Smart News

Belgium has launched new passport designs honoring its comic roots, such as Tintin (above) and the Smurfs.

Belgium's New Passport Spotlights Classic Comic Characters

The design features boy reporter Tintin, the Smurfs and other beloved pop culture figures

Lichens produce oxygen, trap moisture, and serve as food and shelter to other organisms.

Lichens Are in an Evolutionary Race Against Climate Change

The symbiotic organisms could need more than a million years to adapt to just 1 degree Celsius of warming, a new study suggests

Linda is observant, social, and aware of new sights and sounds.

Meet Linda the Ostrich, the National Zoo's Newest Animal Ambassador

The large feathery friend is four years old and arrived at the Zoo in November 2021

The tiny Piel Island has an inn and pub and an ancient castle.

Good News

A Tiny English Island Is Looking for a New Monarch to Run its Pub

Piel Island needs its ruler to manage its inn and maintain its campgrounds

The American West’s megadrought has been exacerbated by human-caused climate change. It is likely to continue for at least another year.

The Western U.S. Is Experiencing the Worst Drought in More Than 1,200 Years

Human-caused climate change is responsible for 42 percent of the soil moisture deficit in the last 22 years, a new study finds

Harriet Jacobs, who escaped enslavement to write Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861), created these three dolls for the children of writer Nathaniel Parker Willis around 1850-60. 

History of Now

Black Dolls Tell a Story of Play—and Resistance—in America

A new exhibition traces the toys' history from handmade cloth figures to an American Girl character

Collectors have gone out to look for rare pieces like washed-up octopuses and green dragons.

After 25 Years at Sea, Shipwrecked Lego Pieces Are Still Washing Ashore on Beaches in England

In 1997, a cargo ship was struck by a rogue wave. Among 62 shipping containers aboard, one contained five million plastic toy bricks

Threats like hunting, habitat loss and the pesticide DDT contributed to the bald eagle's decline.

After 35 Years of Recovery Efforts, Bald Eagles Are No Longer Considered Endangered in Vermont

The state first listed the raptors as endangered in 1987

The star, HD 84406 is seen as 18 photons because it is refracted by the telescopes 18 misaligned mirrors.  

James Webb Space Telescope's First Look at Outer Space Is a Kaleidoscope of Faint Starlight

As NASA astronomers adjust its mirrors over the next month, the dots of light will eventually align into one image of a star in Ursa Major

The life-size exhibit presents an inclusive vision of women excelling in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Smithsonian Honors Female Scientists With 120 Bright Orange Statues

The 3-D–printed figures will be displayed on the National Mall in celebration of Women's History Month

Ruins of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist temple, one of the oldest discovered in Pakistan's Gandhara region.

Cool Finds

2,000-Year-Old Buddhist Temple Unearthed in Pakistan

The structure is one of the oldest of its kind in the Gandhara region

By combining evidence from CT scans and comparing Dolly's modern bird and reptile relatives, researchers suspect that the irregular bone structures likely occurred as a response to a bacterial or fungal infection like chlamydiosis and aspergillosis in Dolly's air sacs.

Meet Dolly, the First Dinosaur Discovered With a Case of the Sniffles

Abnormal growths in its fossilized neck bones suggest that the long-necked dino suffered from a pneumonia-like illness

Locals call this crocodile "buaya kalung ban," which means "crocodile with a tire necklace."

Crocodile With a Tire Stuck Around Its Neck Is Finally Freed After Six Years

In Indonesia, a local bird catcher trapped the large reptile and sawed off the trash because he didn’t want to watch the animal suffer

When gray wolves were removed from Endangered Species List 15 months ago, hunting of the species dramatically increased

Judge Restores Federal Protections for Gray Wolves in 44 States

The move is heralded as a conservation success but faces criticism from hunters and ranchers

Out of four known types of black holes, stellar-mass black holes are the most common and have masses less than 100 times the Sun.

Astronomers Spot First Lone, Free-Wheeling Black Hole in the Milky Way Galaxy

The massive void, zipping at 28 miles per second, may have been blasted into space by a supernova explosion

Scientists studied more than 1,500 beads made from ostrich egg shells from across 31 sites in Africa, and found that they were nearly identitical in shape and size, suggesting an early form of social networking. 

New Research

A 50,000-Year-Old Fashion Statement Could Be One of the World's Oldest Social Networks

Nearly identical beads carved from ostrich eggshells, found over a large region of Africa, might have been a first in cool trends

"Lake of Ice" by Cristiano Vendramin, Italy

A Snowy Scene at Italy's Lake Santa Croce Wins the People's Choice Award in Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

London's Natural History Museum has announced five winners of the 57th annual competition

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Feb. 3, 2022 carrying a batch of 49 Starlink satellites.

Solar Storm Knocks 40 SpaceX Satellites Out of Orbit

A solar outburst is increasing atmospheric drag and pulling the satellites back down to Earth

Scientists built this synthetic fish using paper, plastic, gelatin and human heart cells.

Scientists Build an Artificial Fish That Swims on Its Own Using Human Heart Cells

The experiment could advance pacemaker technology and bring science closer to developing artificial hearts for people

An archaeologist examines a beheaded body found at an ancient Roman cemetery in England.

Cool Finds

Dozens of Decapitated Skeletons Found at Roman Cemetery in England

Uncovered at the largest burial site in Buckinghamshire, the bodies may have belonged to criminals or outcasts, researchers suggest

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