Science

The doormouse hibernates to conserve resources in harsh conditions. Similarly, scientists envision humans hibernating to endure long-distance space travel.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Can Humans Ever Harness the Power of Hibernation?

Scientists want to know if astronauts can hibernate during long spaceflights. First, they need to understand what hibernation is

The Strange Link Between Bats and Tequila

As a nectar feeder, the lesser long-nosed bat follows the trail of cactus blooms between Mexico and the U.S.

As his ancestors have done for generations, Icelander Árni Hilmarsson catches an Atlantic puffin in a net called a háfur.

Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny

Historically, hunting seabirds has been a distinctive feature of Nordic coastal culture. Should it still be?

Being stuck in a crowd can be an overwhelming experience. Physicists and computer scientists bring some order to the chaos.

How Fluid Dynamics Can Help You Navigate Crowds

If you plan to be in a seething mass of humans at some point—whether it’s an inauguration or protest thereof—here's how to keep yourself safe

Have Scientists Found a Way to Actually Reduce the Effects of Aging?

Researchers at the Salk Institute in California have successfully induced cells to behave like younger cells

What Can a Puff Adder Snake Bite Do to a Rhino?

A puff adder's bite can do serious damage, even to an animal with skin as thick as a rhino's. The photographic evidence we have is not pretty

Macaques and humans seem to share the strength of knowing the limits of what they know.

New Research

A Wise Monkey Knows How Little He Knows

Japanese scientists find that macaque monkeys, like humans, know the limits of their own memory

Smallmouth salamanders reproduce sexually, which may give them certain advantages.

New Research

When Is Sex Worth Going the Distance? When You’re a Salamander, Apparently

Asexual amphibians may be less equipped to handle modern threats than their sexual counterparts

Creatures so small that they had been overlooked in the past—sea urchins, Echinometra viridis, (above) the size of ping-pong balls and a diminutive species of parrotfish, Scarus iseri, were grazing algae on the reef.

These Itsy-Bitsy Herbivores Could Stage a Huge Coral Reef Rescue

Tiny parrotfish and sea urchins can take over the job of their larger cousins to keep a reef free of algae

Morphine is extracted from opium, a compound found in the seeds of the opium poppy.

America's Long-Overdue Opioid Revolution Is Finally Here

Thanks to advances in neuroscience, researchers are beginning to disentangle powerful pain relief from addiction, overdose and death

A smartphone could help people fight depression.

How Mobile Technology Can Help Universities Combat Depression

Using sensors on smartphones and smartwatches can shed light on patients' symptoms, even identifying ones they didn't notice or share with counselors

Here's What Makes Komodo Dragons So Powerful

Not only is the Komodo dragon the largest lizard in the world, its powerful claws, tail, and bite make it one of the deadliest

Standing water in urban areas is ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes that can spread dengue and other tropical diseases.

The Next Pandemic

To Fight Deadly Dengue Fever in Humans, Create Dengue-Resistant Mosquitoes

How manipulating the immune systems of mosquitoes can halt the spread of dengue virus

MIT professor Li-Huei Tsai may have a new treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Could Flickering Lights Help Treat Alzheimer’s?

A flashy MIT study changes perspective on the disease

If only the three blind mice had enjoyed access to 21st century retinal transplant technology.

New Research

These Blind Mice Just Got a Vision Boost Thanks to a New Transplant Technique. Could Blind Humans Be Next?

Transplanting an entire piece of retinal tissue into the eyes of blind mice appears to work better than just transplanting cells

In 300 years of fundamentally altering the Earth and its climate, what have we learned?

Age of Humans

Your Guide to All Things Anthropocene

Documenting an era of manmade change

Incredible: This Underwater Spider Has an Actual Scuba Tank

The scuba spider is the only arachnid to live exclusively underwater, despite lacking gills. Its secret is a makeshift oxygen supply

The impacts from the Nimbus satellites (Nimbus-1 pictured here) made a lasting mark on meteorology and climate science that can still be felt today.

The Day the Nimbus Weather Satellite Exploded

The writer's grandfather recalls a seminal moment in the Space Race

CAMS results for November 28 to December 14 from 2010 to 2016. Each point is direction from which a meteor was measured to approach, with red showing faster meteors and blue slower ones.

Think Big

Introducing the Global Effort to Map the Night Sky

How astronomers around the world are piecing together a patchwork quilt of celestial activity

Anna's hummingbirds have brains uniquely adapted for hovering precisely while feeding.

New Research

For Hummingbirds, the World Moves as Fast as They Do

New research shows how the hummingbird brain allows them to hover and fly precisely

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