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Smart News / Smart News Science

A seismogram records the motion of the magnitude 8.0 earthquake.

A Massive 8.0 Earthquake Hit the South Pacific Last Night

Huge magnitude 8.0 earthquakes are rare—but not as rare as you’d think

Earthworms Could Make Climate Change Worse

While earthworms benefit soils, they do play a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide - though not nearly as great as humans, of course

Colorful Kindergarten Lessons Throw Color-Blind Kids Off Their Game

‘Beatrice the Swabia’ is a baby Coquerel’s sifaka

Lemurs Are the Most Endangered Mammals on the Planet, And This Adorable Baby Is Their Future

The vast majority of lemur species are facing extinction, but this baby Coquerel’s safika is trying to help

A New Disease, a New Reason to Hate And Fear Ticks

A worrisome new tick-borne disease, similar to Lyme disease but caused by a different microbe, turned up in 18 patients in southern New England

China’s Air Pollution Is So Bad That One Entrepreneur Is Selling Fresh Air in Cans

It’s a bleak state of affairs indeed when a Mel Brooks schtickfest from the ‘80s actually predicts the future

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Just a Nibble of Chocolate Is Enough to Satiate Cravings

Larger portions lead to increased grazing, but there’s no benefit when it comes to banishing cravings.

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Here’s What Three Mummies Might Have Looked Like While Alive

For the first time in over 2,000 years, these three mummies’ faces now stare back at viewers, much as they might have appeared just before their deaths

Citrus Greening Will Ruin Morning OJ, No Matter How You Slice It

Never Listen to a Wine Critic Babble About Tannins Again

Turns out, a lot of what wine experts “know” isn’t really based on fact

The earliest known portrayal of patients suffering from syphilis, from Vienna in 1498.

Did Shakespeare Have Syphilis?

Shakespeare acquired an uncanny obsession with syphilis late in life, perhaps along with a few bacteria of his own

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

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