Science

Spectacular Footage of a Butterfly Leaving Its Cocoon

The transition from caterpillar to butterfly is a process that consists of four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult

Showy traits, like the large antlers of these bull moose, can be detrimental to an animal's health.

New Research

Go Big or Go Generic: How Sexual Selection Is Like Advertising

When it comes to attracting mates, it pays to either go all out—or not try at all

An Inca skull from the Cuzco region of Peru, showing four healed trepanations. The new review focuses on the practice in ancient China.

Drilling Deep: How Ancient Chinese Surgeons Opened Skulls and Minds

A new review finds evidence that the Chinese performed trepanation more than 3,500 years ago

Ahead of her time: Foote first identified the greenhouse effect, now a seminal concept in climate science.

This Suffrage-Supporting Scientist Defined the Greenhouse Effect But Didn’t Get the Credit, Because Sexism

Eunice Foote’s career highlights the subtle forms of discrimination that have kept women on the sidelines of science

The shipworm, scourge of sailors everywhere, is actually a kind of ghostly saltwater clam.

How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean

The wood-boring shipworm has bedeviled humans for centuries. What's its secret?

How does language influence our thoughts? Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner in "Arrival."

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does the Linguistic Theory at the Center of the Film ‘Arrival’ Have Any Merit?

We asked a Smithsonian linguist and an anthropologist to debate the matter

How does a bear catch a break around here?

New Research

Decades-Old Chemicals May Be Threatening Polar Bear Fertility, As If They Didn’t Have Enough to Worry About

A new study sheds light on how today's pollutants could become tomorrow's threats to wildlife and humans

The Best Books About Science of 2016

Take a journey to the edge of human knowledge and beyond with one of these mind-boggling page-turners

Art Meets Science

The Best "Art Meets Science" Books of 2016

Eight sumptuous books from the past year that meet at the intersection of science and art

What Really Killed Off the Woolly Mammoth?

What caused woolly mammoths to die-off so quickly? New evidence suggests an unfavorable climate may have drove them to extinction

With its peace accords up in the air, the Colombia's diverse ecosystems face an uncertain future. Shown here: the valley of Cocora near Salento, Colombia.

How Colombia's Failed Peace Treaty Could Wreak Havoc on Its Diversity-Rich Ecosystems

A potential influx of legal and illegal mining leaves the country's megadiverse landscapes—and the communities who depend on them—in jeopardy

Erich Fitzgerald and Tim Ziegler with a 3D model of Alfred's skull.

New Research

The Earliest Baleen Whales Literally Sucked

No offense to toothy whale ancestors

"I will never forget that you did this to me."

New Research

Dogs May Possess a Type of Memory Once Considered 'Uniquely Human'

New research suggests that man’s best friend remembers more than we thought

Caribbean spiny lobster on a sea fan off the coast of Honduras

Proposed New Marine Reserve System Offers Rosy Outlook for Both the Lobster and the Lobster Fisherman

With the help of a supercomputer, Smithsonian scientists figure out how to help the lobster fishery off the coast of Honduras

The technique is sort of a combination of light microscopy, which bounces light off of objects, and electron microscopy, which bounces electrons off of objects.

A New Technique Brings Color to Electron Microscope Images of Cells

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, have found a way to attach artificial color to biological structures

Watch This Mother Tick Lay 1,500 Eggs

The birthing process for a female tick is very involved. Once she's matured, she can take up to 20 days to lay her eggs

Polar Bear Mom Protects Her Cubs From a Hungry Male

As they embark on their long summer migration, a polar bear mother and her cubs need frequent breaks, putting the cubs at risk

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did Harriet Tubman Escape to and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Conforming to masculine norms can leave men isolated and unable to cope with the stresses of life.

New Research

Sexism Sucks for Everybody, Science Confirms

Adhering to masculine norms can be toxic for men, not to mention everybody else

Getting to the Bottom of How Apes Think

Great apes show an ability to discern what others are thinking that we once only attributed to humans

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