Science

After Audubon's health began to fail, his family completed the project, producing the color plates in installments for about 300 subscribers.

The Fantastic Beasts of John James Audubon's Little-Known Book on Mammals

The American naturalist spent the last years of his life cataloguing America's four-legged creatures

When it comes to ancient remains, isotope analysis could help scientists separate dogs from wolves.

New Research

Dogs and Humans Didn’t Become Best Friends Overnight

First, we feared and ate them, a new isotope analysis reveals

Hamsters are nearsighted and colorblind. To find their way through dense fields, they rely on scent trails.

Why Are These Hamsters Cannibalizing Their Young?

Scientists are stalking French cornfields to find out

A British Columbia rainforest, where Douglas firs soar more than 160 feet, supports 23 native tree species.

Ask Smithsonian

Do Trees Talk to Each Other?

A controversial German forester says yes, and his ideas are shaking up the scientific world

A team of researchers in northern Australia have documented kites and falcons, “firehawks,” intentionally carrying burning sticks to spread fire: It is just one example of western science catching up to Indigenous Traditional Knowledge.

When Scientists "Discover" What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries

When it supports their claims, Western scientists value what Traditional Knowledge has to offer. If not, they dismiss it

Fifty years after researchers dismissed the idea of learning while you sleep, we now know that sound and smell cues can reactivate memories during this time of rest.

Sleep-Learning Was a Myth, But You Could Strengthen Memories While You Snooze

Neuroscientists find that sound and smell cues could solidify lessons you learn during the day

Many animals, like this red sphinx cat, are bred to be hairless. Other times, animal baldness is a symptom of stress and other factors.

Ask Smithsonian

Do Other Animals Besides Humans Go Bald?

From Andean bears to Rhesus macaques, non-human mammals have hair woes of their own

It turns out the story of the domesticated bunny is a lot fuzzier than the legends tell it.

The Odd, Tidy Story of Rabbit Domestication That Is Also Completely False

New study lends weight to the idea that domestication isn’t a point, but a process

Test tubes hold users' DNA samples, taken from cheek swabs.

The Dubious Science of Genetics-Based Dating

Is love really just a cheek swab away?

Never-Before-Seen Footage of Clownfish Hatching

Thanks to the use of a specialized infrared camera, we're now able to witness a never-before-seen phase of clownfish development

Residents queue to fill containers with water from a source of natural spring water in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Feb. 2, 2018.

What's Behind Cape Town's Water Woes?

As climate change intensifies droughts, the city's crisis may signify a new normal

White-naped cranes flying above the DMZ.

How Korea’s Demilitarized Zone Became an Accidental Wildlife Paradise

Hundreds of rare animal species take shelter in the 155-mile no man's land between North and South Korea

A Kenyan farmer using the fertilizer in his fields.

How Climate Change is Fueling Innovation in Kenya

A new generation of start ups are working to help farmers in a region that faces myriad challenges

Winter Olympics

What Reddit Can Tell Us About the Afterlives of Banned Olympic Drugs

We analyzed 150,000 comments to find that the Internet is still openly discussing these mind-bending stimulants

Watch This Male Mantis Shrimp Dance to Attract a Mate

Mantis shrimp have a reputation as fighters and it's well deserved. But they also have a romantic side to them

Driftwood is a valuable resource for humans and all kinds of ecosystems near and far.

How Driftwood Reshapes Ecosystems

In one of nature’s remarkable second acts, dead trees embark on transformative journeys

A South Korean athlete receives acupuncture treatment

Winter Olympics

When Treating Sports Injuries, Does the West Do It Best?

As the Olympics kick off in South Korea, two radically different approaches to training and treating athletes will be on display

The Olympic Flame was lit from the sun's rays using a parabolic mirror, during the final dress rehearsal for the lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia, in southwestern Greece, on Monday, Oct. 23, 2017.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Your Burning Questions About the Olympic Torch, Answered

Curious minds will want to know that the blaze is lit not with matches or a lighter, but using a method that dates to Ancient Greece

Coal miners walk through a tunnel at the Consol Energy Bailey Mine in Wind Ridge, Pennsylvania in 2013.

Why Black Lung Disease Is Deadlier Than Ever Before

As President Trump prepares to send miners back to work, a near-obsolete illness is once again ravaging coal country

The genetics of the little skate changes our understanding of vertebrate evolution, from ocean to land-dweller.

New Research

What a Walking Fish Can Teach Us About Human Evolution

New research on the little skate reveals the genes it shares with land animals—and a common ancestor from 420 million years ago

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