Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson

 

Helen Thompson writes about science and culture for Smithsonian. She's previously written for NPR, National Geographic News, Nature and others.

The little blue pill is nothing like flibanserin, the sexual dysfunction drug for women recently approved by an FDA advisory committee.

Stop Calling Flibanserin "Female Viagra"

As the FDA weighs the merits of a new drug to boost female libido, it's clear this is not a little blue pill for women

Fossils of an ancient mini beaver suggest it may be related to the modern American beaver (Castor canadensis)

Mini Beavers Once Roamed Oregon

Fossils of a squirrel-sized from in eastern Oregon may be related to modern beavers

The attack on a female tourist should serve as a reminder that lions are not only wild animals, they're perceptive predators.

Yes, Lions Will Hunt Humans if Given the Chance

The tragic attack at a South AFrican park serves as a reminder that lions are predators and humans are prey

Male wolf spiders vibrate dead leaves to create purring noises and court females.

Listen to the Dulcet Purr of a Wolf Spider

Males seduce females by making leaves vibrate

Graphic design student Oskar Pernefeldt envisions a blue and white flag to symbolize Earth's presence on far off planets like Mars.

Does Planet Earth Need Its Own Flag?

Some think we need a universal flag to stake our claim in space

Does washing your laundry in warm water really make that much of a difference? Probably not.

The Case for Washing Clothes in Cold Water

Laundry: You're doing it wrong

One of the LATA 65 students works on a mural in Lisbon.

Lisbon Artists Are Teaching Graffiti Classes for the Elderly

Grannies learn about street art history and how to tag walls

Every latrine has it's own unique smell.

These Perfumers Are Analyzing the Stench of Toilets

Fair warning: Toilet chemistry is not for the faint of stomach

New lanes on London's Regents Canal urge human bikers, runners and walkers to break for ducklings.

London Adds Special Lanes for Ducks

A city charity has painted pathways for waddlers on Regents Canal walkways

In 16th-century England, death by plague, depicted in the wood carving above, might have been an easy way to go compared to the accidents that could befall a person in everyday life.

Here Are Some of the Weird Ways You Could Die in Tudor England

Pole vaulting and bacon are among the odd causes of death discovered by historians

Dog flu spreads nose to nose. The virus can be eliminated by cleaning areas touched by potentially infected dogs.

A New Strain of Canine Flu Is on the Rise

Possible cases of dog flu pop up in 13 states

The Egtved girl was a high-born female from the Bronze Age. In her grave in Denmark, she wears a wool dress. Wool textiles and a bronze belt plate that resembles the sun surround her remains.

What Was Life Like for a Girl in the Bronze Age?

Analysis of a 3,400-year-old burial traces the life story of a Bronze Age female

The original Pac-Man was kind of a feminist.

Pac-Man Turns 35 This Month

The now-iconic game was originally released by Namco in 1980

A satellite photo of the 2011-12 eruption that created Sholan island in the Red Sea.

Watch a Volcanic Island Form in the Red Sea

Magma troughs and earthquake swarms gave rise to two new islands near Yemen

Unearthed at the Cova Negra site in Spain, skull fragments from a Neanderthal child have telltale punctures in the right parietal region.

Ancient Carnivores Had a Taste for Neanderthal Meat

Researchers link bite marks on a Neanderthal skull to the fangs of an ancient big cat

Researchers collected this mixture of plankton – small zooplanktonic animals, larvae and single cell protists – in the Pacific Ocean with a 0.1 mm mesh net.

How Will Climate Change Impact Plankton?

A global plankton survey aims to help us understand how the tiny organisms that live at the ocean surface will fare in a warming world

Mountains don't all look like this.

Most Mountains Don't Come With Pointy Peaks

Some mountains actually get wider as you go up

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, pictured here in 1923, enjoyed using the methods of Sherlock Holmes on real cases.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Once Helped Clear an Innocent Man of Murder

On his birthday, revist the mystery author's most famous case

The Habronattus sunglow (male pictured above) is a species of jumping spider that has trichromatic or "true" color vision.

How Jumping Spiders See in Color

The agile arachnids see in three color channels, and they can actually see more colors than humans can

Shortly after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, dolphins were observed swimming through an oil slick. Their exposure to petroleum fumes may have wrought serious consequences.

Research Confirms Fears that Deepwater Horizon Spill Contributed to Dolphin Deaths

Dead bottlenose dolphins stranded in the Gulf of Mexico had lesions linked to petroleum exposure

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