Science

Don't touch that thermostat.

Future of Energy

The Things People Do To Foil Energy-Saving Buildings

New research on how occupants inhabit energy-efficient buildings reveals behaviors designers don't anticipate—and a slew of bloopers

Natalie Batalha

American Ingenuity Awards

Meet Natalie Batalha, the Explorer Who's Searching for Planets Across the Universe

The Kepler mission's project scientist, she has guided the discovery of thousands of planets

Gary Steinberg

American Ingenuity Awards

A Neurosurgeon's Remarkable Plan to Treat Stroke Victims With Stem Cells

Gary Steinberg defied convention when he began implanting living cells inside the brains of patients who had suffered from a stroke

Polar Bear Goes After a Young Beluga Calf

A male polar bear stands on the edge of the ice waiting for potential prey. But he's set his sights on something bigger than a seal today

Plants are keeping time.

The Next Pandemic

To Make Precision Medicine, Scientists Study the Circadian Rhythms in Plants

Biologists are taking a close look at how precisely calibrated timekeepers in organisms influence plant-pathogen interactions

H1N1 influenza virus particles shown in a colorized transmission electron micrograph

The Next Pandemic

Scientists Are One Step Closer to a "Personalized" Flu Shot

While still decades away, new research shows how custom vaccines could be developed

Stanford scientists are building up an archive of mosquito sounds.

The Next Pandemic

Before You Swat That Mosquito, Record It on Your Cell Phone

That's the strategy behind Abuzz, a crowdsourcing project designed to track mosquito activity around the world

Alpha Male Tiger Forces This Cub to Submit

A young tiger comes face-to-face with an encroaching male tiger, threatening to take over his father's territory

The Ten Best STEM Toys of 2017

Kid tested and parent approved, these tech toys stand out for holiday wish lists

The proof is in the lack of pudding.

Why You Won’t See Pudding on the Thanksgiving Table

The once-classic American dish has been widely replaced with the casserole—thanks in part to anti-immigrant sentiments

Using seal bombs to deter marine mammals is legal, though using them to round up target species is not.

Why California Fishermen Are Throwing Deafening “Seal Bombs” at Sea Lions

...and why no one is stopping them

Thirteen Books That Informed and Delighted Smithsonian Scholars This Year

With a mission to increase and diffuse knowledge, Smithsonian thought leaders are voracious readers

The Next Pandemic

What Foods Are Most Likely to Make You Sick?

We put some common myths to rest—and help you tackle your next turkey dinner with confidence

The way a fruit fly fires neurons could inform machine learning.

How Fruit Fly Brains Could Improve Our Search Engines

Fruit flies have a unique way of matching data, which could teach scientists to create better, faster search algorithms

Tigers Use Urine to Figure Out If They Have Chemistry

Young tiger Kumal is spellbound by a female tiger he encounters in a local stretch of forest. If she's interested, she'll signal her intent

Bill Nye speaks at a press conference in New York as environmental advocates gather on the eve of the Paris Climate Summit (COP21).

The Blessing and the Curse of Being Bill Nye

The zany scientist talks about his recent transformation into the public—and controversial—face for science

What would the days, weeks, years after a nuclear explosion really look like? In 1983, Carl Sagan gave the public their first imagining.

When Carl Sagan Warned the World About Nuclear Winter

Before the official report came out, the popular scientist took to the presses to paint a dire picture of what nuclear war might look like

Thought leaders gathered at the National Museum of Natural History to discuss the past, present and future of the flu.

The Next Pandemic

When the Next Pandemic Hits, Will We Be Prepared?

The question isn’t whether a pandemic will strike—it’s how it will play out.

There are good reasons why you won't see a Siamese fighting fish swimming this way in the wild.

The Evolutionary Reason Why Fish Don't Swim Upside Down

It’s a natural question for animals that float, but few scientists have delved into the details

Corpsmen in cap and gown ready to attend patients in influenza ward of US Naval Hospital in Mare Island, California, December 10, 1918.

The Next Pandemic

The United States Is Not Ready for Another Flu Pandemic

You might think that today, if a pandemic like the 1918 flu hit, we'd be ready for it. You'd be wrong

Page 122 of 439