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Smart News - Keeping You Current

New Research

Peeping in on the Process of Turning Caterpillar to Butterfly

Trending Today

There Are Just Three Males of This Endangered Fish Left, And the London Zoo Is on a Global Hunt to Find a Lady

New Research

There Should Be an Endangered Species List for Ecosystems, Too

See more  

Editors' Picks

Miniature African Forest Elephants Could Be Extinct in 10 Years

Ivory poachers slashed the population of the small elephants by 62 percent in the past decade--future losses at those rates will doom the species

Jane Goodall Reveals Her Lifelong Fascination With…Plants?

After studying chimpanzees for decades, the celebrated scientist turns her penetrating gaze on another life-form

Brian Skerry Has the World’s Best Job: Ocean Photographer

The freelancer’s new exhibit at the Natural History Museum captures the beauty, and fragility, of sea life

Science Beats

Wildlife

Page 2 of 12
Ant robots

Sugar Cube-Sized Robotic Ants Mimic Real Foraging Behavior

Researchers use tiny robots to study how ants navigate a labyrinth of networks, from the nest to the food and back again
March 28, 2013 | By Marina Koren

The Otherworldly Calm of Wolfgang Laib’s Glowing Beeswax Room

A German contemporary artist creates a meditative space—lined with beeswax—at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
March 26, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

Sea Monkeys, Ferns and Frozen Frogs: Nature’s Very Own Resurrecting Organisms

As Easter draws near, we celebrate creatures that seemingly die and then come back to life
March 25, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Brown Polar Bears, Beluga-Narwhals and Other Hybrids Brought to You by Climate Change

Animals with shrinking habitats are interbreeding, temporarily boosting populations but ultimately hurting species' survival
March 22, 2013 | By Claire Martin

Video: This Lizard-Inspired Robot Can Scamper Across Sand

It's a product of the emerging field of terradynamics, which studies the movement of vehicles across shifting surfaces
March 21, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

After 17 Years, the Northeast Is About to Be Blanketed by a Swarm of Cicadas

An inch and a half long with bright red eyes, the swarm of Brood II cicadas is coming
March 20, 2013 | By Colin Schultz

Untangling the Mysterious Genetic Tentacles of the Giant Squid

Contrary to prior speculation about the elusive creatures, all giant squid belong to a single species and they all share very similar genetics
March 20, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

VIDEO: Herons Crash the Zoo

Black-crowned night herons have been using the Zoo's grounds for breeding for more than a century and the tradition continues
March 19, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

How Do Roosters Know When to Crow?

Their internal circadian rhythms keep them crowing on schedule, even when the lights are turned off
March 18, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Nearly 8 Miles Down, Bacteria Thrive in the Oceans’ Deepest Trench

The Mariana Trench may serve as a seafloor nutrient trap, supporting remarkable numbers of microorganisms
March 17, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Look Out! Look Out! Elephants Get New Digs

The Elephant Community Center, the newest addition to the National Zoo's "Elephant Trails" habitat, opens on Saturday, March 23
March 15, 2013 | By Paul Bisceglio

14 Fun Facts about Marine Ribbon Worms

Ribbon worms swallow prey whole, grease themselves with their mucus to slide quickly through mud, split into thousands of new worms if repeatedly severed, and much more
March 15, 2013 | By Emily Frost

Why We Should All Celebrate Save a Spider Day

Insect keeper Dan Babbitt of the Natural History Museum explains what makes spiders so cool
March 14, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

Prehistoric Birds May Have Used Four Wings to Fly

A study of fossils of prehistoric birds suggests two sets of wings—one set on the creature's hind legs—helped avians stay aloft
March 14, 2013 | By Marina Koren

Stressed Corals Dim Then Glow Brightly Before They Die

Measuring how coral fluorescence changes may serve as an early indicator of the declining health of a reef
March 13, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

An Otter Learns to Play Therapeutic Basketball at the Oregon Zoo

Zookeepers show that it is possible to teach an old otter new tricks
March 13, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Cold, Hungry and Happy in the High Andes

Just 40 bucks in cash, a warm sleeping bag and plenty of wine carry the author through his final days in Ecuador, in the remote high country outside of Quito
March 08, 2013 | By Alastair Bland

The (Natural) World, According to Our Photo Contest Finalists

From a caterpillar to the Milky Way, the ten finalists in the contest's Natural World category capture the peculiar, the remarkable and the sublime
March 07, 2013 | By Megan Gambino

A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in Time for Passover

Israel battles a swarm of millions of locusts that flew from Egypt that is giving rise to a host of ecological, political and agricultural issues
March 06, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

This 33,000-Year-Old Skull Belonged to One of the World’s First Dogs

A new DNA analysis confirms that an ancient skull found in a Siberian cave was an early ancestor of man's best friend
March 06, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Snowy Day, But Smithsonian D.C. Museums Open, Zoo Closes

Bad weather threatens the metro area, but the Smithsonian museums Will Open, National Zoo is Closed
March 06, 2013 | By Leah Binkovitz

How Emperor Penguins Survive Antarctica’s Subzero Cold

The birds' plumage is even colder than the surrounding air, paradoxically insulating them from heat loss
March 05, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

Miniature African Forest Elephants Could Be Extinct in 10 Years

Ivory poachers slashed the population of the small elephants by 62 percent in the past decade--future losses at those rates will doom the species
March 04, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Biking Ecuador’s Spectacular Avenue of the Volcanoes

Home to a string of high peaks, including 20,564-foot Chimborazo, the area offers some of the finest cycling, hiking and adventuring country anywhere
March 03, 2013 | By Alastair Bland

Could Disappearing Wild Insects Trigger a Global Crop Crisis?

Three-quarters of the world’s crops—including fruits, grains and nuts—depend on pollination, and the insects responsible are disappearing
February 28, 2013 | By Marina Koren

« Previous 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next »

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