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Smart News / Smart News Science

Don't you just want to squish that wittle face?

What Dogs Really Think of Your ‘Puppy’ Voice

Dog-directed speech may improve animals’ attention skills and strengthen human-pupper bonds

The team’s findings compared the estimated visual acuity, or sharpness, of about 600 species.

How Does Your Vision Compare to Other Critters in the Animal Kingdom?

A new review of visual acuity compares the sight of 600 species, from mosquitoes to eagles

A Mysterious Dinosaur Skeleton Was Auctioned Off to a Private Buyer

And paleontologists are not happy about it

Illustration of Sedna, a minor planet with an unusual orbit.

New Research

Is the Mysterious Planet Nine Just a Swarm of Asteroids?

Researchers investigate alternative explanations for wacky orbits of objects in our solar system

Those who hold out for the second marshmallow may come from more affluent households, and their future success is based on this economic advantage rather than sheer willpower

New Research

Why Delayed Gratification in the Marshmallow Test Doesn’t Equal Success

Socioeconomic status, family background amongst factors accounting for children’s varying levels of self-control

Whale Dies in Thailand With 80 Plastic Bags in Its Stomach

A five-day rescue effort could not save the animal, which started vomiting up pieces of plastic before it died

Rescue workers walk on rooftops in Escuintla, Guatemala, Monday, June 4, 2018, blanketed with heavy ash spewed by the Volcan de Fuego, or "Volcano of Fire."

Trending Today

Five Things to Know About Guatemala’s Deadly Volcanic Eruption

The massive blast is affecting nearly 2 million people, and more may still be in store

An artists rendition of the ancient leviathans.

Why Did Most Massive Bony Fish Behemoths Die Out?

Some researchers suggest metabolism might be to blame, but a new study suggests that’s not the case

It’s True—After Giving Birth, Women’s Voices Temporarily Drop

While anecdotal evidence of the phenomenon has existed for some time, this is the first scientific study to look at women’s voices after pregnancy

The first blue whale ever seen in the Red Sea.

Huge Blue Whale Sighted in the Red Sea for the First Time

The massive mammals typically spend their summers in polar waters, but are known to occasionally migrate further

Megachirella, the mother-of-all-lizards (and snakes).

Cool Finds

Oldest Lizard Fossil Shows These Reptiles Are The Ultimate Survivors

The 250-million-year-old specimen from the Alps suggests that lizards evolved before Earth’s largest mass extinction—and thrived after it

A whale is captured by the Yushin Maru, a Japanese harpoon vessel.

Japan Killed 112 Pregnant Whales in the Name of Scientific Research

The country claims the catch is to obtain a range of data on the creatures

This insect can survive being eaten by birds, researchers have found.

Do Mama Stick Insects Get Eaten to Transport Their Eggs?

This may explain why the insects, who can’t travel far on their own, spread across unconnected lands

Pluto, and its largest moon Charon, as seen from the New Horizons spacecraft.

Is Pluto Actually a Mash-up of a Billion Comets?

Researchers speculate the beloved dwarf planet could actually be a giant comet

Microraptors, dandruff and all.

New Research

Dinosaurs Had Dandruff, Too

Our ancient feathered friends shed skin in a similar way to modern birds and humans

A feral cat photographed by the founder of The Feral Life Cat Blog.

Australia Builds World’s Largest Cat-Proof Fence to Protect Threatened Species

The country’s feral cats have been linked to the extinction of 20 species

Europe’s Oldest Known Tree Discovered in Italy

The Heldreich’s pine is 1,230 years old

Trending Today

DNA Survey of Life in Loch Ness Will Hunt for Its Monster Resident

The goal is to catalog the lake’s diversity of life—including any oversized, prehistoric reptiles

New Research

Humans Make Up Just 1/10,000 of Earth’s Biomass

Plants make up 80 percent, but human activity chopped that number in half over the last 10,000 years

Hammerhead Flatworms Have Been Quietly Invading France for Two Decades

And that could spell trouble for the country’s soils

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