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Smart News / Smart News Science

Joseph Lister's work was influenced by Louis Pasteur's work on fermentation.

The Idea of Surgeons Washing Their Hands is Only 154 Years Old

The world of surgery before that was much grosser and less effective

A spider munches on its prey.

New Research

Spiders Eat Up to 800 Million Tons of Prey Each Year

For comparison, whales eat up to 500 million tons annually

Although it's called "hay fever" it refers to an allergy caused by a variety of grasses.

The First Description of Allergies Was Published On This Day in 1844

John Bostock was a British doctor suffering from what he called “summer catarrh”

This image shows how an iris clip, also known as an intraocular lens, is fitted onto the eye. The clip is a small, thin lens made from silicone or acrylic with plastic side supports to hold it in place. It is fixed to the iris through a tiny surgical incision and can treat cataracts and near-sightedness.

Art Meets Science

Contest Winners Capture the Eerie Beauty of Medical Imagery

From stained mice placenta to an implant in the eye, this year’s Wellcome Image Award recipients highlight the beauty of science

New Research

Researchers Find the First Naturally Fluorescent Frog Species

The polka-dot tree frog emits a blue-green glow under UV light, which is an unusual feature for land-dwelling critters

A wild female Amur leopard crouches on a rocky hillside in the Kedrovaya Pad nature reserve in Russia.

Future of Conservation

China Approves Massive National Park to Protect Its Last Big Cats

The 5,600-square-mile reserve along the Russian border will safeguard rare Amur leopards and Siberian Tigers

As part of his survival plan, Watney uses vacuum-packed potatoes to start his own farm on Mars.

Scientists Successfully Grow Potatoes in Mars-Like Soils

Can potatoes grow on the red planet? The International Potato Center is on the case

This image, taken from space last summer, shows a long swath of dead mangroves on Australia's northern coast.

New Research

What Killed Northern Australia’s Mangroves?

Last year’s massive die-off was the largest ever observed

Westgate Park's salt lake has once again turned cotton-candy pink.

Cool Finds

Why Did This Australian Lake Turn Bright Pink?

Hot weather, scant rainfall and high salt levels have created a perfect storm for pinkness

This 230-foot-tall antenna helped NASA locate a long-lost spacecraft.

Cool Finds

NASA Spots India’s Long-Lost Lunar Orbiter

Chandrayaan-1 had been missing for eight years

NOAA weather map for Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Trending Today

Is Winter Storm Stella a “Weather Bomb”?

The storm battering the northeastern U.S. is expected to undergo “bombogenesis.” Just what does that mean?

A humpback supergroup off the coast of South Africa

New Research

Scientists Spot Hundreds of Humpback Whales Feeding in Massive Groups

The normally solitary creatures gathered off the southwestern coast of South Africa, puzzling researchers

Take in the spectacular view with a new VR simulation of the International Space Station.

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Trip to the International Space Station

New VR simulation turns you into an orbiting astronaut

Percival Lowell in the 1900s.

The Bizarre Beliefs of Astronomer Percival Lowell

Lowell’s theories were treated with skepticism even in his own lifetime

An artists rendering of how a solar sail might be powered by a radio beam from the surface of a planet

New Research

Are Fast Radio Bursts from Alien Spacecraft? It’s Unlikely, but Possible

A new paper raises the (distant) possibility that the unusual high-energy bursts from the cosmos are from intergalactic ships

Would these eyes deceive you? New study says yes.

Dogs Use Deception to Get Treats, Study Shows

When a human partner withheld tasty snacks, the dogs got sneaky

The little moon has drawn comparisons to ravioli, empanadas, and hamburger.

Cool Finds

One of Saturn’s Moons is Making Astronomers Hungry

New images of the tiny moon are drawing comparisons to a ravioli, empanadas, walnuts, hamburgers…nom, nom, nom

New Research

Ancient Brain Training Technique Can Boost Memory

Participants who practiced the Memory Palace method for 40 days showed changes in brain activity and improved memory months later

Psst--smell my feet.

New Research

Bumblebees May Smell Each Other’s Footprints to Keep Track of Flowers

In a new study, bumblebees were able to discriminate the foot odor left behind by their nestmates, strange bees and themselves

Brr.

Cool Finds

Why (Part of) the International Space Station Will Soon Be the Coldest Place in the Universe

An icebox-like lab will help scientists get a grip on a phenomenon that’s hard to spot on Earth

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