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Smart News / Smart News Science

The center of this photo, taken on August 9, shows where the Double Arch formation used to be, before it collapsed on August 8.

Iconic ‘Double Arch’ Rock Formation Collapses in Utah

Changing water levels and erosion from waves may have contributed to the collapse in the popular Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

An artist's illustration of the WISE spacecraft in orbit around Earth. The mission was renamed NEOWISE in 2013 to reflect a new focus on finding near-Earth objects.

NASA Retires Orbiting Telescope That Charted Asteroids for Over a Decade

NEOWISE, which looked for potentially hazardous objects in the solar system, received its last command on Thursday and will burn up when it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere

An aerial photograph of Lahaina's banyan tree taken on August 3, 2024. A wildfire devastated the town in August 2023.

One Year After a Devastating Fire, Lahaina’s 151-Year-Old Banyan Tree Is Healing

Arborists didn’t know if the historic tree would survive, but they’ve been working to give it the best possible odds

DCPA is used on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.

‘Dangerous’ Pesticide That Could Harm Fetuses Is Pulled From the Market in Historic Move by EPA

Often used to kill weeds around crops, DCPA poses a health risk to the unborn babies of pregnant farmworkers, according to the agency

One of the four newly translated cuneiform tablets

Newly Deciphered, 4,000-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablets Used Lunar Eclipses to Predict Major Events

Ancient Babylonians linked astronomical phenomena to pestilence, the death of kings and the destruction of empires

Humans couldn't survive outdoors on Mars for a number of reasons, including its extremely low temperatures. Scientists are studying ways to terraform the planet to make it more hospitable.

Humans Could Warm Up Mars for Space Travelers by Spraying Tiny Metal Rods Into Its Atmosphere

Researchers propose a new technique for making the Red Planet more habitable by engineering heat-trapping nanoparticles from Martian dust

At Mata Menge, researchers found a tiny adult upper arm bone that belonged to an individual who lived 700,000 years ago, shedding light on the origins of Homo floresiensis.

Fossils Shed New Light on Small ‘Hobbit-Like’ Humans That Lived on a Remote Island

Two teeth and a small adult arm bone found in Indonesia suggest the ancestors of Homo floresiensis were even shorter than scientists previously thought

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the International Space Station on June 13.

NASA Astronauts Launched on Eight-Day Mission Might Have to Remain on the ISS Until February

After technical issues on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, the space agency says it’s considering bringing the astronauts back to Earth on a SpaceX Crew Dragon instead

Microwaves need to be cleaned regularly, just like other kitchen surfaces.

Your Microwave Is Teeming With Bacteria, Study Suggests

Researchers found thriving communities of microbes in microwave ovens used in home kitchens, shared spaces and laboratories

The elephants are spending the summer in Newport, Rhode Island, before making their way to the Meatpacking District in New York City this fall.

Art Meets Science

A Herd of Life-Size Elephant Sculptures Is Marching Across America

Created by artists in India, the artworks are part of a larger effort to promote coexistence between humans and animals

An Australian sea lion captures video while swimming through an invertebrate reef habitat.

Scientists Enlist the Help of Sea Lions to Reveal a Unique View of the Ocean Floor

Australian researchers glued satellite-linked GPS cameras to the animals’ backs to capture footage that could be vital to marine conservation efforts

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as photographed by Neil Armstrong on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Researchers looked at lunar soil samples collected during the Apollo missions for the new study.

Meteorite Strikes Are the Primary Creator of the Moon’s Thin Atmosphere, Study Finds

Researchers examined lunar soil samples collected during the Apollo missions to determine which weathering processes contribute most to replenishing the moon’s atmosphere

Fe (pictured with her mate) hatched two chicks this breeding season, bringing the total number of her known offspring to 42.

She’s the Oldest Common Loon in the World. She Just Had Her 42nd Chick

Fe, who is at least 38 years old, initially rose to fame as one half of the “resident power couple” at Michigan’s Seney National Wildlife Refuge

The visible side of the moon.

Scientists Find Water Molecules in Lunar Rock Sample for the First Time

The samples from China’s Chang’e 5 mission shed light on lunar resources that could be vital to future missions and habitations

The Step Pyramid stands more than 200 feet tall and is made from stones weighing more than 650 pounds. Some other researchers are not yet convinced by the idea that it was built using a hydraulics system.

Ancient Egyptians May Have Used Hydraulic Lift to Build Pyramid

Researchers propose that a system of water could have lifted heavy stones to the height necessary to construct the Step Pyramid

A new study of giant danios (not pictured) suggests schools of fish save 79 percent more energy in turbulent conditions than fish swimming individually.

Swimming in Schools May Help Fish Save Energy in Turbulent Waters

A new study suggests schooling fish use up to 79 percent less energy in rough conditions than fish that swim alone

Vultures clean up carcasses quickly, preventing bacteria and pathogens from proliferating. 

When Vultures Nearly Disappeared in India, Half a Million People Died, Too, Study Finds

By being nature’s clean-up crew, the often maligned birds help prevent the spread of diseases, according to a new study

Lava erupts from the Sundhnúkur volcano on June 3, 2024, on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Grindavik, Iceland. The volcano has erupted five times since December 2023, forcing evacuations of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Hidden Underground Magma Pools Fueled Iceland’s Volcanic Eruptions, Study Suggests

A subterranean plumbing system of magma beneath the island’s Reykjanes Peninsula may have helped set off the recent series of eruptions that could last for centuries

The Perseids occur when Earth passes through the debris field of the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.

How to Watch the Perseids, the ‘Best Meteor Shower of the Year’

The annual celestial event is one of the year’s most anticipated, and it will peak from August 11 to 12

Firefighters in Jefferson County, Colorado, are encountering prairie rattlesnakes as they battle the Quarry Fire southwest of Denver.

‘We Have a Rattlesnake Problem’: Wildland Firefighters in the West Must Also Face a Slithering, Venomous Foe

Nearly 100 large fires are burning in the United States right now, including some in rattlesnake territory

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