Smart News / Smart News Science

New Research

The More Fires Firefighters Are Exposed to, the More Heat Resistant They Become

As firefighters are exposed to more and more fires, their bodies evolve a tolerance for those inhospitable environments

January 10, 2014

Trending Today

International Space Station to Get a Four Year Life Extension

Then, in 2024, it has to crash into the ocean

January 10, 2014

New Research

Emperor Penguins Have Some Tricks to Help Cope with Climate Change

Some penguin colonies live off the ice

January 10, 2014

New Research

This Drug Turns Back Time in Your Brain, Until, Like a Kid, You Can Learn New Skills

By increasing neural plasticity, this drug could open your mind to new abilities

January 10, 2014

Cool Finds

Astronomers Find What May Be a Star Within a Star

The best candidate yet for an elusive Thorne-Żytkow Object

January 10, 2014

New Research

The Dutch Nearly Beat James Cook to New Zealand

A shipwreck discovered off New Zealand dates to a time before Cook’s arrival

January 9, 2014

Being the Victim of Racism Seems to Accelerate Aging

This study brings further evidence to the scientific belief that “social toxins” such as racism have a very real impact on people’s lives and health

January 8, 2014

Expose Wounds to the Right Kind of Sounds, And They Heal Faster

Treatment with low-intensity ultrasound could help chronic wounds to heal

January 8, 2014

Finally, an Opiate Test That Doesn’t Confuse Poppy Seeds With Heroin

The days of heroin users leaning on bagels as a scapegoat are probably numbered

January 8, 2014

Hunter-Gatherers Ruined Their Teeth by Eating Too Many Acorns

Wild nuts such as acorns, pine nuts and pistachios are highly cariogenic, or those “producing and promoting the development of tooth decay”

January 8, 2014

Meet Some of the Lucky(?) People Shortlisted for a One-Way Trip to Mars

Applicants who missed out on this selection round but who are still bent on living out their final days 140 million miles away can reapply in the future

January 8, 2014

People Don’t Make More Friends, They Just Replace Their Old Ones

We each have a limited capacity for maintaining friendships, so to make new friends, we have to let one go

January 7, 2014

You Switch Between Devices 21 Times Every Hour

Right now, you’re probably using your computer and phone, and perhaps a television, an iPad, and if you’re really fancy a smart watch

January 7, 2014

Why Supervolcanic Eruptions Are Even Rarer Than We Thought

Supervolcanoes are not just really, really big volcanoes—they’re fundamentally different things, driven by different forces

January 6, 2014

From 2004 to 2010, the Number of Injuries From Walking in Telephone Poles Almost Tripled

Stop walking and using your smart phone at the same time.

January 6, 2014

Kids Who’ve Had a Concussion Shouldn’t Do Their Homework, It Makes Recovery Take Longer

People who’ve suffered a concussion should take time off from any taxing mental activity

January 6, 2014

Dinosaur Poop Is Harder to Find Than It Should Be

Why don’t archaeologists find fossilized poop all over the place? In a word: roaches

January 6, 2014

Urbanization Has Been Destroying the Environment Since the Very First Cities

The development of the ancient city of Akko, roughly 6000 years ago, led to the collapse of the local ecosystem

January 6, 2014

Some Chinese Donkey Meat Actually Contains Fox

Some customers in China now know both what the fox says, and what it tastes like

January 3, 2014

A Loud Crack on a Cold Winter Night? It Might Have Been a Frost Quake

Frost quakes can cause a sound like a sonic boom

January 3, 2014