Smart News

New research shows that mass migration of ancient peoples from the south were essential to bringing maize cultivation to Maya communities in Central America. Scientists previously thought knowledge of farming techniques were shared by word of mouth between neighboring communities. 

New Research

New Study Finds Migrants Brought Maize to the Maya

DNA analysis of skeletal remains in Belize helps piece together how corn cultivation came to thrive in Central America

The flamingo in Cox Bay near Port Lavaca, Texas. 

Good News

Flamingo That Escaped From a Zoo in Kansas Is Spotted Once Again in Texas 17 Years Later

The zoo hasn’t made any plans to catch the bird, saying any attempts might harm the flamingo and other wildlife

Pluto's icy volcanic region, with possible past eruptions marked in blue.

Pluto's Hidden Ice Volcanoes Hint at the Possibility of Life

The discovery suggests the dwarf planet may be harboring a subsurface liquid ocean

Sandbags are piled high around a statue of the Duc de Richelieu in Odessa, Ukraine, on March 14, 2022.

Inside the Efforts to Preserve Ukraine's Cultural Heritage

Here's how experts and civilians alike are working to protect the country's art, artifacts and scientific specimens

Aedes aegypti can carry several diseases, including yellow fever, dengue and Zika virus. 

Why a U.S. Company Plans to Release 2.4 Billion Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

The insects, created by biotech firm Oxitec, will be non-biting males engineered to only produce viable male offspring, per the company

"Donatello: The Renaissance" makes a case for the Renaissance sculptor as one of the leading artists of his generation.

Why Donatello Was a Father of the Renaissance

A blockbuster exhibition in Florence argues that the Italian sculptor deserves to be a household name on par with Michelangelo and Raphael

The finds suggest that the islands off the coast of Abu Dhabi weren't "arid and inhospitable" thousands of years ago, but rather a "fertile coast" ripe for settlement.

The United Arab Emirates' Earliest Buildings Are 8,500 Years Old

Found off the coast of Abu Dhabi, the structures likely served as houses for Ghagha Island's Neolithic inhabitants

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A 5,000-Year-Old Human Bone Was Found in the River Thames

Well preserved by mud, the femur dates to Britain’s Neolithic period

High social media use may simply be a coping mechanism, rather than a cause, of adolescents' mental health challenges. 

The Future of Mental Health

Negative Effects of Social Media May Impact Adolescent Girls and Boys at Different Ages

A new study suggests certain 'windows' of development when youngsters appear most sensitive to technology

Four lead ingots found in a shipwreck off the coast of Israel feature Cypro-Minoan markings but actually originated in Sardinia.

New Research

Imported Lead Ingots Offer Evidence of Complex Bronze Age Trade Networks

A new analysis of shipwrecked metals inscribed with Cypro-Minoan markings suggests the objects originated in Sardinia, some 1,550 miles away from Cyprus

Researchers turned to Mercury for the possibility of impact-born diamonds because previous surveys of the planet and molten rock found that the surface may have fragments of graphite, a carbon-rich mineral.

Mercury's Cratered Crust May Hold Glittering Gemstones

Fragments of a graphite shell from the planet's past and a series of violent meteorite impacts may have combined to form sparkling diamonds

The offering consisted of 164 starfish, chunks of coral, seashells, pufferfish, a resin figurine, animal bones and the skeleton of a female jaguar holding a spear in its claw.

Cool Finds

Trove of Starfish Deposited as Offering to Aztec War God Found in Mexico City

Researchers discovered 164 sea stars placed in the Templo Mayor around the turn of the 16th century

Vampire bats are found in caves and forests throughout Central and South America and often prey on livestock at night for a quick bite.  

Missing Genes Allow Vampire Bats to Survive on All-Blood Diets

Genes linked to taste receptors, insulin secretions, and stomach were absent in the flying mammals

The participants could have been exposed to microplastics through air, water and food, but also through personal care products like toothpaste or lip gloss that might have been accidentally ingested, dental polymers, parts of implants or tattoo ink residues.

Microplastics Detected in Human Blood in New Study

Researchers found plastic in the blood of 17 of 22 of study participants, or about 77 percent

When corals are stressed, they will expel their algal partner in a process called coral bleaching.

Mass Coral Bleaching Hits Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Unusually warm waters are stressing sensitive corals, causing the fourth major bleaching event in the last seven years

"The Mice at Work: Threading the Needle," The Tailor of Gloucester artwork, 1902; watercolour, ink and gouache on paper.

Leap Into the Surprising, Art-Filled Life of Beatrix Potter in a New Exhibition

The beloved author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" also wrote diaries in code, sketched fungi and raised prize-winning sheep

One mountain, named with a racist slur and slated for renaming, is located in Routt County in northern Colorado near the state's border with Utah. 

History of Now

U.S. Will Rename 660 Mountains, Rivers and More to Remove Racist Word

A task force is identifying new names for sites on federal land that bear a derogatory term referring to Indigenous women

Analysis of historical documents showed no evidence of the site being called Machu Picchu until 1911.

Have We Been Calling Machu Picchu by the Wrong Name?

Historical records suggest the Inca called the 15th-century citadel Huayna Picchu, before an American explorer who "discovered" the site in 1911 renamed it

Neural data are decoded and analyzed in real time to control the speller software.

Good News

Brain Implants Allow Paralyzed Man to Communicate Using His Thoughts

This study marks the first time a completely paralyzed patient regained the ability to communicate at length, researchers say

Geese could have been bred to compensate for a reduction in birds from spring to autumn, according to researchers.

New Study Suggests Geese Were the First Domesticated Birds

Researchers found bones in China that indicate geese were domesticated about 2,000 years before chickens

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