Smart News Science

Stop Freaking Out About Lead in Backyard Chicken Eggs

Urban hens' eggs have elevated levels of lead, but the levels are still pretty low

Watch China’s Chang’e Lander Touch Down on the Moon

For the first time in 37 years, humans have landed something on the Moon

How Many Birds Do Wind Turbines Really Kill?

The giant spinning turbines are basically bird death traps - and often they cut through prime flying space making the carnage even worse

Cut Down a Forest, Let It Grow Back, And Even 30 Years Later It’s Not the Same

In the tropics, secondary forests are often "ephemeral," succumbing to deforestation every 10 years or so and thus never able to fully recover

Don't let the badges fool you - most people are willing to cheat.

It’s Not That Hard to Make People Do Bad Things

How many people do you think you'd have to approach before you could convince one to tell a lie?

A composite photo shows the shower of the Geminids.

Friday Night Lights: The Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

For prime meteor shower viewing tonight, stay up late until the Moon sets

James Bond’s Martini Consumption Would Have Compromised His Physical, Mental and Sexual Abilities

The authors postulate that the spy's preference for shaken, not stirred vodka martinis may indicate a case of shaky hands caused by alcohol-induced tremors

Peruse the Weird Medical History of Every Single U.S. President

From John Adams's baldness to James Madison's frostbite to Herbert Hoover's handshake problems, learn about the ailments of the presidents

Playing an Instrument Won’t Make Your Kid Smarter

Music can, however, boost children's creativity and teach them important life skills such as discipline and concentration--but so can other hobbies

Some Animals Don't Get Weaker With Age

Some animals actually get more fertile and less prone to dying as they hit their upper years

Allergies Can Be So Specific That a Person Can React to a Egg's Yolk But Not Its Whites

Food allergies can be quite specific, triggered by a single species rather than entire genre such as "seafood"

Imagining Eating Cookies Makes You Eat More Cookies

Even if you think a lot about eating fruit, it won't be enough to make you actually grab that apple

To Fight Superbugs, FDA Goes After Antibiotic Overuse on Farms

The FDA is pushing for a voluntary end to the use of antibiotics on farms as growth promoters

Desert Tortoises May Be Starving, Dehydrating And Dying Because of Climate Change

Those that hadn't succumbed to death by drought appeared to have been predated on by starving coyotes, which usually eat mammals

Madagascar Is Battling a Bubonic Plague Outbreak

Health officials confirmed this week that at least 20 villagers have now died from plague, which likely originates from infected rats

If the concentration of PFTBA is the same everywhere as it is in Toronto, which the researchers think it is, then that would be a bad thing.

There’s a New Greenhouse Gas to Worry About, And It’s 7,100 Times Stronger Than Carbon Dioxide

PFTBA is the most efficient greenhouse gas found, on a molecule-by-molecule basis

NASA's Juno spacecraft captures first images of our moon orbiting Earth.

Watch From Space As the Moon Orbits Around Earth

The Earth and the Moon, as seen from 600,000 miles away

So with Turkestan roaches and Japanese roaches now calling North America home, how many cockroaches do we now have to worry about?

How Many Species of Cockroaches Plague Humanity?

There are 4,500 species of cockroaches in the world, but just 30 are considered pests

Being able to identify people based on their skulls is a key part of forensic anthropology. The problem is that no one has ever really tested how good we are at it.

Can You Match These Skulls? Many Experts Can’t

Only 56 percent of forensic anthropologists can correctly pair up two images of the same skull when given two profile images

Animals use one of two different mechanisms, bioluminescence and fluorescence, to light up.

This One Little Video Will Help You Understand Fireflies Better Forever

Bioluminescence is a chemical reaction that happens and creates light. Fluorescence requires lights to be seen

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