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Smart News / Smart News Science

Sketchy Skype Calls Actually Do Hurt Your Emotional Connection

“If one wanted to go to less trouble in undermining the world’s unity, one could start with a dodgy internet connection obstructing conversational flow”

This Sea Slug Was Just Named After a Game of Thrones Character

There’s a Stephen Colbert beetle, a Lady Gaga genus of plant, and a Beyonce bee. And now, a Game of Thrones slug

Can You Make Medical Devices Out of LEGOs?

Using ribbons, buttons, LEGOs and 3D printing, this scientist is trying to make it easier and cheaper for doctors and nurses to create medical devices

Washing Your Hands in Hot Water Wastes Energy–And Doesn’t Make Them Any Cleaner Than Cold

If Americans turned down the heat when washing their hands they could save 6 million metric tons of CO2 every year

Robot

In the DARPA Robotics Challenge, Robots Drive, Climb, Bust Through Walls And Prepare to Take Over the World

Trials for the DARPA Robotics Challenge this weekend will put these robots to the test

There Is a Way to Make Lion Hunting Good for Lions

A contentious issue may have a bright side

Great White Sharks Swim Up, Down, Far, Wide—All Over the Place, Really—And We Had No Idea

Satellite tags map great white shark movements

The Scientific Reason Super-Villains Always Lose

Evil isn’t the only culprit

Ancient Reptiles Kept Switching Between Laying Eggs And Giving Birth to Live Babies

Colder temperatures seem key to triggering the switch to live births

This Past November Was the Hottest November Ever Recorded

In the 134-year observational record, we’ve never had a hotter November

The new tapir, Tapirus kabomani.

Scientists Discover a New Species of Tapir; Locals Say, “We Told You!”

The new tapir is the smallest of the world’s five known species but it still counts as one of the largest mammals found in South America

The northern subtropical jet stream flows in Cameron Beccario's Earth.

Watch How the Wind Moves Around the Earth—It’s Hypnotic

This mesmerizing tool helps visualize the winds all over the globe and is known simply as “Earth”

Two Scientists Share Credit for the Theory of Evolution. Darwin Got Famous; This Biologist Didn’t.

When the Linnean Society of London hears the case for natural selection in 1858, Darwin shared credit with biologist A.R. Wallace

We All Experience Smells Differently From One Another

A difference of a single amino acid on one gene can cause that person to experience a smell differently than someone with another amino acid

Stop Freaking Out About Lead in Backyard Chicken Eggs

Urban hens’ eggs have elevated levels of lead, but the levels are still pretty low

Watch China’s Chang’e Lander Touch Down on the Moon

For the first time in 37 years, humans have landed something on the Moon

How Many Birds Do Wind Turbines Really Kill?

The giant spinning turbines are basically bird death traps - and often they cut through prime flying space making the carnage even worse

Cut Down a Forest, Let It Grow Back, And Even 30 Years Later It’s Not the Same

In the tropics, secondary forests are often “ephemeral,” succumbing to deforestation every 10 years or so and thus never able to fully recover

Don't let the badges fool you - most people are willing to cheat.

It’s Not That Hard to Make People Do Bad Things

How many people do you think you’d have to approach before you could convince one to tell a lie?

A composite photo shows the shower of the Geminids.

Friday Night Lights: The Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

For prime meteor shower viewing tonight, stay up late until the Moon sets

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