Smart News

Five New Things We Learned About Pluto This Week

A new set of studies paints Pluto as a weirder planet than scientists once thought

March 18, 2016

Figure from the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany

New Study Details Interbreeding of Ancient Humans With Evolutionary Cousins

Genetic analysis shows multiple periods of inbreeding—trysts that may have given ancient humans the genetic tools they needed to survive

March 18, 2016

Eric Underwood's Instagram rant about having to put makeup on his shoes inspired a new ballet shoe by Bloch.

Flesh-Toned Ballet Shoes Will Soon Be Available for People of Color

At long last, there are options for non-white dancers

March 18, 2016

Watch a Statue of Lenin Being Torn Down in Real Time

It’s hard to topple a 66-foot statue—or contend with the symbols of Ukraine’s communist past

March 18, 2016

Wacky Victorian women play behind a clothing screen, ca. 1900.

Researchers Seek Silly Sherlocks to Dig up Victorian-Era Jokes

Joke detectives are using the British Library to uncover what made Victorians chuckle

March 18, 2016

Washington D.C. Welcomes a New Baby Bald Eagle

With one chick hatched, there’s another still to come

March 18, 2016

Geometric Shapes Inspire New, Stretchy Materials

Intricate designs drawn from Islamic art could help make materials that stretch in new ways

March 17, 2016

SeaWorld Is Shutting Down Its Orca Breeding Program

But the orcas currently living in its parks will remain there for the rest of their lives

March 17, 2016

New Evidence Shows King Tut's Tomb May Have Its Own Chamber of Secrets

Scans in the boy-king's tomb reveal there may be two rooms beyond its walls that contain metal and organic objects

March 17, 2016

MAD Magazine’s Iconic Alfred E. Neuman Turns 60 This Year

The impish mascot has had a long, colorful life

March 17, 2016

The dorsal side of Oneis tanana, which could be the only butterfly species endemic to the Alaskan Arctic.

A New Species of Butterfly Was Hiding in Plain Sight

The Tanana Arctic could be a rare butterfly hybrid—and it’s the first such find in nearly 30 years

March 17, 2016

Aluminized suits are used to reflect heat at the Armed Forces Firefighting School. Chanute Field, Illinois, in 1977.

NASA’s Starting a Fire in Space

How will flames react in microgravity?

March 16, 2016

Steamboat Willie, aka Mickey Mouse, one of the Disney animation cells protected from pollutants by a new artificial "nose"

A High-Tech "Nose" Will Protect Mickey Mouse and Simba During Their Visit to China

A new sensor detects tiny amounts of pollutants that can ruin artwork

March 16, 2016

Heir to Punk Royalty Will Burn $7 Million Worth of Punk Memorabilia

Son of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren says it’s to spite the Queen

March 16, 2016

Switzerland

CERN Seeks International Artists For Full-Time Residency

The European Center for Nuclear Research is calling for art submissions for its annual award

March 16, 2016

William Heirens, aka The Lipstick Killer wrote this plea in lipstick on one of his victim's bedroom walls in 1946. It reads: For heavens sake catch me before I kill more/ I cannot control myself

CSI Sephora: New Technique Helps Identifiy Lipstick Brands From Crime Scenes

Researchers refine the way forensic technicians collect and analyze lipstick evidence

March 16, 2016

Some of the divers from Blue Water Recoveries excavating artifacts from the wreck of the Esmeralda

Found: 500-Year-Old Portuguese Shipwreck From Famed Explorer's Fleet

A warship from the famous navigator Vasco da Gama’s fleet has been excavated in the waters off Al Hallaniyah island in Oman

March 16, 2016

Facing a Biscuit Shortage, British Citizens Get an Emergency Shipment Flown in From Dubai

The shortage isn’t the only biscuit-related scandal to strike teatime recently

March 15, 2016

FCC chairman Tom Wheeler speaking at the 2015 TechCrunch Disrupt conference.