Biology

How the Desert Oryx Stops Its Brain From Frying

How does the desert-dwelling oryx survive a body temperature that would kill other mammals? The answer lies in a panting mechanism

Researchers Find the First Naturally Fluorescent Frog Species

The polka-dot tree frog emits a blue-green glow under UV light, which is an unusual feature for land-dwelling critters

The Beast must learn to love someone else and be loved before the last petal falls on the Enchanted Rose in the tale of the new Disney film, Beauty and the Beast

The Beast's Enchanted Rose Lasted a Decade. How Long Can a Real One Last?

A Smithsonian expert says the film's was undoubtedly a hybrid tea rose

What Lions Look for in the Perfect Prey

For lions hunting buffalo in the Manyeleti, calculation is always at play: An adult male buffalo may be harder to bring down

Adorable Ground Squirrels Playing in Sweltering Heat

Ground squirrels in the Kalahari have devised a remarkable method to guarantee portable shade: they use their tails as umbrellas

Incredible: A Cheetah Sprints to Catch a Springbok

A cheetah mother caring for her cubs stumbles across an opportunity too good to pass up: a herd of springbok, grazing casually nearby

Watch a Male Seahorse Give Birth to Hundreds of Babies

Male seahorses are the ones who carry children and give birth. And when they do, they can produce up to 2,000 babies at one time

Emissions from steel production in eastern China are fertilizing nearby oceans.

Human Pollution May Be Fertilizing The Oceans. That’s Not a Good Thing

Our iron emissions from coal and steel may be fuelling ocean life, and trapping carbon in the process

During more peaceful times, two female baboons sit next to a collared male baboon holding an infant.

Baboons Are Ruthless Reproducers

These monkeys do whatever it takes to pass on their genes, including killing others’ offspring

Three polar bears climbing on a snow-covered pile of bowhead whale bones on Barter Island near Kaktovik, Alaska.

The Politics of Viewing Polar Bears

Tourists flock to this coastal Alaskan town to photograph the vulnerable icons—raising hairy ethical questions

Check out those chompers.

If We Can Get Past the Ickiness, Hagfish Slime May Actually Be Useful to Us

The gelatinous glop could be the key to everything from bio-inspired kevlar to shark defense for divers

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault keeps backups of the world's seeds safe in case of catastrophe.

Syria Just Made a Major Seed Bank Deposit

Seeds from 49,000 types of crops will be backed up in Svalbard once more

The last natural case of smallpox was recorded in Somalia in 1977.

A Child From 17th-Century Europe Might Have Rewritten the History of Smallpox

The deadly scourge goes back for centuries, but how many?

E.O. Wilson Urges Tomorrow’s Scientists to Seek Earth’s Undiscovered Riches

In a Smithsonian talk, the eminent biologist argued for more protected areas and greater efforts to map the diversity of life

The best defense is a good offense.

The Real Reason the Turtle Learned to Hide its Head Will Surprise You

Turtles retract their heads for protection, but new research suggests that ability evolved for an entirely different reason

This Wild Pig Has Fangs That Can Pierce Its Own Skull

A male babirusa's canines are an evolutionary mystery: They never stop growing

Yellow Fever Outbreak in Congo and Angola Finally Comes to an End

After almost 1,000 confirmed cases of the disease, the WHO has declared outbreak over

Seagrass grows near a village in the Spermonde Archipelago in Indonesia. Researchers there recently discovered that coastal areas with seagrass have less bacteria than grassless areas.

Seagrasses Reduce Bacteria in Polluted Waters

A new study suggests the mesmerizing fields could be important for the health of humans and sea creatures alike

British statesman and author Winston Churchill reads correspondence at his desk in 1933.

“Are We Alone in the Universe?” Winston Churchill's Lost Extraterrestrial Essay Says No

The famed British statesman approached the question of alien life with a scientist's mind

Why the Assassin Bug More Than Lives Up to Its Name

The assassin bug's deadly proboscis is both sword and siphon. It uses its sharp nose to pierce and inject toxins into its victims

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