Smart News Science

In the extreme heat of summer 2023, saguaro cactuses died in Arizona.

2023 Broke Temperature Records. Will 2024 Be Even More Extreme?

Climate scientists have confirmed that last year's heat was unprecedented, surpassing records by a wide margin—but it could be one of the coolest years to come

Marie Curie was the first individual to win two Nobel Prizes.

Building Used by Marie Curie Saved From Demolition

Cultural heritage supporters are hoping to see the facility listed as a protected site

From left to right: Artemis 2 astronauts Christina Hammock Koch, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Reid Wiseman.

NASA Delays Artemis 2, Artemis 3 Moon Missions for Safety Reasons

Artemis 2 has been pushed from later this year to no earlier than September 2025, and the Artemis 3 moon landing will not occur before September 2026

Barred owls are bigger, faster to reproduce and less picky about food and habitat.

Can Killing One Species of Owl Help Save Another?

Biologists and conservationists are grappling with a controversial plan to kill 470,000 barred owls in the Pacific Northwest over the next 30 years

A map of fishing vessels operating between Tunisia and Sicily reveals lots of untracked activity.

These Satellite Maps Reveal Rampant Fishing by Untracked 'Dark Vessels' in the World's Oceans

Using satellite imagery and A.I., a new study finds about 75 percent of industrial fishing is not publicly tracked, and clandestine ships enter marine protected areas

Gaia is still getting comfortable in her new environment.

See the 'Adorable'—and Deadly—Black-Footed Cat at a Utah Zoo

Eight-month-old Gaia is part of a breeding program for her vulnerable species, which is considered the "world's deadliest cat"

The United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on January 8, carrying Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander.

American Moon Mission Suffers Fuel Leak, Has 'No Chance' of a Soft Landing

Launched early Monday, the Peregrine spacecraft started losing propellant almost immediately, and the mission, which is carrying NASA scientific instruments, has been derailed

Leaves from the iboga plant, collected in 1933 from Angola. The psychedelic drug ibogaine can be derived from the plant's root bark.

A Lesser-Known Psychedelic Drug Shows Promise for PTSD Treatment

Ibogaine, derived from a central African shrub, has been used in rituals for two millennia. But in a small study, it appeared to reduce symptoms of PTSD among veterans

The silk dress, which dates to the mid-1880s, in which the pieces of paper containing the code were found. They were tucked in a hidden pocket, the opening of which was hidden by an overskirt.

'Unsolvable' Code Hidden in Antique Dress Pocket Is Finally Cracked

Short, handwritten lines of unrelated words contained coded weather reports to send via telegraph in the late 19th century

These fossilized teeth belonged to a Propliopithecus chirobates, a type of early primate that lived between 29 million and 35 million years ago.

Early Primates May Have Feasted on Soft, Sweet Fruits

An analysis of more than 400 fossilized teeth suggests the creatures weren't eating many seeds, nuts or other hard foods

A turtle appears to smile as a dragonfly alights on its nose.

See 25 Breathtaking Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Representing some of the world's best nature photography, the pictures are being put to a popular vote for the People's Choice Award

An image of the moon taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on December 7, 1992. Payloads on next week's commercial mission to the surface include NASA scientific instruments, as well as human remains and DNA launched by private companies. 

Navajo Nation President Asks for Delay of Moon Mission Carrying Human Remains

The commercial launch, scheduled for January 8, is slated to carry human remains to the lunar surface, which the Navajo Nation president calls a "desecration of this sacred space"

Hercules measures 7.9 centimeters from foot to foot, making him larger than a baseball.

Meet 'Hercules,' the Largest Male Funnel-Web Spider Ever Found

Despite belonging to the most venomous arachnid species on Earth, the spider will be using his bite for good in a program to produce antivenom

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, on the surface of a lake. Bacteria were the first organisms to photosynthesize, creating the oxygen essential for the evolution of life on Earth.

Scientists Uncover the Earliest Fossil Evidence of Photosynthesis

Ancient cyanobacteria contained structures for producing oxygen around 1.75 billion years ago, according to a new study

Lake Michigan, pictured here in December 2022, had 0.1 percent ice cover on Jan. 1, 2024.

The Great Lakes Reached a Record Low for Ice Cover on New Year's Day

The 'extreme' lack of ice follows warm temperatures in December and calls attention to recent downward trends in ice coverage on the lakes

Matabele ants will tend to the wounds of their nest-mates that have had their legs bitten off by termites.

These Ants Can Diagnose and Treat Their Comrades' Infected Wounds

Matabele ants in sub-Saharan Africa often sustain injuries while hunting termites—and their survival strategy may help humans fight infections, too

A view of Jupiter's moon Io captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft on December 30, 2023.

NASA Captures Stunning Images of Jupiter's Moon Io on Closest Flyby in 20 Years

The Juno spacecraft's instruments will help scientists better understand volcanic activity on the volatile moon's surface

An illustration of Nanotyrannus attacking a juvenile T. rex

Decades-Long Debate on 'Teenage' Tyrannosaur Fossils Takes Another Turn

A new paper adds to evidence suggesting a group of disputed fossils, identified by many scientists as young T. rex, are actually another species

The capsule has a gelatinous coating that dissolves in stomach acid.

Engineers Design a Vibrating Pill for Weight Loss That Could Create a Feeling of Fullness

The capsule is the size of a multivitamin, and in an experiment with pigs, it appeared to reduce the animals' appetites

Damaged houses, one collapsed completely, along a street in Wajima, Japan, on January 2, 2024—one day after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the region.

Could A.I. Help Seismologists Predict Major Earthquakes?

The 7.5 magnitude quake in Japan highlights the need for earthquake prediction, a science shedding its "unserious" reputation and inching toward reality

Page 3 of 437