Captivity

Myanmar’s wild-captured elephants exhibited median lifespan three to seven years shorter than that of captive-born creatures

A view of the Perseid meteor shower over Northern Ireland in 2017.

Why This Year’s Perseid Meteor Shower Promises to Be Especially Dazzling

Thanks to the moon’s conspicuous absence, those looking up at peak viewing hours will see 60-70 shooting stars every hour

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