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Smart News / Smart News Science

Trending Today

Prince Charles Will Battle Squirrels Using Contraceptives and a Lot of Nutella

North American gray squirrels are decimating native red squirrels in the British Isles, leading to a new plan to reduce the population of invasive mammals

Bleached coral discovered earlier this month at Maureen's Cove in the Great Barrier Reef

Trending Today

Great Barrier Reef Braces for Another Massive Bleaching Event

After the worst die-off in the reef’s history in 2016, scientists are worried that high sea temperatures will affect the area again

Wild pigs lack natural predators in much of the United States.

Texas Approves Pesticide Targeting Wild Pigs

But hunters and conservationists are concerned that other animals will be exposed to the toxin

Strong atmospheric river events are driving record precipitation across the state of California.

Rivers in the Atmosphere Converge to Give California a Huge Downpour

All aboard the Pineapple Express

Playing the flute isn't easy even for some humans, but in the 18th century, inventor Jacques de Vaucanson figured out how to make a machine play it.

This Eighteenth-Century Robot Actually Used Breathing to Play the Flute

It was one of a trio of automata that had functions like living creatures

This animal hair toothbrush (horse hair, to be exact) is said to have belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte.

You Can Still Buy Pig-Hair Toothbrushes

There’s an argument for it, given all the environmental destruction causes by plastic ones

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault keeps backups of the world's seeds safe in case of catastrophe.

Trending Today

Syria Just Made a Major Seed Bank Deposit

Seeds from 49,000 types of crops will be backed up in Svalbard once more

Bee pollination drives billions of dollars a year in global agricultural production, but the busy insects are under threat.

New Research

New Map Highlights Bee Population Declines Across the U.S.

As wild bee populations continue to fall, new research identifies counties that will be hit the hardest

Tracking individual lemurs—such as the endangered red-bellied lemur pictured here—is no easy task. But researchers hope that facial recognition software can help in the fight for the survival of the bushy-tailed primates.

New Research

How Do You Pick a Lemur Out of a Lineup? This Software Makes the Leap

Facial recognition software can identify individuals, helping researchers conserve the endangered primate

Trending Today

The Country’s Most Famous Bald Eagle Pair Just Laid Another Egg

To the delight of millions of online viewers, the nesting eagles at the U.S. National Arboretum welcomed a new egg to their nest

Cradle to Cradle laid out a strategy for reducing waste through smarter product design. Case in point: the book itself is plastic and waterproof; the pages can be recycled and the ink can be washed off for reuse.

The Inventors of Upcycling Published Their Manifesto In a Plastic Book. Why?

You might have heard the term in relation to crafting, but it means a lot more

This photo shows the Berkeley 60-inch cyclotron, build in 1939. The year before, technetium-99 was discovered by Emilio Segrè and Glenn Seaborg using the facility's 37-inch cyclotron. Ernest Lawrence, the cyclotron's inventor, is standing, third from left.

Old Particle Accelerator Tech Might Be Just What the Doctor Ordered

Shortages of important supplies for nuclear medicine has researchers looking for answers on how to produce technetium-99

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Trending Today

Mining Exploration Begins in Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains

Michigan is divided over a mining company’s plans to drill for copper in a beloved state park

Check Out Yosemite’s “Firefall” Illusion Light Up El Capitan

The firefall is back this year, and it’s just as spectacular as ever

Ceres is much more than a rotating rock.

New Research

Organic Material Found on Ceres Hints at Potential for Life

Scientists are fired up about these building blocks of life

Sea surface temperatures are abnormally warm in the Pacific Ocean. Will that drive an El Niño event later this year?

Trending Today

Another El Niño Could Be On Its Way

There’s a 40 percent chance of the pattern later this year

The taxi of the future doesn't drive—it flies.

Cool Finds

Dubai Will Get Self-Flying Taxis This Year

Bypass traffic with the taxi of the future

Yellow Fever Outbreak in Congo and Angola Finally Comes to an End

After almost 1,000 confirmed cases of the disease, the WHO has declared outbreak over

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

New Research

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

An artist's rendition of Dinocephalosaurus carrying her baby through the ancient ocean.

New Research

This Ancient Reptile Gave Birth to Live Offspring

Rather than laying eggs like its modern bird and croc relatives this creature gave birth to live babies

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