Oceans

Rapidly melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage (left) and North Pole (center) navigable during the summer.

Climate Change Could Allow Ships to Cross the North Pole by 2040

Melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage and North Pole navigable during summer

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Transforming Raw Scientific Data Into Sculpture and Song

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores

Ice melt in Greenland will significantly affect water levels throughout the world, most of all the equatorial Pacific and South Africa.

Melting Polar Ice Will Spike Sea Levels at the Equator

Expect higher sea levels in the equatorial Pacific and lower ones near the poles by 2100, according to new research

A study shows that wild perch are less fearful, eat faster and are more anti-social when exposed to a common pharmaceutical pollutant.

Flushing Your Anti-Anxiety Pills Down the Toilet Could Affect the Behavior of Wild Fish

A study shows that wild perch are less fearful, eat faster and are more anti-social when exposed to a common pharmaceutical pollutant

Two waved albatrosses, the only tropical albatross species, courting one another on the Galapagos Islands.

Is It Love? Why Some Ocean Animals (Sort Of) Mate For Life

A look at the mating systems of some monogamous ocean animals show that finding life partners helps species protect themselves and their young

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This Sea Slug Discards Its Penis After Sex and Grows Another

Chromodoris reticulata, native to the Pacific, engages in mating behavior previously unknown in the rest of the animal kingdom

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Photos of Starfish Up Close: What Are You Looking At?

A stunning look at starfish reveal beautiful patterns--but what exactly are those wormy structures, bald patches, and spiky maces?

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Salmon Swim Home Using Earth’s Magnetic Field as a GPS

Their intuitive sense of the magnetic field surrounding them allow sockeye salmon to circumnavigate obstacles to find their birth stream

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The Year’s Most Outstanding Science Visualizations

A juried competition honors photographs, illustrations, videos, posters, games and apps that marry art and science in an evocative way

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Scientists Dismiss Geo-Engineering as a Global Warming Quick Fix

A new study shows that dispersing minerals into oceans to stem climate change would be an inefficient and impractical process

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Researchers Discover New Method of Barnacle Sex

Upending 150 years of theory, scientists observed that some barnacles can capture sperm from the water for reproduction

As part of a new study, shore crabs that were given a mild electrical shock responded in a way indicating they felt pain.

New Study Suggests Crabs Can Feel Pain After All

Most of us assume that crustaceans can't feel pain—but new research suggests otherwise

Small red boring sponges embedded in star coral, killing the coral polyps immediately surrounding them.

Drill, Baby, Drill: Sponges Bore Into Shells Twice as Fast in Acidic Seawater

In acidic water, drilling sponges damage scallops twice as quickly, worsening the effects of ocean acidification

Coral from the Northern Line Islands reveals a link between climate change and El Niño.

Is Climate Change Strengthening El Niño?

New research on Pacific corals that trace climate patterns back 7,000 years shows how recent El Niños compare with those of the past

Smithsonian astronomers detect a planet forming from debris around a young star.

The Smithsonian Heads to Hawaii

Coral reefs and radio telescopes make a trip to the tropics more than worthwhile

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Seven Must-See Art-Meets-Science Exhibitions in 2013

Preview some of the top-notch shows—on anatomy, bioluminescence, water tanks and more—slated for the next year

Comet ISON, still just a faint glimmer at the crosshairs of this telescope image, could be the brightest comet in a generation next November.

5 Science Stories to Watch in 2013

The new year could feature discoveries of life within subglacial Antarctic lakes, the brightest comet in generations and more

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The Ten Best Ocean Stories of 2012

From deep-sea squid habits to vanishing coral reefs, here are the ocean stories we couldn’t stop talking about this year.

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The Christmas Tree Worm, Decorating Coral Reefs Year-Round

The oceans show holiday spirit with a worm on coral reefs that resembles a fluffy fir tree adorned with colored ornaments.

A graphic data readout of the a collision of two protons, briefly producing a Higgs Boson, from the Large Hadron Collider.

Mythical Particles, Goldilocks Planets and More: Top 5 Surprising Scientific Milestones of 2012

From the Higgs Boson to the Curiosity rover, 2012 was a major year for science

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