Science

Bei Bei noshes on some bamboo in his "Birthday Boy" box as spectators look on. His "cake," shaped like a numeral 2, is visible to his right.

Pandamonium

Bei Bei the Panda Cub Celebrates his Second Birthday in Style

The notorious sleepyhead manages to rouse himself for fans

Male wolf spiders may have eight eyes, but they still can't tell whether the female they're mating with is dead or alive.

Whoa: Polygamous Wolf Spiders Have a Natural Form of Birth Control

Females have figured out how to get rid of unwanted sperm, allowing them to reap the benefits of multiple mates

One of the best-known paintings of the doomed Franklin expedition. Full title: "They forged the last link with their lives: HMS ‘Erebus’ and ‘Terror’, 1849–1850."

A Dentist Weighs in On What Really Doomed the Franklin Expedition

Addison’s disease may have blackened the explorers' gums and hastened their demise, proposes a history-obsessed dentistry professor

Warning: Here's a King Cobra Swallowing Another Snake Whole

Raja the King Cobra is about to eat. He’s sunk his teeth into an ambushed rat snake, shot a dose of neurotoxin into it, and is now about to swallow it

Watch Two King Cobras Romance Each Other

King cobra mating techniques aren’t subtle. To indicate his interest, the male will engage in frequent headbutting with the female

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

Eclipse 2017: In Pursuit of Totality

You’ve made plans, packed bags, obtained glasses. Here's what to read to fully appreciate this event in all its glory

Humpback whales sounding in Windham Bay, Alaska.

What Humpback Whales Can Teach Us About Compassion

Are these orca-fighting, seal-saving good Samaritans really just in it for themselves?

This Pueblo rock carving in New Mexico might represent a remarkable solar eclipse dating back to 1097.

This New Mexico Petroglyph Might Reveal an Ancient Solar Eclipse

In 1097, a Pueblo artist may have etched a rare celestial event into the rock for all of posterity

Monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed leaves and dropping their feces (taken in the laboratory facility).

How Insect Poop Could Solve All Our Problems

Bugs use their feces for weapons, navigation and gardening. Can we tap into this poop party?

No ornamental fish antibiotics are regulated by the FDA.

This Is Why Taking Fish Medicine Is Truly a Bad Idea

Those who misuse aquatic antibiotics are playing a dangerous game with their health, doctors and veterinarians say

A NASA image of Hurricane Sandy moving along the United States' East Coast. Extreme weather events like this are becoming more frequent, but scientists still face challenges when attributing any one storm to climate change.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does Climate Change Cause Extreme Weather Events?

It's a challenge to attribute any one storm or heat wave to climate change, but scientists are getting closer

Like humans, individual tigers react differently to sedatives, says Minnesota Zoo veterinarian Rachel Thompson.

The Big Unsexy Problem With Tiger Selfies

Why drugging and caging the cats for Tinder photos is even more messed up than it sounds

Plotting a route out? German prisoners in Britain during WWII.

This Newly Excavated Underground Tunnel Reveals How 83 German Officers Escaped a World War II Prison Camp

The POWs burrowed to freedom from a Welsh encampment in 1945

Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, or porcelainberry originated in China, Korea, Japan and Russia, but is a vigorous invasive in the United States.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Scientists Are Using This Collection of Wood Samples to Combat Illegal Logging

Archie F. Wilson loved wood enough to amass the country’s premiere private collection. Now scientists are using it as a weapon against illegal logging

An environmental sample processor is lowered into Lake Erie.

Underwater Robot Labs Monitor Toxins

The labs have been deployed in Lake Erie, where blooms of toxic algae have made water undrinkable in past years.

Park Ranger Leonard Landa with the bear that killed Michele Koons.

The Deadly Grizzly Bear Attacks That Changed the National Park Service Forever

Visitors to Glacier National Park had long conditioned the predators to seek food from humans, making the maulings somewhat inevitable

The Joshua tree is one of the Mojave Desert's most iconic inhabitants. But it's under threat—and the key to saving it may lie in better understanding its tiny winged partner.

How a Tree and Its Moth Shaped the Mojave Desert

The partnership between the Joshua tree and the yucca moth may be key to understanding how plants and insects co-evolve

Franklin’s lifelong quest was spreading scientific knowledge to regular people.

Benjamin Franklin Mocked Eclipse Astrology to Elevate Science

The founding father used his almanacs to promote a scientific understanding of celestial events—often with withering humor

Jenks' mice, preserved at Harvard in alcohol in a 12-inch tall glass jar, are each tagged with critical information.

A Scholar Follows a Trail of Dead Mice and Discovers a Lesson in Why Museum Collections Matter

A former Smithsonian curator authors a new book, <i>Inside the Lost Museum</i>

A close-up of a camel spider's multifaceted mouthparts, taken in Namibia's Namib Desert.

New Research

Camel Spiders Are Fast, Furious and Horrifically Fascinating

Yet another mystery about these arachnids: Why are they so intent on mass-murdering ants?

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