Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

New Research

Why We Shouldn’t Worry About Growing Plants With Recycled Water

Trace amounts of common pharmaceuticals show up in crops grown with recycled water, but not as much as you’d think

New Research

Waking Up During Anesthesia Can Have Long-Lasting Effects

Half of people who reported waking up from anesthesia suffered lasting psychological trauma

A scanning electron micrograph image of red and white blood cells.

Cool Finds

Scientists Have Basically No Idea How Many Cells Are in the Human Body

Is it 5 trillion or 500 trillion? Who knows.

An artist's conception of MAVEN in orbit around Mars

Trending Today

Mars Just Got a New Robotic Explorer

NASA’s MAVEN orbiter dropped into orbit last night

A radioactive forest in Chernobyl.

New Research

The Risks of Fire Around Chernobyl

Radioactive forest litter that has accumulated for the past 28 years could fuel massive blazes in the future

New Research

Dreams Escalate in Weirdness As the Night Wears On

Early in the night our dreams are grounded in reality, but by the end, anything goes

A totally realistic portrayal of what it's like to slip on a banana peel.

Cool Finds

The Physics of Slipping on a Banana Peel, And Other Weird, Ig Nobel Science

Banana peels may be the secret to better prosthetics

A genet riding a rhino.

Cool Finds

A Fuzzy Little Genet Is Hitching Rides on Rhinos and Buffalo, And No One Can Figure Out Why

Camera traps exposed the secret world of a rhino-riding genet

New Research

Even People With Locked-In Syndrome Respond to Hitchcock Movies

The brain of a patient in a vegetative state responded to a movie the same way as healthy people

Trending Today

The World Experienced Record-Breaking Weather This August

Last month was the warmest August on record since record-keeping began

New Research

Human Activities Aren’t the Cause of Chimpanzees’ Murderous Tendencies

A new study shows that humans are not responsible for murder amongst Chimpanzees

New Research

Artificial Sweeteners May Be Screwing Up How Your Body Handles Sugar

By affecting gut microbes, artificial sweeteners may be messing with your metabolism

Cool Finds

Russian Spy Satellite Breaks Apart Over Rockies

A streak of light seen in the skies earlier this month was likely a spy satellite breaking up

New Research

We Evolved Unique Human Faces So We Could Tell One Another Apart

Human face shape is more variable than other parts of the body

A carrion beetle fossil from the Cretaceous period.

New Research

Carrion Beetles Were the First Caring Parents

Flesh-eating beetles that lived 125 million years ago set the stage for modern parenting

A dead Chinese sturgeon found in the Yangtze in 2007

New Research

Chinese Sturgeon Is on the Brink of Extinction After 140 Million Years

Last year, the sturgeon didn’t reproduce at all in the wild

Cool Finds

At MIT, a Robot Cheetah Is Sprinting—And Leaping—Across Campus

MIT’s robot cheetah may not be the only one in Boston—but it can leap

New Research

Mindlessly Vegging Out Is Good for You, But Only If You Don’t Guilt Yourself for It

Relaxing only works if you let yourself do it

Trending Today

Half As Many Small Children Died Last Year As Did in 1990

The global mortality rate for children under five is continuing to drop

Protests in August, 2014 against the Libyan parliament's decision to ask the UN to intervene in the country's current conflict.

Cool Finds

Libya’s Parliament Is Living on a Greek Ferry

Unrest in Libya has forced the government to take to the seas

Page 462 of 537