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Smart News / Smart News Science

A map of tornado activity in the U.S., 1950 to 2011

How to Understand the Scale of the Oklahoma Tornado

In terms of size, speed and staying power the Oklahoma tornado was a force of nature

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Lizards Appear to Be Hardier Astronauts Than Mice

Russian scientists say that this experiment represents that longest period animals have ever spent alone in space and been recovered alive

A crazy ant queen.

Invasive Crazy Ants Are Eating Up Invasive Fire Ants in the South

How ecosystems will function if fire ants suddenly disappear and are replaced by crazy ants remains an open but worrying question

Doctors Used to Use Live African Frogs As Pregnancy Tests

Now, those former test subjects may be spreading the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus around the world

For the first time in human history the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has reached 400 parts per million.

A Friendly Reminder From Pretty Much Every Climate Scientist in the World: Climate Change Is Real

Yes, climate change is real. Yes, we are causing it.

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Dogs Experience a Runner’s High (But Ferrets Do Not)

Though the researchers didn’t include cats in the study, they suspect that felines, too, would experience a runner’s high

Climate Change Is Making the Whole Planet Tip

Climate change isn’t just making the North Pole warmer, it’s actually changing where the North Pole is located

The Hubble Space Telescope

A U.S. Spy Agency’s Leftover, Hubble-Sized Satellite Could Be on Its Way to Mars

What do you do with a spare world-class satellite?

E. coli Can Survive the Freezing Cold Winter Hidden in Manure

Even the harsh Canadian winter can’t kill these hardy bacteria

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Mount Everest Is Not Immune to Climate Change

Over the past 50 years, the snow line has receded nearly 600 feet up the mountain and glaciers in the region have shrunk by 13 percent

Workers examine remains at a mass grave in eastern Bosnia in 2004.

Buried Pig Bodies Help Scientists Refine Search Methods for Mass Graves

Currently, the science of detecting mass graves is hit or miss, though the remains of thousands of missing persons may be stashed in clandestine graves

Angelina Jolie’s Double Mastectomy Choice Increasingly Common, Still Medically Murky

Angelina Jolie’s choice to remove breasts is part of a larger trend - but doctors aren’t sure why it’s more popular now than ever, or whether it should be

Barns Are Painted Red Because of the Physics of Dying Stars

Have you ever noticed that almost every barn you have ever seen is red? Here’s why.

Could Lightning Come From Space?

Cosmic rays may cause a “runaway breakdown” of electrons when they collide with highly charged particles in thunderclouds

Over the past few decades Lake Urmia in Iran has steadily dried up.

28-Year Satellite Time-Lapse Shows Exactly What We’re Doing to Our Planet

28 years in just a few seconds, as seen from space

A new and improved model of the human tongue.

How Much Do We Really Know About Your Tongue?

This new model is the most complete guide for understanding the “complex interweaving” of our tongue muscles

Is It Time to Scrap the Manual on Mental Illness?

After 11 years of working on the new DSM, some are saying that it’s time to retire the manual and think abut mental health entirely differently

How Many Weddings Will the Cicadas Ruin This Summer?

Late spring is when the 17 year cicadas come out. It also happens to be a popular time for weddings

Do Blind People See Ghosts?

Can you “see” a ghost without seeing?

It’s Fine to Eat Standing Up

Should we add eating standing up to the list of food no-no’s? It’s unclear, science says

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