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Smart News / Smart News Science

A portrait of Ludwig Van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, painted in 1820.

Locks of Beethoven’s Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses

Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer’s hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments

An artist's concept of 55 Cancri e and its sun. The star is much closer to its sun than any planet in our solar system, so it is too hot to support life.

Astronomers Discover an Atmosphere on a Hot, Rocky Exoplanet With an Ocean of Magma

It’s the best evidence yet of an atmosphere on a rocky planet outside our solar system, researchers say, and studying the distant world could provide insight into Earth’s early days

Dice snakes feigned their own deaths with a variety of mechanisms, including filling their mouths with blood (shown right).

Dice Snakes Fake Their Own Deaths With Gory, Poop-Filled Theatrics

When attacked by a predator, the reptiles can play dead with convincing detail, employing blood and feces for the show

Sperm whales communicate by making clicks.

Scientists Discover a ‘Phonetic Alphabet’ Used by Sperm Whales, Moving One Step Closer to Decoding Their Chatter

Researchers used artificial intelligence to spot patterns in recordings of the marine mammals’ vocalizations, uncovering the “building blocks of whale language”

Memorable, large images and scenes are associated with a longer perception of time, a new study suggests.

Are Days Passing Too Quickly? Memorable Experiences Might Help Dilate Your Sense of Time, Research Suggests

How we process time is linked to things we see, according to a new study, which found memorable, non-cluttered imagery can make moments seem to last longer

An MRI of a brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease. A new study suggests having two copies of a genetic variant called APOE4 is a cause of the disease, not just a risk factor for it.

Almost All People With Two Copies of This Genetic Variant Develop Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds

The research focused on a variant called APOE4 and largely looked at people of European ancestry—risk levels are different for other groups, the authors say

Ellen Ochoa was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House last week, becoming the tenth astronaut to receive the country's highest civilian honor.

Ellen Ochoa, Former NASA Astronaut and First Hispanic Woman in Space, Receives Presidential Medal of Freedom

The former Johnson Space Center director logged four space shuttle flights and 1,000 hours in orbit over her 30-year career

Previous research had found leprosy in modern red squirrels, and genetic analysis suggested the strain was closely related to leprosy found in medieval humans.

Medieval Squirrels and Humans May Have Spread Leprosy Back and Forth

Archaeologists uncovered evidence of leprosy in a medieval red squirrel in England, and DNA evidence revealed the strain was similar to what was circulating in humans at the time

Close-up showing the Archaeopteryx fossil’s skull, neck, spine, rib cage and wing bones. The fossil will go on view at Chicago's Field Museum on May 7.

Chicago Museum Unveils the ‘Most Important Fossil Ever Discovered’: the Feathered Dinosaur Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx provided the missing link between dinosaurs and the avians of today, serving as critical evidence for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution

Bumblebees, on the whole, are better adapted for cooler temperatures than for heat—one species, Bombus polaris, even lives in the Arctic.

Bumblebee Nests May Be Overheating With Rising Global Temperatures, Study Finds

Across various species and regions, bumblebee nests thrive between 82 and 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit—and climate change could make it harder to find habitats in that range

Shanidar Z likely stood 5 feet tall and was around 40 years old when she died.

Meet Shanidar Z, a Neanderthal Woman Who Walked the Earth 75,000 Years Ago

After carefully piecing her skull back together, archaeologists and paleoartists have created a lifelike 3D reconstruction of the woman’s face

An angled view of the solar system with main asteroid belt discoveries in green and near-Earth objects in light blue.

Scientists Discover 27,500 Asteroids in Old Telescope Images Using A.I.

While most of the team’s new finds are located in the main asteroid belt, about 100 are near-Earth asteroids that pass close to our planet’s orbit

More than 1,000 sea lions gathered at San Francisco's Pier 39 last week, marking the largest congregation of the marine mammals at the city's Fisherman's Wharf in about 15 years.

More Than 1,000 Sea Lions Gather at San Francisco’s Pier 39, the Largest Group in 15 Years

The pinnipeds came to the area to feed on anchovies and herring as they prepare for breeding season

Scientists experimented with planting tomatoes, peas and carrots together and separately in several types of soil.

An Ancient Maya Practice Could Be the Key to Growing Vegetables on Mars

Researchers are exploring whether intercropping—a technique of growing different types of plants in close proximity to one another—could be the secret to agriculture on the Red Planet

The U.S. Navy works to recover the Orion spacecraft following its 2022 test flight to the moon.

NASA’s Orion Capsule Heat Shield Wore Away in More Than 100 Places During 2022 Test Flight, Posing ‘Significant Risks’

A new report highlights safety issues that NASA must address before using the spacecraft to send astronauts to the moon, and the agency is already working on fixing the problems

The tornadoes uprooted and snapped some trees, but fortunately, no injuries or deaths have been reported.

Rare Tornado Spinning the ‘Wrong’ Direction Forms Over Oklahoma

A powerful anticyclonic tornado uprooted trees and damaged some buildings on the night of April 30, and a second unusual twister changed direction, doubling back on its path

In more than 20 years of field research, Rakus is the first orangutan to be observed using a medicinal plant to treat wounds.

In a First, an Orangutan Healed His Own Wound Using a Known Medicinal Plant

The primate named Rakus chewed up yellow root and applied it to an open facial wound, closing the sore within days

The bomb was discovered near Mewa Arena, home of the Mainz 05 soccer club.

World War II-Era Bomb Successfully Defused Near German Soccer Stadium

The 1,110-pound ordnance is one of many bombs that have surfaced in Europe decades after the war’s end

The driverless race cars were controlled with cameras, advanced processing units and sensors.

World’s First Race of A.I.-Driven Cars Was Filled With Spins, Swerves and Stops

Though the cars could not compare to human drivers, the event may help improve self-driving technology, experts say

To create mouse-rat "chimeras," researchers injected rat stem cells into mouse embryos that lacked some genes for brain development.

Researchers Breed Mice With Hybrid Brains Containing Cells From Rats

In one experiment, rat neurons helped mice restore their senses of smell—the first time any animal has perceived the world through the sensory hardware of another species

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