Science

A sea otter floats in Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

Future of Conservation

The Remarkable Return of Sea Otters to Glacier Bay

Rarely do apex predators recover from human oppression. These otters are an exception

The lush, rugged landscape of Japan's island of Hokkaido is a major draw for amateur photographers—but do Flickr photos really represent the most important conservation sites?

Future of Conservation

Is #Hashtagging Your Environment on Instagram Enough to Save It?

Location-based data might help pinpoint key ecosystems—or make conservation a popularity contest

Henry Bates (Calum Finlay) was a self-taught field biologist and note taker. He created remarkable drawings and watercolors of his collections and observations. Several of his original notebooks are in the archives of London's Natural History Museum.

Science in the Movies

How Filmmakers Distill Science for the Big Screen

The new film <i>Amazon Adventure</i> turns decades of research into 45 minutes of visual majesty

The Ocean Is Running Out of Fish. Here's the Alarming Math

Based on reporting, the ocean has long appeared to offer an infinite bounty of fish. But research paints a grim picture, with annual catch on a decline

“Salt Series” taken during a low-altitude flight in Western Australia.

Australia's Salt Ponds Look Like Beautiful, Abstract Art From Above

Taking to the sky to show how industry shapes the earth

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.”

Europe's Famed Bog Bodies Are Starting to Reveal Their Secrets

High-tech tools divulge new information about the mysterious and violent fates met by these corpses

“Very, very early in my boyhood,” Hudson wrote, “I had acquired the habit of going about alone.”

The Naturalist Who Inspired Ernest Hemingway and Many Others to Love the Wilderness

W.H. Hudson wrote one of the 20th century’s greatest memoirs after a fever rekindled visions of his childhood.

An illustration of LHS 1140b orbiting its faint red star

New Research

Exoplanet Discovery Arrives in Time for New Telescope Technology

Astronomers call LHS 1140b one of the "best targets" for hunting liquid water with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

The Tsavo lions' teeth bore marks indicating that they ate soft food, similar to those seen on the teeth of captive lions today. Wild lions, like these pictured in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, show different microwear patterns.

New Research

Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo Did Indeed Eat People, Teeth Reveal

Dental clues confirm some rumors about the ravenous cats of Tsavo, while also raising new questions

A recipe for an eyesalve from ‘Bald’s Leechbook’

Medieval Medical Books Could Hold the Recipe for New Antibiotics

A team of medievalists and scientists look back to history—including a 1,000-year-old eyesalve recipe—for clues

Equus first evolved in North America millions of years ago.

How the Mustang, the Symbol of the Frontier, Became a Nuisance

A mainstay of Western culture, the free-roaming stallions are now a force to be reckoned with

Why I Take Fake Pills

Surprising new research shows that placebos still work even when you know they’re not real

A new study recommends that the peanut-allergic try consuming other nuts—but only under the supervision of a licensed allergist.

New Research

Tree Nut Allergies May Be Massively Overdiagnosed

But don’t go for the jar of almond butter just yet

Seahorses are valued for their use in traditional medicine.

The Secret Massacre of Millions of Seahorses

Millions of seahorses meet their doom each year as by-catch in a fisherman’s net. Less-charming fish may share the same fate

Sirocco, currently MIA, has helped millions connect with the island’s endangered wildlife.

Future of Conservation

Seduced By a Rare Parrot

What can conservationists learn from New Zealand’s official “spokesbird,” a YouTube celebrity who tries to mate with people’s heads?

Fish leave bits of DNA behind that researchers can collect.

Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water

A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples

You can't sit with us. You smell like poo.

New Research

Gut Check: Mandrills Sniff Poop to Avoid Peers With Parasites

Researchers have documented one of the first instances of social avoidance in a non-human animal

An artist's rendering of the new species Teleocrater rhadinus hunting a cynodont, a close relative of mammals.

New Research

Before There Were Dinosaurs, There Was This Weird Crocodile-Looking Thing

A new analysis of an ancient enigma offers clues as to how dino evolution unfolded

Ingenious leafcutter ants have developed a successful symbiotic relationship with the fungi they farm. New genetic analysis helps pinpoint when, and why.

New Research

How Ants Became the World’s Best Fungus Farmers

Ancient climate change may have spurred a revolution in ant agriculture, Smithsonian researchers find

View of the exhibition Body Worlds Pulse Gunther von Hagens that counts the history of human body in the 21st century at Discovery Times Square in New York in the United States.

Why Are We So Obsessed With Dead Bodies?

<i>Body Worlds</i> taps into a long, fraught history of humans displaying the deceased for "science"

Page 140 of 443