Smart News Science

This palm frond fossil dating to the the Eocene period was found in Utah’s Green River Basin.

Ancient Climate Change Meant Antarctica Was Once Covered with Palm Trees

53 million years ago, Antarctica was so warm that palm trees lived along its shores.

The Beaufort Sea, off the coast of Alaska, on July 25, 2006.

Miners, Drillers Push Into Void Left By Melting Arctic Ice

The opening of parts of the Arctic Ocean each summer, and the melting of surface ice on northern landscapes, driving a gold rush into the Arctic frontier

None

Research Suggests Politicians are More Likely to Be Psychopaths

Several of the characteristics that define a psychopath also correspond to the traits that make for effective leaders. For politicians, this is true

Artist rendering of Curiosity cruising the Martian surface

How to Follow Every Second of the Curiosity Mars Mission

The Curiosity lander sets down in just a few days, and here's who to follow on Twitter in anticipation

Smell Hallucinations Exist Too, and Could Be a Sign of Health Problems

Nasal hallucinations are a real thing, and they stink

None

How The Feeling We Call Awe Helped Humans Conquer the Planet

Getting your daily dose of awe inspires patience, altruism, and life satisfaction

Goats beware.

When It’s Okay to Kill 80,000 Wild Goats

The Galapagos recently finished exterminating 80,000 invasive goats from the island

India’s northwestern boundary with neighboring Pakistan is so brightly lit that the thin orange line tracing its path can be seen from space.

How An Unholy Alliance of Unusual Weather and Scarce Coal Nuked India’s Power Grid

Power grids supplying both the northern and eastern parts of India went down, throwing 620 million people, or 8.9% of the world population into darkness

None

Why You Shouldn’t Panic Over The Latest News About Bird Flu

New research reveals that the flu virus has mutated into a novel strain of influenza, which transfers not just from bird to seal, but from seal to seal

This crystal ball won’t help you.

Why Experts are Almost Always Wrong

No one, not even the experts, really knows what's about to happen

Mycoplasma mycoides, 2011

Teaching Molecular Biology with Watercolors

Molecular biology professor David Goodsell is just as skilled with a microscope as with a paint brush

None

We’re Biased By Our Body’s Dominant Side

A new study shows that right-handed and left-handed people make different choices

The Environmental Case Against Cheap Coffee

Bad news for coffee drinkers: It turns out that those cheap coffee pots found in offices are one of the biggest energy hogs in the modern workplace

This dog loves the laser beam, but it might wind up making him crazy.

How LOLCats and Laser Pointers Are Bad for Our Pets

The things we do to animals for the LOLs might not be as innocuous as they seem

The fountains of Enceladus as seen by Cassini

If Humans Are Ever Going to See Alien Life, Here’s Where It Will Happen

Scientists are all atwitter over Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons and one of the most likely places in our solar system to harbor life

Lights, climate change, dams and mines–An increasing number of scientists believe humans are the primary geological force on the planet.

Anthropocene

How The Fukushima Exclusion Zone Shows Us What Comes After The Anthropocene

Images of the evacuated area around the Fukushima Daiichi power plant offer a glimpse at a world without humans

Shark Teeth Have Built-in Toothpaste

Sharks may have the healthiest teeth in the animal kingdom

A brown bear fishing salmon in Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Live Bear Cam Shows Hot Bear on Salmon Action

A live webcam let's you watch Alaskan brown bears hunt salmon during the fishes' annual migration

Older Termites Blow Themselves Up to Protect Their Colony

After a lifetime of servitude to the colony, older termites sacrifice the only thing they have left: their lives

None

Science Proves: Pop Music Has Actually Gotten Worse

Science confirms what you've always suspected: music these days is worse than it used to be

Page 453 of 458