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Smart News / Smart News Science

The first known photograph of Drosera magnifica.

New Research

No One Knew This Plant Existed Until It Was Posted to Facebook

What’s the emoji for “scientific discovery”?

A mother rhino breastfeeding her baby

Cool Finds

Why Mammals Have a Monopoly On Milk

It all started with an egg

Pluto may be home to a hazy atmosphere, nitrogen glaciers and possibly even an underground ocean.

New Research

There’s Flowing Ice on Pluto

And maybe an underground ocean

Hair ice found in Skåne County, Sweden.

New Research

Here’s How a Strange Phenomenon Called ‘Hair Ice’ Forms on Dead Trees

The white ice filaments look a lot like cotton candy

A stone etching on the grave of crewmember Lt. John Irving depicts the dire conditions that the Franklin expedition faced when they reached the Canadian Arctic.

New Research

Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Ended in Gruesome Cannibalism

New bone analysis suggests crew resorted to eating flesh, then marrow

Cool Finds

This Fungus Eats the Butts off Cicadas

It’s totally not a big deal, though

Cool Finds

This Video of Lightning in Slow Motion is Strangely Entrancing

Hypnotize yourself with lightning at 2,000 frames per second

New Horizons snapped this parting shot of Pluto on July 15, 2015.

New Horizons Snaps a Final Shot of Pluto

So long, dwarf planet!

New Research

Your Pupils May Expand When You Daydream

But researchers aren’t totally sure why or how the two are connected

Brain tissue infected with Naegleria fowleri glows green.

New Research

Brain-Eating Amoebas May Kill You With Help from Your Own Immune System

The amoeba’s presence in the brain triggers swelling that may do more harm than good

This fasciated flower — a White Mule’s Ear, found in Island Park, Idaho — has the same disorder found in flowers near Fukushima

Cool Finds

Don’t Freak Out Over the Funky Flowers That Appeared Near Fukushima

The odd appearance is due to a plant disorder called fasciation

Trending Today

An Explosion at a National Lab is Being Linked to Meth

A former combustion research lab seems to have been used for a very different purpose: cooking methamphetamine

The tasty bruschetta in the study.

New Research

Great Appetizers Can Spoil the Main Meal

The contrast is key

A graphical abstract from the paper shows the bat approaching its pitcher plant partner.

New Research

This Plant Calls to Bats So They Will Poop in it

Specially shaped reflectors bounce back the squeaks of echolocating bats

Two black rhinos, a mother and her calf, explore a watering hole at Etosha National Park in Namibia.

Cool Finds

Researchers are Fitting Rhinos With Hidden Horn Cameras

One non-profit wants to outfit the animals with cameras and heart rate monitors to save them

A helicopter drops approximately gallons of water from a “Bambi Bucket” on to the Stetson Creek Fire near Cooper Landing, Alaska, June 17, 2015.

Watch Wildfire Smoke from Alaska and Canada Envelop the Arctic

Here’s why that’s bad

The Oldest Bald Eagle in the U.S. Was Killed by a Car Last Month

Here’s to you, 629-03142

In early July, Sentinel-2A captured this image of the Sahara in central Algeria.

Cool Finds

See the Algerian Sahara From Space

It’s pretty spectacular

New Research

Think Ocean Water is Gross? Sand Is Way Grosser

New research shows that microbes take longer to decay in sand than at sea

Trending Today

An Internet Billionaire Just Pledged $100 Million to Search for Extraterrestrial Life

More telescope time, better equipment could help scientists figure out what’s out there

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