Smart News

How to Fold a World Record-Setting Paper Airplane

The secret lies in the design, but having a football quarterback on hand to throw the plane might help you break records

November 20, 2014

How Small Volcanoes May Have Helped Slow Global Warming

Ash reflects heat back into space

November 20, 2014

Millennials Are Different, Just Not the Way You Think

Young adults today are more optimistic despite facing more economic strain than the previous two generations

November 20, 2014

Now a Person Can Scramble Up a Wall Just Like a Gecko

Or use the same material to catch wayward space trash

November 20, 2014

Having a Complicated Job Might Help Protect Memory Later in Life

Regardless of your starting IQ, mental function seems to increase or decrease depending on whether your job was challenging or menial

November 20, 2014

Marsha Ivins takes a nap on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Astronauts Nap on the Launchpad While Waiting for a Ride to Space

There's not much to do while NASA goes through its pre-launch checks

November 20, 2014

About 25 million years ago, a massive landslide engulfed the area between Beaver and Cedar City, Utah.

City-Sized Landslides Happened in the Past And Can Happen Again

Utah has a new claim to fame: it was the site of the world's largest known landslide

November 20, 2014

False-color micrograph of Caenorhabditis elegans

We’ve Put a Worm’s Mind in a Lego Robot's Body

A wheeled Lego robot may not look like a worm, but it "thinks" like one after programmers gave it the neuron connections in a C. elegans roundworm

November 19, 2014

India Once Released 25,000 Flesh-Eating Turtles Into the Ganges

A plan to clean up corpses failed due to lack of planning

November 19, 2014

An artist's interpretation of the Philae lander separating from Rosetta and landing on the comet.

The Philae Spacecraft Confirmed the Presence of Organic Molecules on the Comet it Landed On

Researchers hope the finding sheds light on how organic molecules might have first arrived on Earth

November 19, 2014

This Company Is Crowdfunding a Mission to the Moon

Your reward: a spot in a digital time capsule buried beneath the lunar surface

November 19, 2014

Pacific bluefin tuna populations have declined by up to 33 percent over the last 20 years.

300+ Species Just Joined the List of Threatened Plants And Animals

Overfishing, overhunting and habitat loss drove many of the new additions

November 18, 2014

Previously excavated art from the ancient city of Karkemish

This Archaeology Site Is Guarded by 500 Turkish Soldiers

The excavation of a 5,000 year old city on the Turkey-Syrian border continues despite nearby presence of the Islamic State extremists

November 18, 2014

Early images of the vertical occipital fasciculus, a brain region involved in processing visual information

Neurologists Lost Track of Part of the Human Brain And Just Re-Discovered It

The major pathway in the brain wasn’t exactly missing, but science literature appeared to have forgotten about it until now

November 18, 2014

People Tend to Run Marathons Before Big Birthdays

The search for achievement and meaning at the end of a decade increases suicide and cheating, too

November 18, 2014

Outfitting Football Helmets With Magnets Could Reduce Concussions

Strong magnets can repel at least 300 lbs of force, preventing heads from colliding

November 18, 2014

How to Heat Your House With a Cloud Computer Server

A German company is installing servers in homes and offices to recycle heat

November 18, 2014

A bed bug surrounded by potentially parasite-laden feces.

Bed Bugs Can Transmit the Chagas Disease Parasite

The parasite is usually associated with Latin and South America, but was recently found throughout Louisiana, too

November 18, 2014