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Bats navigate in the dark using echolocation. Scientists are piecing together how the animals understand the world through the mix of echoes that bounces back.

Bats Thrive in a Messy, Noisy World. These Four Discoveries Reveal How They Can Listen and Chatter Through the Din

From eavesdropping to echolocation tricks, science is giving us an inside look into how various bat species weaponize sound

Georgia Michelman

A female green turtle digs through sand to create a nest on Aldabra atoll.

Green Sea Turtles Are Making a Remarkable Comeback on the Remote Aldabra Atoll and Around the World. But Their Recovery Is Far From Complete

After finding cold seeps on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean, scientists collected samples of the sediment, which sometimes rested more than 1,000 feet below the surface.

The Race for Hydrogen Fuel Has Taken These Scientists to the Arctic Seafloor. But Can They Unlock Its Secrets Before It’s Too Late?

The positron is held inside a tank beneath ground level.

For the First Time, Scientists Trapped an Elusive Antimatter Particle—and Contained It for Months. It Could Allow Them to Test an Enduring Physics Theory

Dams block the flow of a river to hold water in a reservoir, which can be used for agriculture, recreation, household needs or industry. The flow of water through a dam can generate hydroelectric power. Aging dams are being dismantled across the country, restoring the natural flow to rivers.

Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States, Striking Down One Tiny Barrier at a Time

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The head of a male turkey is distinguished by the colorful dewlap and caruncles on its neck.

Ben Franklin Wasn’t Serious When He Implied the Wild Turkey Would Be a ‘Respectable’ National Symbol … but He Wasn’t Wrong, Either

The birds strutted around North America for hundreds of thousands of years before hunters decimated their population. Credit its recovery to resourcefulness, a stubborn disposition and a little help

At his farm near Parma, Italy, Claudio Grossi offers a visual history of his miracle grain in photos, crackers and loaves.

An Italian Farmer Found Some Unknown Seeds in His Attic and, With Nothing to Lose, Planted Them. The Result Was Almost Biblical

When a seven-eared stem emerged from the ground, it seemed like a miracle. What Claudio Grossi had unearthed was an ancient grain that proved to be an answer to some modern problems

Bats navigate in the dark using echolocation. Scientists are piecing together how the animals understand the world through the mix of echoes that bounces back.

Bats Thrive in a Messy, Noisy World. These Four Discoveries Reveal How They Can Listen and Chatter Through the Din

From eavesdropping to echolocation tricks, science is giving us an inside look into how various bat species weaponize sound

Bison gather for a recent feeding in the forest.

Bison Used to Roam Eastern Europe Before They Neared Extinction. Now Researchers in Poland Want to Create a Suitable Home Where They Can Thrive

Once nearly extinct, wisent adapted to life in the Bialowieza Forest. Human intervention kept them from disappearing, and now humans are trying to return them to their true habitat

A female green turtle digs through sand to create a nest on Aldabra atoll.

Green Sea Turtles Are Making a Remarkable Comeback on the Remote Aldabra Atoll and Around the World. But Their Recovery Is Far From Complete

One year after the species was reclassified from “endangered” to “least concern,” green turtles in the western Indian Ocean exemplify that return—and the subtleties a global designation can miss

A total solar eclipse, as seen from the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile in 2019

Were Two Ancient Chinese Astronomers Beheaded for Failing to Predict an Eclipse in 2134 B.C.E.? The Story May Be a Myth, but It Underscores the Real Risks of Interpreting Celestial Events

Experts say that an oft-circulated anecdote about two royal astronomers drunkenly failing to foresee an eclipse thousands of years ago contains hints of truth

After finding cold seeps on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean, scientists collected samples of the sediment, which sometimes rested more than 1,000 feet below the surface.

The Race for Hydrogen Fuel Has Taken These Scientists to the Arctic Seafloor. But Can They Unlock Its Secrets Before It’s Too Late?

On challenging expeditions, researchers have collected deep-sea bacteria that naturally produce hydrogen, exploring and documenting an ancient ecosystem that may soon be altered forever

Dams block the flow of a river to hold water in a reservoir, which can be used for agriculture, recreation, household needs or industry. The flow of water through a dam can generate hydroelectric power. Aging dams are being dismantled across the country, restoring the natural flow to rivers.

Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States, Striking Down One Tiny Barrier at a Time

While the demolition of big dams in the West gets more attention, many of these often-obsolete obstructions are also coming out of northeastern streams and rivers—and herring are returning in droves

Colorful coral flourish in New Caledonia, a French territory off the east coast of Australia, near a cliff overlooking beautiful, clear waters.  

These 15 Photos Showcase the Intensely Brilliant Colors of Coral Reefs and the Creatures That Live Among Them

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest highlight the importance of the marine ecosystems and the many species they help sustain

A Bubble Barrier creates a diagonal line of whiter water in Amsterdam's Westerdok.

Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America’s Waterways?

The Netherlands has had success with the Bubble Barrier, which pumps air bubbles from the bottom of a canal or river to direct plastic to the surface. Now, Lansing, Michigan, is looking to be the first to install the technology stateside

Tyrannosaurus rex’s image has seen major adjustments over the past century.

Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of T. Rex Forever, From Warm Blood to Lips

Paleontologists are still unraveling the secrets of the world’s most famous dinosaur, such as its outward appearance or the way that it hunted. With each new finding, our view of the “tyrant lizard king” has gotten a little clearer—and sometimes has radically shifted

The user, if pregnant, will feel raised bumps on both sides of the flat lollipop—a reaction to hCG, a hormone that the body produces during pregnancy.

This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their tongues

Pottery fragments from Etowah in Georgia, where people of the Mississippian culture built large earthen mounds

Ancient Pottery Reveals the Earliest Known Traces of Chocolate East of the Mississippi, Painting a Picture of Connection in the Americas

A new archaeological discovery suggests that people in present-day Georgia have feasted with cacao for 1,000 years

A giant panda peers through the trees and gazes at the photographer at a nature reserve in China’s Qinling mountain range.

These 15 Adorable Photos of Pandas Will Make You Want to Visit the Zoo Immediately

Members of the fluffy and adorable but vulnerable species are often cared for in zoos and breeding centers around the world, and these snapshots may make you jealous of the caretakers’ jobs

With so many food products now touting added protein, consumers have been left wondering how much is really necessary.

Is More Protein Always Better? Despite the Craze Around the Nutrient, Research-Backed Evidence About Its Benefits Is Complicated

It can be difficult to see through the array of flashy, protein-packed products and determine whether you need more of it—and which foods to consume to get it. We asked health experts about the benefits and drawbacks of chasing protein

On Scotland's uninhabited island of Staffa, Fingal’s Cave is formed from tall basalt columns created by ancient volcanic activity.

Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragons

Bridges, mountains, caves and rock formations that seem impossible to explain become magnets for folklore

A lion surveys his vast territory in Maasai Mara.

These 15 Wonderful Photographs of Kenya’s World-Class Wildlife Will Have You Booking a Flight to the Savanna

The East African nation is home to a number of conservation parks where its impressive animals roam free

In the lab, archaeologists showed how they could rapidly produce thick rope by threading cattail fibers through a replica of a Stone Age tool.

Archaeologists Are Reconstructing the ‘Invisible’ Technologies of the Stone Age, From Rope to Thread and Twine

Largely missing from the archaeological record, fiber innovations played a huge role in the lives of early humans. Researchers are weaving together new insights from the traces they left behind

Galaxy NGC 1386, which hosts an active supermassive black hole that was analyzed in a new study

Active Supermassive Black Holes May Be Engines of Star Formation, Not Just Destruction, Study Suggests

Scientists mapped out the structure of nine bright cores of galaxies located near the Milky Way and revealed common patterns that could shed light on how the universe evolved

Smoke from massive wildfires in Canada engulfed the New York City skyline, reducing visibility and casting an orange haze over city on July 16, 2026.

From 22,000 Miles Up, This Satellite Tracks Airborne Health Threats Almost in Real Time

The new instrument, called TEMPO, captures hourly snapshots of the pollutants swirling in the daytime atmosphere over North America—“chemical weather” reports that are helpful to public health researchers and government officials

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