Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson

 

Helen Thompson writes about science and culture for Smithsonian. She's previously written for NPR, National Geographic News, Nature and others.

Seawater contains hundreds of viruses, revealed with dye in the flask on the right. Most are harmless, but some microbes living under the sea and amid the sand aren't.

Eight Diseases To Watch Out For At the Beach

Forget sharks: These potentially deadly pathogens and parasites can lurk in sand and sea

An artist's rendering of Caiuajara dobruskii surrounded by its young in the ancient Brazilian desert.

New Desert-Dwelling Pterosaur Unearthed in Brazil

A massive bone bed is already yielding insights into the flying reptile's lifestyle

A page out of the diary of William H. Dall, one of the many documents being transcribed by the Smithsonian Transcription Center's small army of volunteers. At the ripe age of 21, Dall set off in 1865 to explore the Arctic on a Western Union Telegraph Expedition.

The Smithsonian Wants You! (To Help Transcribe Its Collections)

A massive digitization and transcription project calls for volunteers at the Smithsonian

Dogfish shark denticles viewed using a scanning electron microscope.

Why Are Scientists Trying To Make Fake Shark Skin?

Faux marine animal skin could make swimmers faster, keep bathrooms clean and cloak underwater robots

Fun fact: Most of the fish oil harvested from the sea goes to fish farms.

Fish Oil Could (One Day) Come From Plants

A field trial of genetically modified oilseed plants that can make fish oil hopes to help fish farming become more sustainable

Customers shop at the Deering Oaks Farmers' Market in Portland, Maine.

Where is Your Closest Farmers’ Market?

Farmers’ markets are becoming more and more ubiquitous. Use this map to find the one nearest your home

An African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) calls out near Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town, South Africa.

Scientists Decode African Penguin Calls

Researchers are trying to figure out how "jackass" penguins—nicknamed for their braying vocalizations—communicate

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Old Time Portraits of Parasites

Photographer Marcus DeSieno uses antiquated techniques to take pictures of parasites with a mix of citizen science and monster movie panache

"Watermarks" earned first place in the contest. “The way water in this picture found its way back to the ocean reminded me of a peacock's tail spreading under the sun or a woman's hair blowing in the wind,” Sadri writes.

Who Knew Fungi and Fruit Fly Ovaries Could Be So Beautiful?

Princeton University’s annual science art contest shines a light on the research world, adding a video element this year

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah.

How Does Nature Carve Sandstone Pillars and Arches?

Researchers say the right mix of erosion and stress creates Earth’s natural sandstone arches and columns

Adult Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) with gathered insect prey. This is one of the fifteen species shown to be affected by elevated imidacloprid concentrations in surface water in the Netherlands.

Popular Pesticides Linked to Drops in Bird Populations

This is the latest in a string of studies suggesting that some pesticides impact birds as well as pollinators

Is this the face of a cold-blooded man-eater?

14 Fun Facts About Piranhas

They're not cute and cuddly, but they may be misunderstood, and scientists are rewriting the fish’s fearsome stereotype

14 Fun Facts About Fireworks

Number three: Fireworks are just chemical reactions

An emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) teaching its baby how to preen.

Emperor Penguin Colonies Will Suffer As Climate Changes

Scientists project that two thirds of emperor penguin colonies will drop by 50 percent in the next century

These Psychedelic Images Find Order Amid Chaos

Artist Jonathan McCabe builds computer programs that create their own art—intricately patterned images that look part organic, part kaleidoscopic

Two red panda cubs were born at the the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute last week.

Squeee! Red Panda Cubs Born at Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute

Last week, the facility welcomed two new balls of fur to their resident red panda community

The mind-controlled exoskeleton developed by Miguel Nicolelis and his colleagues will allow a paralyzed teenager to make the ceremonial first kick of the 2014 World Cup.

Mind-Controlled Technology Extends Beyond Exoskeletons

A wearable robot controlled by brain waves will take center stage at the World Cup this week, but it’s not the only mind-controlled tech out there

This is the first pterosaur egg ever found that had not been flattened, discovered by paleontologists at the Turpan-Hami Basin in northwestern China.

Found: 120-Million-Year-Old Colony of Fossilized Flying Reptiles, Plus Their Eggs

The eggs were unearthed in the midst of a boneyard of pterosaurs, lending insight into the behaviors of ancient flying reptiles

A Cyclosa ginnaga spider perched amid its silk web decoration looks strangely like the result of a bird relieved itself in the forest understory.

This Spider Web Was Deliberately Spun to Look Like Bird Poop

It’s not artistic license. The arachnid avoids predators by masquerading as bird droppings, say scientists

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) mother resting with her children in western Uganda.

Ebola Vaccine For Chimps Could Help Save Wild Populations

A trial of a chimp vaccine highlights debates over vaccinating wild populations and using chimps in medical research

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