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Smart News / Smart News Science

Oldest Known Human Footprints in North America Discovered on Canada’s Pacific Coast

In a new paper, archaeologists describe 29 footprints that date to the end of the last ice age

Turtles on Versova Beach

Cool Finds

Baby Sea Turtles Spotted on Mumbai Beach for the First Time in 20 Years

Though conservationists are celebrating the apparent success, the creatures may not be as rare as once believed

Mummy Found Inside 2,500-Year-Old ‘Empty’ Coffin

The coffin had been listed as empty for nearly 160 years while stored at the University of Sydney’s museum

The above image shows the dermal interstitium with bundles of collagen and fluid (white spaces).

Scientists May Have Identified a New Human Organ

It is called the interstitium, and it consists of fluid-filled cavities that can be found throughout the body

Atlantic salmon are much more commonly farmed than their Pacific counterparts. After decades of farming, they are fast growing and thought to be fairly resistant to disease. Pictured here are farm-raised Atlantic salmon from Chile.

Why Washington State Is Phasing Out Atlantic Salmon Farming

The move will bring an end to three decades of non-native fish farming in the region

New Research

Why Are Whales So Massive? It’s All About Energy

Marine mammal size is a delicate balance between chowing down and chilly waters

The mother orca and her newborn calf.

A Male Orca and Its Mother Worked Together to Kill a Newborn Calf

It is the first time that infanticide has been observed among killer whales

One of the clean rooms at the Johnson Space Center has been found to be contaminated with fungi.

NASA Clean Room Storing Meteorite Samples Is Contaminated With Fungi

Contamination of the not-so-clean room could meddle with results

Cool Finds

Why This Elephant in India Is Blowing Smoke

It’s likely the puffing pachyderm is eating ash-covered charcoal as a form of self-medication to flush out toxins

Elusive Deep-Sea Anglerfish Seen Mating for the First Time

The male clamps down onto his female partner, their tissue and circulatory systems fusing together for life

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

Researchers Solve the Mystery of the Atacama ‘Alien’ Mummy

The unusual skeleton sparked rampant speculation, but DNA is helping scientists tease apart the true tale

Debris recovered from the Garbage Patch

New Research

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Is Much Larger and Chunkier Than We Thought

A new study shows the patch is not just microplastics. Fishing gear and large pieces make up 92 percent of the trash

Eldgjá, Iceland

A Violent Volcanic Eruption Immortalized in Medieval Poem May Have Spurred Iceland’s Adoption of Christianity

A new study looks for traces of the devastating volcanic event in a poem composed in approximately 961 A.D.

This self-portrait of Curiosity shows the vehicle at a drilled sample site called "Okoruso," on the "Naukluft Plateau" of lower Mount Sharp. It combines multiple images taken with the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on May 11, 2016, during the 1,338th Martian day.

Looking Back at Curiosity’s 2,000 Martian Days on the Red Planet

The rover has taken incredible images and made wild discoveries since landing in 2012

Regaliceratops peterhewsi, the “Hellboy Dinosaur”

New Research

Dinosaur Horns Were For Making Love, Not War

The elaborate horns and frills were more likely for attracting mates than fighting off enemies

Sixty-eight percent of meadow pipits have disappeared from the French countryside.

Pesticides Have Led to a ‘Catastrophic’ Decline in France’s Bird Populations

The chemicals have decimated the insects that birds rely on for food

New Research

70,000 Years Ago, a Passing Star Shook Up Our Solar System

The red dwarf likely came within one light-year of the sun, altering the course of some asteroids and comets

Scientists have created a hoppy beer without hops.

Scientists Brew a Hoppy Beer Without the Hops

Hops are expensive and require lots of water to grow, so researchers tried to recreate the distinctive taste

Periplaneta Americana

New Research

Cockroach Genome Shows Why They Are Impossible to Kill

The massive genome includes code for neutralizing toxins, regrowing limbs and a thousand genes for detecting food and chemicals

Researchers have found that graphene could work as a hair dye.

Graphene Hair Dye Is Gentle on Your Locks. But Is It Safe?

Unlike traditional hair dyes, graphene coats the hair surface without chemically altering it

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