Science

There are mind-bogglingly vast quantities of alcohol in outer space. Sadly, it's so dispersed you’d have to travel half a million light years to make a pint of beer.

Guess What? Space is Full of Booze

We’ll toast to that

The fin of a blacktip shark glides through the waters in the Bahamas.

New Research

Ten Things We've Learned about Sharks Since Last Shark Week

In light of Shark Week 2017, here are some revelations about the fearsome fish we’ve made in the past year

Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714-1774), Italian anatomist and sculptor, from a drawing by Cesare Bettini.

The Lady Anatomist Who Brought Dead Bodies to Light

Anna Morandi was the brains and the skilled hand of an unusual husband-wife partnership

Christina Gebhard prepares to measure a condor's wingspan

Behind the Scenes: Skinning Condors in the Name of Science

One intrepid reporter documents the careful science, artistry and gross factor of a very strange party

Little does it know, but getting eaten by a great tit is the least of this grub's worries.

New Research

Meet the Supervillain Worm That Gets By With a Little Help From Its Friends

This deadly nematode and its sidekicks reveal the power of bacterial symbiosis

Here, wildebeest find themselves trapped by high cliffs while crossing the Mara River in Africa's Serengeti. Every year thousands of wildebeest die while crossing the river due to strong currents or crossing at dangerous sites.

New Research

The Upside of Rotting Carcasses

Large animals dying en masse are crucial to the the Serengeti—and they aren’t the only ones

The cheetah population almost halved since 1975 with only an estimated 7,100 left in the wild today.

Future of Conservation

How to Help Cheetahs Live Longer in Captivity

The key is in what we feed them, researchers surmise

Moonlight's cub was born on June 17.

Meet the Zoo’s Newborn Red Panda Cubs, Who Just Opened Their Eyes

The three cubs were born within days of each other at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Illustration made using an 1851 portrait of Mitchell by H. Dassell and a false-color image of supernova remnant Cassiopeia A by NASA.

Women Who Shaped History

When Girls Studied Planets and the Skies Had No Limits

Maria Mitchell, America's first female astronomer, flourished at a time when both sexes “swept the sky”

An artist's rendering of a star colliding with the surface of a supermassive sphere. In recent years some scientists have surmised that black holes may be hard objects rather than a region of intense gravity and compressed matter.

Could You Crash Into a Black Hole?

Probably not, but it’s fun to think about

A red fox listening for prey under the snow in Yellowstone National Park. Noise can affect foxes and other animals that rely on their hearing when they hunt.

How Human Noise Ruins Parks for Animals and People

Even in America’s most pristine wildernesses, unwanted sound is changing landscapes

As the American Buffalo Declined, Its Symbolism Rose

Over the years, the American buffalo, or bison, has been a symbol of the American frontier

A Smithsonian scientist and other researchers announce success in the first-ever cryo-preservation of zebrafish embryos using gold nanotechnology and lasers.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

A Cool New Way to Freeze and Unfreeze Zebrafish Embryos Using Gold Nanotechnology and Lasers

The downstream applications could make food cheaper, repair coral reefs and help restore frog populations

A scuba diver swims in the coral reefs of Palau. Beneath the depths that humans can dive, natural wonder and a better understanding of our planet awaits.

Why The First Complete Map of the Ocean Floor Is Stirring Controversial Waters

Charting these watery depths could transform oceanography. It could also aid deep sea miners looking for profit

Adorable New Tiger Cub Born at the Zoo Yips at Its Mom on Video

The new Sumatran tiger cub signals a success in efforts to save the critically endangered species

A crowd gathers in the "Bird Migration" exhibit at the Steinhardt Museum during the inauguration event.

The Middle East Is a Treasure Trove of Natural Wonders. Now It Has a Museum to Show Them Off

Everything from early human skulls to priceless taxidermy relics will be on display in the ark-shaped museum

Even top predators like pumas flee in our presence. Worse, they might be disrupting entire food chains as they go.

New Research

How Fear of Humans Can Ripple Through Food Webs and Reshape Landscapes

Predators like pumas cower in our presence. And these big cats aren’t the only ones

NASA's Earth-orbiting satellite Hinode observes the 2011 annular solar eclipse from space.

How Eclipse Anxiety Helped Lay the Foundation For Modern Astronomy

The same unease you feel when the moon blots out the sun fueled ancient astronomers to seek patterns in the skies

Bei Bai, July 28, 1916

Pandamonium

Watch: The Panda Cub’s Favorite Game Is Belly Flopping Out of Trees

Bei Bei, the nearly two-year-old giant panda shows off his climbing—and falling—skills

Like Humans, Chimps Learn Behavior From One Another

Chimps have a range of personalities and the facial expressions to reflect them

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