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Smart News / Smart News Science

To physicist Michael Pravikoff, the study is more about scientific curiosity than a tangible threat to public safety

California Wine Shows Traces of Fukushima Fallout

Although cabernet bottled after the 2011 disaster contains double the amount of pre-Fukushima radiation, researchers say levels pose no health risk

New Research

Study Suggests Neanderthals Sparked Their Own Fire

Hand-axe wear suggests our hominid cousins used flint and pyrite to unleash Prometheus’ gift

The new horticultural center will be built at the RHS flagship garden in Wisley, Surrey

One Million British Botanical Treasures Will Be Digitized

Artifacts in the sprawling collection include a Chilean potato plant collected by Charles Darwin and 18th-century lavender

Noctilucent clouds.

New Research

Climate Change Is Responsible for These Rare High-Latitude Clouds

A study shows that methane emissions are responsible for the increase of noctilucent clouds, which glow eerily at night

Researchers used 1,000 years’ worth of built-up sediment found at the bottom of the valley’s Lake Huilla to create a timeline of the area’s population—and depopulation

This Lake Tells the Story of Ecuador’s Decimated Indigenous Quijo Civilization

In 1541, roughly 35,000 Quijos lived in the valley. By the 1580s, they had vanished, leaving little evidence of their existence behind

The Cairns Broch site in Orkney, Scotland

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find 2,000-Year-Old Wooden Bowl, Strands of Hair in Northern Scotland

The Iron Age artifacts were sealed in a subterranean chamber of the Cairns Broch, a tower-like stone structure

Trending Today

Chicago Says Goodbye to Its Last Tiny Waterfall

Niagara, it was not

Two tacos, extra ghost pepper sauce, please!

New Research

Tree Shrews Love Hot Peppers Because They Don’t Feel the Burn

A genetic mutation prevents Chinese tree shrews from feeling the heat of capsaicin, making them the only other mammal besides humans that enjoys hot foods

The Meghalayan Age’s “timestamp” is an isotopic shift found in a single stalagmite growing from the floor of the Mawmluh Cave in Meghalaya, India

Welcome to the Meghalayan Age, the Latest Stage in Earth’s 4.54-Billion-Year History

Geologists say the stage began 4,200 years ago, when a global mega-drought devastated agricultural societies

Combing Through the Fishy Origins of Human Hair

New research from UVA suggests the first vertebrates to colonize dry land carried scaly souvenirs with them

Cool Finds

Jupiter Officially Has 12 New Moons

The new satellites are mostly tiny and include one oddball that is on a collision course with some of the 78 other moons orbiting the planet

To create her dazzle camouflage design, Auerbach used a process known as marbling, or swirling pools of ink on paper to generate fluid patterns

Art Meets Science

NYC Fireboat Rebranded in Vibrant Dazzle Camouflage to Commemorate WWI

Vessels cloaked in clashing colors, patterns attempted to confuse U-boat commanders by distorting their perception of a ship’s speed, size and location

Babies’ Cries May Predict What They Will Sound Like as Adults

A new study has found that vocal pitch arises very early in life

Archaeologists unearthed the 14,400-year-old breadcrumbs while excavating a pair of stone fireplaces in northeast Jordan

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Evidence of Bread Baked Before Advent of Agriculture

The bread, which was found in northeast Jordan, dates back about 14,400 years and likely resembled modern-day wraps

"Wheat Field with Cypresses," based on Vincent van Gogh

Art Meets Science

This Is What Robotic Art Looks Like in 2018

The 2018 RobotArt competition fielded more than 100 submissions entered by 19 teams from all over the world

Eight of 11 black rhinos translocated from Nairobi to Tsavo East National Park died after failing to adapt to the sanctuary's saltier water

Eight Endangered Black Rhinos Have Died in a Sanctuary

Preliminary investigation suggests the rhinos died as a result of salt poisoning

Behaviors requiring the most pressure were smashing bones for marrow and producing flint flakes

Did the Human Hand Evolve as a Lean Mean Bone-Smashing Machine?

Of nearly 40 things Pleistocene people might have done with their hands, getting to yummy marrow requires the most force and dexterity

Researchers sampling the Iceman's stomach contents in 2010

Before He Died, Ötzi the Iceman Ate a Greasy, Fatty Meal

A detailed analysis of the mummy’s stomach contents suggests he knew precisely what to eat to survive in harsh Alpine conditions

A human wrist (and wristwatch) imaged with the new 3D, color x-ray machine developed by MARS Bioimaging.

Cool Finds

Check Out These Awesome New 3D, Full-Color X-Rays

The scanner uses technology developed for the Large Hadron Collider

An African yellow house bat.

Two New Yellow-Bellied Bats May Have Been Found in Kenya

Genetic analysis of 100 bats revealed two previously unknown lineages

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