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Smart News / Smart News Science

The 20-karat gold wire was installed some time before the man died.

New Research

Why Did This Wealthy Scotsman Pay a Jeweler to Wrap His Teeth in Gold Wire Hundreds of Years Ago?

What an early example of a dental bridge reveals about health, wealth and social values in the late medieval and early modern world

Kenya's Great Rift Valley

East Africa Might Break Off From the Continent Sooner Than Scientists Thought—and a New Ocean May Fill the Gap

A new study suggests that a rift in Kenya and Ethiopia has reached a critical stage in the split-up process, and that water may flood it in a few million years

Analysis of a skeleton from an early medieval site

New Research

The Fall of the Roman Empire Was Less a Clash of Civilizations and More an Opportunity to Mix and Mingle, a New Genetics Study Shows

Researchers who analyzed genomes from early medieval graves in modern-day Germany hypothesize that people from the former Roman Empire formed families with Germanic people soon after the empire fell

Researchers studied social learning in the birds by introducing a novel food item: colorfully dyed almonds.

Wild Cockatoos Learn Which Snacks Are Safe to Eat by Copying Their Friends, New Research Suggests

Munching on the wrong items can lead to illness, but social learning might help the birds avoid making a potentially deadly mistake. The phenomenon could help explain why certain cockatoos have fared so well in urban environments

Illustration of a time sequence as the celestial body moves in front of a distant star

This Tiny Celestial Body Past Pluto Shouldn’t Have an Atmosphere—but Astronomers Say They May Have Detected One

Worlds this small and distant are thought to be too cold and have too little surface gravity to hold onto gases. But the findings suggest that icy, rocky objects in the solar system’s outer reaches are more dynamic than we thought

The treatment involves wearing a headset for various at-home sessions.

The Future of Mental Health

FDA-Approved At-Home Brain Stimulation Device Aims to Treat Depression by Changing Patients’ Brain Excitability

The treatment consists of a Bluetooth headset that patients can connect to an app on their smartphones. It could mark a revolution in mental health medicine

Chonkers, a Steller sea lion, is much larger than his companions, California sea lions.

Chonkers the Massive Sea Lion Drew Crowds to San Francisco’s Famed Pier 39. Then, a New Chunky Showstopper Stole His Identity

The Steller sea lion was an unusual visitor to the pier, which typically hosts smaller California sea lions. However, he may have moved on days ago, during which time a humongous member of the area’s more common species tricked onlookers

The European green woodpecker was one of the most skittish birds observed.

Urban Birds Seem to Be More Fearful of Women Than of Men—and Scientists Don’t Know Why

The study examined 37 bird species in cities across five European countries. The animals allowed men to get about three feet closer than women, on average, before flying away

The HPV vaccine defends patients against cervical cancer. 

Could Australia Be the First Country to Eliminate Cervical Cancer? It’s on Track, but HPV Vaccination and Screening Rates Are Falling

The country implemented a national vaccination program to prevent the disease in 2007. New data show that in 2021, no women under age 25 were diagnosed with cervical cancer, marking a major milestone

Members of the rescue team on a barge that later transported the whale to the North Sea

Timmy the Whale Was Released Into the North Sea After Being Stranded Off the German Coast for Weeks. Was That the Right Call?

The humpback whale first entered shallow water at the end of March, but its health deteriorated over the past few weeks. Experts have criticized efforts to rescue the animal, which may have done more harm than good

The MV Hondius, the cruise ship facing a hantavirus outbreak, anchored off the coast of Cape Verde, an archipelagic country near West Africa

A Deadly Outbreak of Hantavirus Has Stranded a Cruise Ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Here’s What to Know About the Rare Contagion

Three people associated with the vessel have died, and health officials have identified a total of two confirmed cases and five suspected cases of the infection. The virus usually spreads via contaminated rodent droppings

Lung cancer cells, shown in green, growing in a mouse heart

Cancer Is Somehow Rare in the Heart. Turns Out, the Organ’s Rhythmic Beat Might Keep the Disease at Bay, a Mouse Study Finds

Less than 1 percent of cancers start in the heart, and disease that begins elsewhere seldom spreads to the blood-pumping organ. New research suggests mechanical force might have a protective role

An illustration of lymphocytes, or white blood cells in the immune system, which include T cells and other disease-fighting cells

You’ve Been Told to ‘Feed a Cold.’ Turns Out, Eating May Truly Boost Your Immune System Cells, According to a New Study

T cells, which target infection and disease, can become more effective after a meal. The finding might help improve cancer-fighting therapies and optimize our response to vaccines

Pluto was considered the solar system's ninth planet for more than 70 years.

Could Pluto Once Again Be Considered a Planet? New Remarks From NASA’s Administrator Highlight an Enduring Debate Among Scientists

Two decades ago, the International Astronomical Union—which defines and names celestial bodies—redefined the criteria for being a planet, putting Pluto into the new category of dwarf planet

The Eta Aquarids as seen from Sri Lanka in 2024

The Eta Aquarid Meteor Shower Peaks This Week, but a Bright Moon Might Spoil the Show

This annual event, which peaks on the night of May 5 into the next morning, comes from the trail of debris left by Halley’s comet. It’s best viewed from the Southern Hemisphere, but skywatchers in the north can catch a glimpse

Tatooine is a fictional desert planet with two suns. No such planet had been found when this scene in Star Wars: Episode IV–A New Hope ​​​​​​was created.

Astronomers Discover 27 Potential Planets Each Orbiting Two Stars, Just Like the Fictional Tatooine in ‘Star Wars’

The findings could more than double our current database of worlds that loop around binary star systems. But researchers need to analyze more data before they can officially celebrate a new trove of far, far away exoplanets

Cattle are a major driver of methane emissions.

Why Do Cows Burp Up So Much Planet-Warming Methane? A Newly Discovered Structure in Their Gut Microbes Could Be a Culprit

The “hydrogenobody” is an organelle inside certain microorganisms that live in a special stomach chamber in cattle, sheep and goats, according to a new study

The A.I. model outperformed two doctors when presented with data from dozens of real E.R. patients.

A.I. Outperformed Doctors at Diagnosing Real-World E.R. Patients in a New Study. That Doesn’t Mean Computers Will Replace Clinicians

One of OpenAI’s large language models did better than physicians in several experiments, hinting that A.I.-assisted emergency medical care could be around the corner

Left: Experimental setup of some chickpeas growing in artificial lunar dirt. Right: A chickpea root covered in the simulated moon soil, which is sharp and glass-like. 

Hummus Made From Moon-Grown Chickpeas Might Be on the Menu for Future Lunar Residents

Researchers successfully grew and harvested chickpeas in simulated moon dirt—with a little help from worm poop and a beneficial fungus. However, they’re still testing whether the legumes are safe to eat

Lava, seen as darker brown rocks, from Methana's most recent eruption flows through ancient limestone into the sea.

This Greek Volcano Seemed Quiet for 100,000 Years. Then It Erupted Again. Should Scientists Take a Second Look at ‘Extinct’ Volcanoes?

By reconstructing a 700,000-year history of Methana volcano, geologists found a prehistoric phase when it appeared inactive on the surface, despite magma building up below ground

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