Science

A clear day at Acadia National Park in Maine.

National Parks Can Be Just as Smoggy as Major Cities

And it's scaring away visitors

‘Earthrise,’ which appeared on the cover of the second and third Whole Earth Catalog, was taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders during lunar orbit, Dec. 24, 1968.

50 Years Ago, the Whole Earth Catalog Launched and Reinvented the Environmental Movement

The publication gave rise to a new community of environmental thinkers, where hippies and technophiles found common ground

A male bee releasing its seminal fluid at the USDA bee lab in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The male does not survive the process.

Is the Key to Saving Pollinators … Honey Bee Semen?

In the hopes of preserving their genetic diversity, entomologists are collecting and freezing this valuable fluid

A Polar Bear Released Back Into the Wild by Helicopter

A marauding polar bear is about to be returned to the the wild, as far away as possible from the town of Churchill

If you've waited this long for it, it must be good, right?

Both Mice and Men Struggle to Abandon Their Best-Laid Plans

Rodents suffer from the same sunk cost fallacy that makes it so hard for humans to call it quits

The display will eventually yield a formidable and fully-formed beast standing at about 15 feet tall and 40 feet long, poised to glut on the body of an unlucky Triceratops.

Homecoming King: The Nation’s T. rex Returns to the Smithsonian

The fully assembled skeleton will be displayed for the first time at the National Museum of Natural History in June 2019.

A fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) feeding off a banana.

How Fruit Flies Stay Young at Heart

Researchers link structural alterations to fruit fly hearts to longevity-promoting changes in metabolism

Berry started his career colorizing actual telescope data. His more recent work includes this artistic impression of a black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 1068. The material trapped around the black hole is moving so fast that the light itself is either compressed to blue where the material is coming toward the viewer, or stretched to red, where it is rushing away from the viewer.

Art Meets Science

The Supernova That Launched a Thousand Gorgeous Space Images

By colorizing one of the first Hubble satellite images, illustrator Dana Berry ushered in a new era of stunning space visuals

How Churchill Protects Itself From Polar Bears

Conservationists have tracked down a polar bear who has taken to venturing into nearby Churchill. The next step is to airlift him by helicopter

Male bat-eared foxes spend much of their time with their offspring, grooming, engaging them in play and teaching them to forage.

This Is Your Brain on Fatherhood

What clownfish stepfathers and Dad-of-the-Year foxes teach us about paternal neurochemistry in the animal kingdom

The link between sunscreen and skin protection is watertight. Unfortunately, many common sunscreens may be devastating for the health of coral reefs.

Can We Create Sunscreen That Protects Both Humans and Coral Reefs?

Sunscreen is vital for skin protection. But researchers are finding that even 'reef-friendly' versions may pose serious environmental threats

This Footage of Jaguars in Panama Could Save Their Lives

Ricardo Moreno is on a mission to convince Panamanian farmers not to hunt jaguars, which they fear are preying on their livestock

An ice-loving Weddell seal, equipped with headgear and ready to assist oceanographers.

New Research

How Data-Gathering Seals Help Scientists Measure the Melting Antarctic

Stumped on how to take the temperature of the ocean floor, oceanographers turned to the cutest, most competent divers they knew

Thermodynamics holds the answers to your wildest campfire dreams.

The Scientific Quest For the Perfect S’more

A trial by fire

“The white sea urchin (Lytechinus pictus) is found below the tide line,” writes marine biology graduate student Julia Notar in her submission. “I study how these animals see, and what they can see. They usually live in flat, sandy areas, where there aren't many places to hide from fish predators. Different species of sea urchins, which live in rocky areas, usually hide from fish in dark crevices in, between, or under rocks. Those urchins can use their blurry, but still useful vision to find those hiding spots. Does this species, which doesn't live in an environment with many hiding spots, do the same thing?”

Future of Art

Scientific Images Make Dazzling Art In a Duke University Exhibit

Three graduate students set out to show that the scientific and artistic processes are more similar than many imagine

New Research

Scientists Explain The Thrill of Detecting a Neutrino From a Far-Off Galaxy

For the first time, the IceCube observatory has triumphantly tracked a neutrino back to a massive blazar

The History and Psychology of Roller Coasters

Researchers take you on a wild ride through endorphins, brain chemistry and stress science to explain the allure of theme park thrill

Soft tumors make life hard for sea turtles.

Should We Share Human Cancer Treatments With Tumorous Turtles?

They may be key to saving wild sea turtles from tumors associated with turtle-specific herpes

Scientists with Smithsonian’s Global Health Program examine a wrinkle-lipped bat, which can harbor a never-before-seen virus.

New Research

A Never-Before-Seen Virus Has Been Detected in Myanmar’s Bats

The discovery of two new viruses related to those that cause SARS and MERS marks PREDICT's first milestone in the region

Clay's team captured 15 female gnus for study. Following controlled exposure to male mating calls in an experimental setting, the quadrupeds (and their offspring) were released back into the wild.

How Noisy Males Control the Gnu’s Cycle

New research shows that ovulation in Serengeti wildebeests is accelerated and synchronized by the yammering of eager males

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