Science

A Counterintuitive Idea for Treating Severe Depression: Stay Awake

Doctors are finding that sleep deprivation actually helps lift some people out of depression. Now they want to know why

At just 18 months old, young children can show biological evidence of added stress.

New Research

How a Mother’s Depression Shows Up in Her Baby’s DNA

Researchers find that at just 18 months, infants can have cellular damage related to stress

Lava cascades down the slopes of the erupting Mayon volcano in January 2018. Seen from Busay Village in Albay province, 210 miles southeast of Manila, Philippines.

Geology Makes the Mayon Volcano Visually Spectacular—And Dangerously Explosive

What's going on inside one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes?

It's not as bad as it sounds.

Sorry, Guys: Your Y Chromosome May Be Doomed

But don’t worry, men aren’t going anywhere

Baber gathering fossils at Mazon Creek, Illinois, 1895, during the first field class at the University of Chicago to which women were admitted.

Women Who Shaped History

The Woman Who Transformed How We Teach Geography

By blending education and activism, Zonia Baber made geography a means of uniting—not conquering—the globe

A Doomed Aircraft Is Left to Fly Until It Runs Out of Fuel

Learjet 35 was a doomed plane, flying miles off course and with passengers and crew presumed dead

From developmental problems to reproductive issues, drug waste is affecting marine wildlife.

How Drugged-Up Shellfish Help Scientists Understand Human Pollution

These involuntary medicine-guzzlers have much tell us about the consequences of pharmaceutical waste

An etching of carts laden with corpses in the Piazza San Babila, Milan during the plague of 1630.

The Next Pandemic

How Proteins Helped Scientists Read Between the Lines of a 1630 Plague Death Registry

New tech reveals bacterial contamination, what scribes were eating and how many rats were around

The Amazing Adaptation That Keeps Tamarin Numbers Up

Golden lion tamarins have evolved a clever way to keep their population size steady in the face of predation. They almost always give birth to twins.

Eriauchenius milajaneae is one of the 18 new species of pelican spiders from Madagascar described by the scientists. This species was named after Wood’s daughter, and is known only from one remote mountain in southeast Madagascar.

Madagascar's Ancient 'Pelican Spiders' Are As Striking As They Are Strange

New research offers an in-depth look at the island's fascinating spider scene

A de-horned rhino lies in the sand at Hoedspruit endangered species centre in South Africa. Rhinos are particularly vulnerable during wartime due to illegal trade of their horns for weapons.

New Research

The Animal Cost of War

Even low-level human conflict can drive dramatic wildlife declines

The Volcanoes That Still Threaten New Zealand's Safety

Ever since the deadly eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, New Zealand has invested heavily in a sophisticated warning system

At JPL's Mars Yard testing area, two spacecraft engineers Matt Robinson (left) and Wesley Kuykendall with test rovers Soujourner at center, test sibling to Spirit and Opportunity, left, and Curiosity, right.

Think Mountain Time’s Confusing? Try Living on Martian Time

Smithsonian's latest podcast "AirSpace" digs into the zany work schedules of the men and women on NASA's Mars rover projects

All Praise The Humble Dung Beetle

By recycling and removing feces, these unsung insects make the world go 'round

An oyster-dominated anti-erosion structure in Texas

As Storms Get Bigger, Oyster Reefs Can Help Protect Shorelines

Municipalities and military bases are using the bivalve to defend against flooding and damage from climate change-driven storms

Nilgai antelope, like the cattle fever ticks they carry, are considered an invasive species in places like Texas.

Why We Should Rethink How We Talk About "Alien" Species

In a trend that echoes the U.S.-Mexico border debate, some say that calling non-native animals "foreigners" and "invaders" only worsens the problem

These Feisty Female Lemurs Fight With Babies on Their Back

In ring-tailed lemur society, it's the females who call the shots. They live in groups of up to 30 and the alpha female will fight to protect territory

Whether or not fish feel pain has been debated for years. But the balance of evidence says yes. Now the question is, what do we do about it?

It's Official: Fish Feel Pain

The verdict is in. But will our oceanic friends ever get the same legal protections as land animals?

Few realize that the lovable, cotton-candy-pink amphibian is on the edge of extinction.

Future of Conservation

How to Save the Paradoxical Axolotl

Despite being a common pet and beloved cultural icon, the grinning amphibian is nearly extinct in the wild

Evidence Suggests Stonehenge Was an Elite Cemetery

Scientists have little doubt that Stonehenge functioned as a Neolithic cemetery

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