Nature

The goal of naming different species is to make sure scientific names are uniform across different fields and research labs.

Why Some Scientists Want to Stop Naming Organisms After People

An international team of researchers wants to stop using eponyms. But the naming authorities won’t budge.

Flowers, Italy, Joseph Stella, oil on canvas, circa 1930. The artist began painting flowers, he said, “to learn the secret of the vibration of their colors.”

Artist Joseph Stella Painted Nature in Vibrant Color

Cities weren’t the only subject that fascinated this acclaimed Futurist

Silver carp throw themselves into the air at the sound of passing boats.

Seven Wild Ways Scientists Are Trying to Stop Invasive Carp

Researchers and local officials are using unusual methods to keep invasive carp from intruding into the Great Lakes and other waterways

This ailing oak tree, seen being trimmed in winter 2023, was removed from Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo due to safety concerns.

Chicago Cuts Down Oak Tree Older Than the City Itself

At an estimated 250-300 years old, the ailing tree needed to be removed for safety reasons

Participants in a Heroes’ Harvests hunt in Idaho stop and call to distant male turkeys, or toms, to locate them.

Why Nature-Based Therapy Is Gaining Traction Among Veterans

Spending time outdoors can reduce symptoms of depression and PTSD—growing concerns among service members

The island spans 25 acres and is located roughly six miles from the nearest town.

You Can Buy a Beautiful Uninhabited Scottish Island for $187,000

The 25-acre Barlocco Island has seabird colonies and stunning scenery—but no utilities or buildings

A Togo slippery frog rests in grass.

It Takes a Village to Save a Frog

A community in Ghana rallies to help the Togo slippery frog, an effort that benefits their own people and other endangered wildlife

Murphy with his new charge

Eagle Who Thought Rock Was an Egg Finally Gets to Be a Dad

A lucky coincidence has given Murphy the opportunity to nurture an eaglet of his own

Using satellite-based datasets from 2003 to 2017, a new study identified significant decreases in average rainfall in Southeast Asia, as well as the Amazon and the Congo.

Deforestation Is Linked to Lower Rainfall, Study Says

The Amazon rainforest and other tropical regions face drying climates due to loss of trees

Researchers hike near a creek that formed after a glacier retreated.

As Glaciers Retreat, New Streams Offer Homes for Salmon

After the waterways form, insects move in, alders and willows spring up, and spawning fish arrive in thousands

Hart Island, New York City's public cemetery—and the nation's largest—will soon become a park.

The Island Where New York City Buries Its Unclaimed Dead Is Becoming a Park

More than one million people have been buried on Hart Island, which will open to visitors later this year

Live oaks in Beaufort, South Carolina, photographed using an old-fashioned wet-plate process

The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again

Amid a multi-year drought, record winter rainfall has led to conditions perfect for fungi.

Winter Rains Bring Mushroom Boom in California

Fungi are popping up in numbers the West Coast may not see again for years

A sunet behind the mountains in what is now the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada

Biden Designates Two New National Monuments

In total, the protected areas across Nevada and Texas encompass 514,000 acres of public lands

A puffin in soft light surrounded by faint raindrops.

See 15 Amazing Wildlife Images From the Sony World Photography Awards

The contest showcases the work of some of the planet’s best photographers

The sun sets over the Susquehanna River in northern Pennsylvania.

America's Waterways: The Past, Present and Future

In a series of articles, <em>Smithsonian</em> magazine highlights all that draws our eyes to our nation's fresh and coastal waters

Industrialization changed Italy&rsquo;s Bagnoli Bay. Analyzing the DNA that was trapped in sediment offers a record of what was lost&mdash;and a clue as to how to get it back.

DNA Buried in Sediment Helps Scientists Picture Past Ecosystems

Examining the evidence offers a way to look back at now damaged environments

Many animals like corals release eggs and sperm into the water on just the right nights of the month.

How Lunar Cycles Guide the Spawning of Sea Creatures

Researchers are starting to understand the biological rhythms that sync worms and corals to phases of the moon

After nearly 40 years, desert lions are once again hunting marine prey along Namibia&rsquo;s Skeleton Coast, where scientists believed the knowledge had been lost.

In Namibia, Lions Are King of the Beach

As the big cats return to hunting fur seals on the Skeleton Coast, a new project tries to keep people out of the way

Sharpshooters use an appendage called an anal stylus to catapult droplets of pee.

These Tiny Bugs Urinate by Flinging Droplets of Pee

Sharpshooters are the first example of “superpropulsion” in a living organism, according to new research

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