Smart News

There’s an Invader in the International Space Station

An Invader mosaic has found its way to space

March 13, 2015

Would You Pass Thomas Edison’s Employment Test?

Probably not.

March 13, 2015

Replicas of English sailing ships on the James River — similar ships would have brought English colonists to Jamestown in 1607

Did the Age of Humans Begin in 1610?

Debate over when the Anthropocene began is starting to narrow in on a few dates — 1610, when the Old World met the New, is one promising candidate

March 13, 2015

Did a Recent Expedition Really Discover a “Lost City” in Honduras?

Controversy surrounds the recent announcement of a re-discovered ancient settlement in the jungles of Central America

March 13, 2015

A computer that passes the new test would be able to say which people in this scene from Pushkar, India, are carrying objects and which are riding bikes

Now the Turing Test Goes Visual

A proposed test would have computer programs not only pick out what is in a photo but what is happening

March 13, 2015

These coppery titi monkeys have a red beards similar to those sported by the newly discovered Milton’s titi monkey. The new species can be further identified by a light gray stripe across their foreheads and a bright orange tail.

Adorable Monkey New to Science Identified in Threatened Rainforest

Researchers in the Brazilian rainforest describe a previously undocumented species of titi monkey whose habitat faces man-made threats

March 13, 2015

An image of white-tailed eagle talons from the Krapina Neandertal site in present-day Croatia, dating to approximately 130,000 years ago. Scientists theorize that they may be part of a necklace or bracelet.

Neanderthal Jewelry Is Just as Fiercely Cool as You'd Imagine

A re-examination of a cave find indicates that the early human species sported eagle talons like some kind of prehistoric punk rockers

March 12, 2015

When Breathtaking Rock Billboards Dominated the Sunset Strip

A new exhibition showcases the Sunset Strip's "rock 'n' roll billboards"

March 12, 2015

A mosaic of Enceladus collected by Cassini showing deep fissures or sulci

A Hint That a Saturnian Moon Could Have Hydrothermal Vents—And Support Life

Grains of silica from Saturn’s magnetosphere likely came from Enceladus and may mean the moon has hydrothermal vents

March 12, 2015

Sorry, ‘Ben-Hur’ Remake...No Circus Maximus for You

Rome blocks the remake from filming at the historic stadium

March 12, 2015

An artist's rendering of what the Aegirocassis benmoulae looked like.

Scary Lobster-Like Fossil Was Once One of the Earth's Largest Animals

One of the earliest arthropods was giant, weird-looking—and played a big role in the course of evolutionary history

March 12, 2015

This is How Earth Welcomed Back Soyuz

Not a bad re-entry after months on the International Space Station

March 12, 2015

We Now Have a Toll of All the Whales Killed by Hunting in the Last Century

The whaling industry killed nearly 3 million for their oil, researchers estimate. But the true total is likely higher.

March 12, 2015

The Desire to Conform Starts In Toddlers

Apes don’t have this problem — if they know the answer to a puzzle, they’ll do it, regardless of what their friends might think

March 11, 2015

"The Legal Justice League" celebrates the first four women to sit on the country's highest court.

Celebrating the Women of the Supreme Court With LEGOs

What better way to hail the female trailblazers of the bench than miniaturizing them into tiny toys?

March 11, 2015

Who’s Beheading Animals in Sacramento?

Officials can’t figure out who’s behind a bizarre rash of animal mutilations in California’s capital

March 11, 2015

1,800 Studies Later, Scientists Conclude Homeopathy Doesn’t Work

A major Australian study debunks homeopathy—again

March 11, 2015

A view of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The Galaxy May Be Way Bigger Than We Thought

New data analysis suggests that the Milky Way may be 50-percent larger than previously believed

March 11, 2015