Smart News / Smart News Science

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

How to Make Awesome Frozen Soap Bubbles Without Having to Brave the Cold

Frozen soap bubbles are really cool looking. But going outside to make them means braving the cold. Here’s how to make them at home

January 3, 2014

160 Years Later, Scientists Grow a GM Potato That Could Have Prevented the Irish Potato Famine

Genetically modified potatoes resistant to potato blight were designed in Ireland

January 3, 2014

Drivers Are Doing Something Besides Driving Ten Percent of the Time

Simply talking on a cellphone, however, did not increase the risk of an accident or near accident for drivers - so long as their eyes stayed on the road

January 3, 2014

On a Warmer Planet, Fewer Clouds Form, And Temperatures Rise Further

Scientists use words such as “catastrophic,” “impossible” and “profound” to describe what life on the planet would be like under 4-degree-warmer conditions

January 2, 2014

Using Nothing But Sound, These Scientists Are Making Things Float

Using nothing but high frequency ultrasound, these researchers can make anything float

January 2, 2014

This Cold Snap Is Making It Colder Than the Surface of Mars

There’s a pocket of cold air hanging over the eastern states, and it is very cold indeed

January 2, 2014

Different Emotional States Manifest in Different Spots in the Human Body

Humans are emotional creatures, but whether emotions produced the same physical responses in people across varying cultures remained unknown until now

December 31, 2013

Dolphins Seem to Use Toxic Pufferfish to Get High

The dolphins’ expert, deliberate handling of the terrorized puffer fish implies that this is not their first time at the hallucinogenic rodeo

December 30, 2013

Actually, Dinosaurs Probably Didn’t All Have Feathers

The increasingly-popular idea that all dinosaurs had feathers may be a bit too enthusiastic

December 30, 2013