Smart News

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In the Middle East, Supplies of Fresh Water Are Dwindling

A 2007 drought, and an over-reliance on groundwater, means the the Middle East's aquifers are fading

An electron micrograph of the coronavirus.

New SARS-Like Virus Is Spreading—Slowly

A novel coronavirus identified earlier this year is slowly--very slowly--spreading

Mistreated Robots Now Have a Advocacy Group

Someday, the Seattle-based American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Robots may begin to serve disgruntled, nonhuman customers of the AI persuasion

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Should National Parks Offer Wifi and Cellular Coverage?

Is cellular coverage inevitable in U.S. national parks, some of the nation's last wireless hold-outs?

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A Restaurant in Japan Is Serving a $110 Tasting Menu Featuring Dirt

Japan's foodies have turned their attention to a new delicacy on Tokyo menus; will dirt turn up next in haute cuisine in New York and London?

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The Saltiest Pond on Earth Could Explain How Bodies of Water Form on Mars

At 40 percent salinity, the pond is the saltiest body of water on the planet.

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When Building New Power Plants, Wind Can Be Cheaper Than Coal

In Australia, wind power is now cheaper than coal

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Tourists’ Photos Could Help Scientists Understand Whale Sharks

Every year, tourists take approximately a bazillion pictures. Most of them never wind up anywhere but someone's hard drive, never seen again, but some of those pictures might actually be useful. Especially if they're of whale sharks

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How Much Damage Could North Korea’s New Nuke Do?

North Korea's new nuke could take out a big chunk of Lower Manhattan

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To Measure the Taste of Food, Listen to Your Taste Buds

What does the taste of coffee actually sound like?

Fifty Years After Sylvia Plath’s Death, Critics Are Just Starting to Understand Her Life

Cultural fascination with the author and poet continues to burn brightly despite - or perhaps because of - Plath's premature departure from this world

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Elephants Choose to Stay Inside Safe, Less Stressful National Parks

Elephants living within the park's boundaries are significantly less stressed than those living outside of its protective borders

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Vote on Names for Pluto’s Teeny Moons

Styx, Orpheus, Erebus or something else? What should Pluto's moons be named?

An unfinished portrait of Mozart, from 1782.

Experts Are Weeding Out Impostor Portraits of Mozart

Experts want to do away with the romanticized conceptions of what Mozart looked like, or those of a white-wigged, red-jacketed young man at the piano

Landsat 8 sits in a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket last night, ready for its 1:00 pm EST launch.

NASA Has Been Recording Earth’s Surface for 40 Years, and Today Is Its Last Chance to Keep That Going

All Those Hours Inside Could Make You Nearsighted

Just being inside all the time might be creating a population full of nearsighted people

In the Entire History of the Catholic Church, Only a Handful of Popes Have Resigned

Today, Pope Benedict XVI told the world that he would resign

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Thailand—Where it Never Snows—Wins Snow Sculpture Contest

The festival, billed as an international gathering point that "evokes a pristine snow fantasy," attracts around 2 million people each year

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These Sneaky Toxins Are Slipping Past Food Regulators

Chemical mask-wearing mycotoxins can slip past screening techniques

Chinese relics in disrepair and the study authors’ proposed fix for the terracotta soldiers.

China’s Terracotta Warrior Army Is Deteriorating

If China doesn't take steps to better preserve the relics, they may eventually turn into dust

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