Smart News

Parasites Linked to Cannibalism

A tiny creature makes shrimp more likely to eat their own

March 18, 2015

People Ate Pork in the Middle East Until 1,000 B.C.—What Changed?

A new study investigates the historical factors leading up to the emergence of pork prohibition

March 18, 2015

How an Early 19th Century Journalist Took Lincoln to Task for Travel Reimbursement

Lincoln was a congress member at the time but not the only one charging too much for travel

March 17, 2015

Researchers strapped electronics onto giant flower beetles to better understand how they direct themselves during flight.

Remote Controlled Bug-Bots Could be First Responders of the Future

Scientists studying how beetles steer themselves in flight gather research that may have implications far beyond understanding bug biology

March 17, 2015

Why are Dead Geese Falling From the Sky in Idaho?

Over 2,000 birds have been felled by fast-moving avian cholera

March 17, 2015

The mysteries surrounding Stonehenge persist.

Did Stonehenge Hold Up a Giant Stage?

A new theory poses that the prehistoric structure could have been something like an “ancient Mecca on stilts”

March 17, 2015

Watch a Drone Explore the World’s Largest Cave

Vietnam’s Son Doong cave is a magnificent not-so-microcosm

March 17, 2015

This shot of a statue from the Louvre is one of the least-shocking anus-related image we came up with.

Science Is Still Unclear About the Evolutionary Origin of the Anus

A newly published scientific review attempts to “get to the bottom” of how animals acquired what some might call the most indecent part of the body

March 17, 2015

The World of Chocolate

A Special Facility in England Keeps the World’s Chocolate Safe

The cocoa tree is very sensitive to disease and pests, so someone checks every plant bound for international trade

March 16, 2015

Palau in Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica — already claimed

Here’s How to Lay Claim to a Brand New Island

It’s pretty complicated (surprise!)

March 16, 2015

The Children’s Book That Caused Japan’s Raccoon Problem

When the story of one man’s childhood pet raccoon became a hit in 1970s Japan, it heralded a biological invasion still troubling the country today

March 16, 2015

Will 2015 Be the Best Mushroom Year Ever?

Canada braces itself for the biggest morel mushroom harvest in world history

March 16, 2015

There’s Finally Free Wifi in Cuba

Cuba becomes more connected

March 16, 2015

The First Green Beer Was Made With Laundry Whitener

Before food coloring, St. Patrick’s Day’s most festive brew got its hue from a different kind of dye

March 16, 2015

Slime Mold Has an Uncannily Accurate Sense of Where Rome Built Its Roads

The strange organisms are remarkably good at mapping the most efficient route from place to place—and that's exactly what roads do

March 16, 2015

Scientists Have Been Studying Two Fake Human Pheromones for Decades

Two chemicals provided by a perfume company appear in a 1991 research paper and side-track years of work on human pheromones

March 13, 2015

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