Smart News: Science News | Smithsonian Magazine

In recent years, enough Arctic ice has melted to clear parts of the Northwest Passage for shipping traffic.

The dwindling ice has an unexpected benefit: more underwater cables

July 5, 2016

Cool Finds

This Is What Jupiter Sounds Like

Listen as Juno bursts into the gas giant’s magnetosphere

July 5, 2016

Goodbye sweet spoons, hello food safety

June 30, 2016

New Research

Climate Change Could Devastate Penguin Populations by Century’s End

Loss of ice and rising sea temperatures could impact 60 percent of the Adelie penguin colonies in Antarctica

June 30, 2016

Ultraviolet images overlying a photo of Jupiter taken by the Hubble Space Telescope

Jupiter’s Auroras Are the Best Light Show in the Solar System

June 30, 2016

Help astronomers track asteroid 2010 NY65 as it streaks across the sky on Asteroid Day

With just a click, you can help astronomers learn more about two nearby asteroids

June 30, 2016

A recent survey shows that the fish have colonized Cyprus and may continue to spread

June 29, 2016

New Research

99-Million-Year-Old Bird Wings Found Encased in Amber

The rare fossils from the age of the dinosaurs look a lot like modern-day bird wings

June 28, 2016

Cool Finds

“Water Windfall” Discovered Under California’s Drought-Stricken Central Valley

Though the aquifer could help with the current and future droughts, researchers caution getting too greedy with the resource

June 28, 2016

A scientist looks at mirror segments for the NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The mirrors underwent cryogenic testing—made possible by scarce helium gas—to see how they would respond to extreme temperatures. Now, scientists have found a huge cache of helium gas that could make the element more accessible to scientists.

New Research

Scientists Found a Huge Reservoir of Much-Needed Helium

Helium is used in everything from particle accelerators to MRI machines, and a dearth of the gas has long plagued researchers

June 28, 2016

Wieger Wamelink inspects his "Martian" crops

New Research

Researchers Will Soon Get Their First Taste of “Martian” Vegetables

After testing them for heavy metals, the scientists will eat vegetables grown in simulated Martian soil later this week

June 28, 2016

The "Mystic Mountain" image released for the Hubble's 20th anniversary showcases a three-light-year tall pillar of gas and dust stretching out of the Carina nebula. Mostly made of cool hydrogen, the structure is created by stars releasing jets of gas, which is worn away by radiation from other nearby stars, giving it its eroded shape.

These amazing views are just a selection of the beautiful images the craft has captured over the years

June 28, 2016

Perhaps it's best that this comet is billions of miles away from Earth.

Cool Finds

This Perfume Smells Like a Comet

Yum?

June 27, 2016

Journey to the Center of Earth

Watch Scientists Make Their Own Lava

Basaltic rock and a lot of heat equals a homegrown brew that’s as beautiful as it is dangerous

June 27, 2016

Ski mountaineering legend Kit DesLauriers ascends Mt. Isto, the new highest peak in the Brooks Range

Cool Finds

After 60 Years, An Expedition Determines Highest Peaks in U.S. Arctic

Glaciologist Matt Nolan and ski mountaineer Kit DesLauriers tested a new mapping system to end uncertainty about the highest mountain in the Brooks Range

June 27, 2016

Cool Finds

Spix’s Macaw, Star of “Rio,” Spotted in the Wild for the First Time in 15 Years

Captured in a backlit cellphone video, the sighting gives conservationists hope for the survival of Brazil’s little blue birds

June 27, 2016

Fossilized teeth from an ancient sperm whale

Cool Finds

Landfill Surprises Scientists With 12-Million-Year-Old Whale Fossils

The fossilized remains of a sperm whale were discovered in a newly cleared area of an Orange County landfill

June 27, 2016

Cool Finds

Researchers Studying “Teen Sex” and Flesh-Eating Maggots Win 2016 Golden Goose Awards

Both quirky and important, these studies went against the grain

June 27, 2016

New Research

Some Genes Remain “Alive” for Days After the Body Dies

Studies in animals show that even when a creature has ceased to live, some genes are still busy doing their thing

June 24, 2016

New Research

Mammals May Have Dinosaurs to Thank for Their Night Vision

Mammals most likely developed a new pathway to night vision to avoid the jaws of dinos and other daytime predators

June 23, 2016

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