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Smart News / Smart News Science

The triumphant space traveler returned from his/her big adventure?

Traumatized-Looking

Western nations fear the technologies deployed in Iran’s space program could be used to develop ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads

An on-site laboratory will let scientists check for microbial life in the subglacial water.

American Drilling Team Is About to Break Through 800 Meters of Ice to Reach Subglacial Lake

Sampling should be done late this evening, with scientific sampling of the subglacial waters beginning immediately

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Leave No Dolphin Behind: Dolphin Pod Carries Injured Member Until She Stops Breathing

Watch these dolphins try to save their injured friend

Faithful Monkeys Make More Babies

When owl monkeys break up the mate that takes up with “the other partner” produces fewer offspring than faithful monkeys

These two are definitely about to transfer cooties

If Cooties Were Real, What Disease Would They Be?

We all know that cooties aren’t real (besides, we’ve all been vaccinated as kids so we’re safe). But if they were real, what disease would cooties be?

Dogs May Have Evolved From the Wolves Who Liked Eating Trash the Most

There may be an evolutionary reason that your dog eats everything, including the trash

Here’s Why It Is Really, Really Cold Out

Blame this increasingly-common form of Arctic circulation for today’s frigid weather

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Doctors Say: Seriously, Get a Flu Shot

Let’s review the excuses. (Spoiler: None of them are good.)

Mycobacterium leprae, in red.

Leprosy Can Turn Nerve Cells Into Stem Cells

The scourge of biblical times could open up a new way of making stem cells in the lab

That bright little blob in the upper lefthand corner is North Dakota’s natural gas flares.

At Night, Giant Fields of Burning Natural Gas Make North Dakota Visibile From Space

Locals have a new nickname for their state. North Dakota: “Kuwait on the Prairie”

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Just Twenty-Nine Dominoes Could Knock Down the Empire State Building

With just 29 dominoes, you can take down the Empire State Building

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Giant Sinkhole Is Swallowing Up a Louisiana Bayou Community

Mining activities likely opened up this apparent pit to hell, forcing residents to evacuate and spewing toxins into the environment

Coal-fired stoves are a major source of black carbon.

Black Carbon May Contribute Almost as Much as Carbon Dioxide to Global Warming

Black carbon’s role in driving warming is much higher than previously thought

Chimps Have an Innate Sense of Fairness

Human ideals about fairness may not be so human after all

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Doomed Satellite’s Final Act Was To Film the Moon’s Surface From Just 30,000 Feet Above

Get a jet airliner’s view of the surface of the Moon

Brazilian Waxes Could Make Pubic Lice Go Extinct

Without pubic hair, people are that much safer from pubic lice

Can You Make Tea Out of Coffee?

A female H. floresiensis recreation from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Flores Hobbits Were Sort of Like Humans, Sort of Like Chimps, Sort of Like Tolkien’s Fantasy Beings

Archaeologists are slowly bringing “the Hobbit Human” to light as new bones turn up

Dyscalculia, Like Dyslexia for Numbers, Could Explain Why You Suck at Math

For some, knowing whether 5 is greater than 2 is a difficult task

Mouse Moms Force Mouse Dads To Care for Their Kids

Female mice have tricks for encouraging the otherwise absentee father of their offspring to care and get involved in child-tending

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