Science

A Tense Encounter Becomes a Perfect Polar Bear Photo Op

A local guide from Churchill, Manitoba, is on a late night walk, hoping to spot a polar bear. He strikes gold when a large male appears

The Enduring Romance of Mistletoe, a Parasite Named After Bird Poop

Nine things you should know about our favorite Christmas plant

The 2007 midwinter solstice illumination of the main altar tabernacle of Old Mission San Juan Bautista, California.

How the Sun Illuminates Spanish Missions On the Winter Solstice

Today, the rising sun shines on altars and other religious objects at many Spanish churches in the U.S. and Latin America

Kono Yasui at Tokyo University.

Women Who Shaped History

How a Pioneering Botanist Broke Down Japan’s Gender Barriers

Kono Yasui was the first Japanese woman to publish in an academic journal, forging a new path for women in her country

Female Polar Bears Need an Extra 220 Lbs. for Pregnancy

During seal hunting season, a female polar bear strives to put on up to 300 pounds of fat. That weight gain is a necessity

Until now, no one had been able to show at a microscopic level that the turkey vulture’s larger olfactory bulbs conferred advantage in the smell department.

Turkey Vultures Have a Keen Sense of Smell and Now We Know Why

Inside the brains of this olfactory king of the roost is a powerful cellular mechanism for detecting carrion from hundreds of feet away

Large animal skeletons at the Finnish Natural History Museum.

The Hidden Biases That Shape Natural History Museums

Here's why museum visitors rarely see lady animals, penis bones or cats floating in formaldehyde

Thomas Cole's The Course of Empire: Desolation, 1836

The Next Pandemic

How Climate Change and Plague Helped Bring Down the Roman Empire

We can learn crucial lessons by examining the natural forces that shaped Rome's rise and fall

The black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) that sprayed venom into Wandege’s eye.

When Science Means Getting Cobra Venom Spat Into Your Eye

How a reptile mix-up and a fortuitous dose of breastmilk helped researchers tap into biodiversity in Africa’s eastern Congo

Shan Dou (from left), Jonathan Ajo-Franklin, and Nate Lindsey were on a Berkeley Lab team that, in collaboration with researchers from Stanford, used fiber optic cables for detecting earthquakes and other subsurface activity.

Could Fiber Optics Detect Earthquakes?

By monitoring every grumble, shiver and burp our planet makes, researchers hope to be more prepared to take action when things go awry

It Took Decades to Solve This UN Plane Crash Mystery

Over a half century after the crash of UN DC-6 on September 18, 1961, a new investigation is launched

This dinosaur footprint was found in sandstone at Dinosaur Track at Hackberry Canyon in Grand Staircase-Escalante National. A proclamation recently signed by President Trump would reduce the protected area by half.

What Shrinking Fossil-Rich National Monuments Means for Science

<i>Smithsonian.com</i> asks paleontologists how their work will change after the decision to slash Bears Ears and Grand Staircase

The game, designed by Akili Interactive Labs, forces players to make rapid decisions.

Can a Video Game Treat ADHD?

It's designed to stimulate neural pathways in the brain tied to sustaining attention and controlling impulsivity

Incredible Timelapse of Dry Badlands Thunderstorm

In South Dakota, thousands of fireflies, in the midst of a mating ritual, compete against the bright stars that light up the dark skies of the Badlands

Two nurses observe a young child suspected to have bird flu at an observation room in the Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia.

The Next Pandemic

Where Would Pandemic Flu Wreak the Most Havoc?

A virulent flu strain would overwhelm developing countries where health care systems are already floundering

An artist's rendering of the CP-1 nuclear reactor.

How the First Man-Made Nuclear Reactor Reshaped Science and Society

In December 1942, Chicago Pile-1 ushered in an age of frightening possibility

A macro photo of coralites off Malapascua Island in the Philippines.

The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2017

From wind turbines to massive sunfish to octopus cities, the seas proved full of surprises this year

Here's Exactly How Shrunken Heads Are Made

A scientist's visit to a Shuar elder in Ecuador reveals the secrets of the ceremonial tradition of head shrinking

Kepler has been gazing out at the twinkle of stars since 2009, analyzing the light of hundreds of thousands of stars.

New Research

How AI Found the First Eight-Planet Solar System Beyond Our Own

Google’s neural network sifted through piles of NASA data to find a planet hiding in the spacestacks

A Polar Bear's Diet Consists of Anything Edible

In lieu of seal meat, polar bears will resort to eating anything that looks edible, including mineral-rich kelp. Here, one chows down on a fresh batch

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