Behavior
Emotions, perception and the biological processes of living organisms
What Animal is the Best Mother?
Cheetahs and gorillas have some of the strongest maternal instincts, according to a National Zoo biologist
May 04, 2011 |
By Megan Gambino
Going To The Park May Make Your Life Better
I may have grown up in the countryside, but I am more than content with my life as a city girl. That said, I find myself drawn to green spaces; for example, my vacations more often than not include trips to botanic gardens. And I like to walk to work when the weather's nice, taking advantage of Was...
April 22, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Why Scientific Ignorance Can Kill You
While working on this story from Smithsonian's May issue about oncologist Brian Druker and his discovery 10 years ago of a breakthrough drug for chronic myeloid leukemia, I was struck by the following passage:Over the pub’s blaring music Mayfield said of his BCR-ABL gene, “I had the G250E mutation—...
April 21, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Why We Need a Nap Room in the Office
Disappear from your desk for a coffee run or a smoke break---that's fine. Spend time on Facebook or Twitter---that's OK, too. Fall asleep at your desk for five minutes---then the boss gets mad.Napping is generally unacceptable in the workplace, and that's sad because it's the healthiest activity I'...
April 20, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Curious World of Zombie Science
Zombies seem to be only growing in popularity, and I'm not talking about the biological kind
April 18, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The DMZ's Thriving Resident: The Crane
Rare cranes have flourished in the world's unlikeliest sanctuary, the heavily mined demilitarized zone between North and South Korea
April 2011 |
By Eric Wagner
Explore the Human Body on Your Computer Screen
The plastic skeletons and body models used in classrooms and doctors' offices may soon become obsolete, it seems, due to one of Google's latest offerings: Google Body. The program is still in beta (meaning it's got some bugs); this week its creators added a male body to the female they began with i...
March 31, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Nothing Can Stop the Zebra
A 150-mile fence in the Kalahari Desert appeared to threaten Africa's zebras, but now researchers can breathe a sigh of relief
March 2011 |
By Robyn Keene-Young
Studying the Bond Between a Cat and Its Human
It took 120 hours of observing 40 cat-human pairs for scientists to conclude that the bond between the two can be similar to other human relationships. And, yes, I know that most of you who have cats---or know someone who has a cat---will not find that surprising, so let's delve into the details. I...
February 28, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
HIV in 3-D
This may look like a cross between something my friend Helen would knit and a Good Eats model of a droplet of fat covered in lecithin, but it's actually a three-dimensional illustration of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, and the winner of the Illustration category in the 2010 International S...
February 25, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Babies Raised Bilingual Get Language Benefits
Learning a second language is certainly useful if you want to travel the world, or if you live in a place where there are a lot of people that speak that language natively. But there are also plenty of benefits beyond simple communication, as a session at this weekend's American Association for the...
February 22, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Accidental Cure for Hair Loss
Before I go any further, I have to warn any balding individuals reading this hoping for a solution to their hair loss problems that I'm going to talk about a study in mice. Nothing—yet—has been tested in humans, so don't get too excited.Our story starts with a group of scientists studying chronic s...
February 17, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Too Popular to Bother With Bullying
Conventional wisdom says that it's the most troubled kids that resort to bullying. Not so, say two University of California at Davis sociologists in this month's issue of the American Sociological Review. Home life, grades, academic achievement, sports—they all have little to do with who bullies wh...
February 09, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Tracking the Elusive Lynx
Rare and maddeningly elusive, the "ghost cat" tries to give scientists the slip high in the mountains of Montana
February 2011 |
By Abigail Tucker
Mythical Cures for the Common Cold
The common cold is not fun. When I get one, my head aches, my nose runs, my throat hurts and I cough for days. My mother tells me to drink orange juice and other liquids. Co-workers advise zinc or echinacea. And posters in the Metro system shill for a cold remedy full of vitamin C. Do any of these ...
January 13, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
A Plague of Pigs in Texas
Now numbering in the millions, these shockingly destructive and invasive wild hogs wreak havoc across the southern United States
January 2011 |
By John Morthland
Ten Science Stories You Should Have Read
Is your office rather empty this week? Looking for something to read to fill the time? How about some great science and nature stories from Smithsonian? Here are my ten favorites from the past year:The Truth About Lions (January): Staff writer Abigail Tucker visits Craig Packer, who has been runnin...
December 28, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Eyes Give Life to the Face
Do you remember the doll Great-aunt Mary gave you for Christmas when you were six? You could never figure out why that doll made you uncomfortable. She was meant to be pretty and lifelike, but she stared at you from the top shelf in the bedroom and gave you the occasional nightmare. You couldn't ex...
December 22, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
When Time Won't Fly
My fellow blogger Amanda tweeted this yesterday morning during her commute:If cold makes matter contract, why did the sidewalk between me and the metro seem twice as long this morning?She was mostly right in her assumption that cold makes things contract (though thermal expansion isn't uniform, and...
December 07, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Biodiversity Losses Could Be Bad for Your Health
We're losing species at an alarming pace. The current rate of loss has been estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times the background extinction rate, and that's expected to rise by a factor of 10 to 100 over the next 50 years. But if simple disappearance isn't enough to get you worried, a new study in Nat...
December 06, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
