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Smart News / Smart News Science

This aerial photo shows spills from TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline on Friday, November 17, 2017.

Keystone Pipeline Leak Was Twice as Big as Previously Thought

A representative of TransCanada Corp., which owns the pipeline, says the leak spilled 9,700 barrels of oil into South Dakota farmland

Under a blacklight, scorpions put on quite a show.

Puffin Beaks Are Fluorescent, and They’re Not the Only Ones

Scorpions, stick insects and caterpillars are among the many critters that glow under UV light

New Research

If a Cosmic Bubble Destroys the Universe, Scientists Now Know When It’ll Happen

Don’t panic yet; the end won’t be for at least 10 octodecillion years, if it happens at all

Illustration of pregnant ichthyosaur with octuplets.

Fossilized ‘Sea Monster’ Found Pregnant With Eight Babies

The fossil provides the earliest evidence of ichthyosaur embryos from the UK

A new study reveals how Walden Pond has dramatically changed thanks to human activity.

Humans Have Wreaked Havoc on Walden Pond

A new study details the intensity of the damage to this beloved location

The structure of herpes virus simplex 2, aka genital herpes

Art Meets Science

Herpes Is Kind of Beautiful, On the Molecular Level

This detailed visualization of the herpes virus is a step toward finding new treatments

New Research

The Center of the Milky Way May Be Chock-Full of Black Holes

Researchers spotted about a dozen black holes lurking at our galactic center—and there may be up to 10,000 more

Not a sick raccoon, but one that is certainly riled up.

‘Zombie-Like’ Raccoons Are Terrorizing Youngstown, Ohio

Sadly, the critters’ strange behavior can likely be ascribed to a serious illness

New Research

How Do Tiny Chicks Crack Out of Their Eggs?

The secret is in the egg shells’ nanostructure

An artist’s concept of the low-boom flight demonstrator outside the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company’s Skunk Works hangar in Palmdale, California.

Five Things to Know About NASA’s Supersonic X-Plane

The $247.5 million aircraft could revive supersonic flight for civilians

Chilling Out in Hot Springs May Help Japan’s Snow Monkeys Reduce Stress

A new study found that bathing in the springs is linked to lower levels of a metabolite associated with stress

Cool Finds

Rare Tiny T. Rex Unearthed in Montana

Researchers are yet unsure if the creature is a baby dino or an example of the contentious Nanotyrannus

Oil Spill in Colombia Kills 2,400 Animals

The spill also damaged 1,000 tree species and caused adverse health effects in residents of the affected areas

Sauropod footprint on the Isle of Skye.

50 Rare Dinosaur Footprints Found on Scottish Island

The prints date to the Middle Jurassic period, which has yielded relatively few dinosaur fossils

Icarus, the most distant star ever detected

New Research

Meet Icarus, The Most Distant Star Yet Detected

The blue supergiant lies 9 billion light-years away

Orange snow dusted eastern Europe thanks to sands from Sahara

Why Orange Snow Fell Over Eastern Europe

It had to do with storms in North Africa

An artist's illustration of the Tiangong-1 space lab in orbit.

China’s Tiangong-1 Finally Crashes Back to Earth

Most of the craft likely burned up as it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere

California Coffee Companies Must Display Cancer Warning Label, Judge Rules

Despite the ruling, the links between coffee and cancer remain unclear

Diffuse galaxy NGC1052-DF2

New Research

Scientists Thought All Galaxies Had Dark Matter, but They Just Found One Without It

The find defies the assumption that the mysterious matter is necessary for galaxy formation

Researchers have analyzed the DNA of this mummified specimen from Atacama region of Chile.

Chilean Government Investigates Whether the Atacama Mummy Was Illegally Exhumed

Outraged at the recent DNA analysis of the child, the Chilean science community calls for ethical evaluations of the work

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