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Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 60 Remarkable Finalists From the 22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

From stunning landscapes to captivating portraits, the photographs showcase the diverse beauty of the world around us. Vote for your favorite, too, for the Readers’ Choice competition

Transplanting pig organs into people may soon become routine.

The Future of Transplanting Pig Organs in People

After years of research into xenotransplantation, the field is at a turning point—yet risks and ethical issues remain

Gelada monkeys are known for long, flowing manes that continue down their backs.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See Magnificent Monkeys From Around the World in These Shots From the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

You don’t have to swing from treetops to get a close-up look at these curious creatures

A hatchling Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Inside the Herculean Effort to Study and Save the World’s Smallest Sea Turtle

After years of steady gains, a decades-long conservation program dedicated to the Kemp’s ridley hits rough seas

Stanleya pinnata, or "prince's plume," takes up large amounts of selenium from the soil.

About One Billion People Are Deficient in Selenium. Genetic Engineering Could Change That

Hoping to stave off a global health crisis, scientists are breeding a new generation of crops that suck the mineral, which helps the thyroid and immune system, from soil

Don’t let the placid and bland surface fool you—Uranus is a singularly dynamic planet.

The Six Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Uranus

Its bland exterior belies a dynamic world full of surprises

The title page painting in Jay Matternes: Paleoartist and Wildlife Painter features a dynamic scene from the Pliocene.

See Stunning Illustrations of Prehistoric Life From One of the Most Renowned Paleoartists in the World

A new book highlights the beautiful work of Jay Matternes, an accomplished artist who drew everything from mammoths to early humans

Dead trees teem with life.

What Happens to a Tree That Dies in a Forest?

Rotting logs turn out to be vital to forest biodiversity and recycling organic matter

A mosquito stuck in resin is on its way to becoming a fossil preserved in amber.

How a Fragile Insect Living 100 Million Years Ago Becomes a Fossil

A bug, a dinosaur and a tree intersect, creating the perfect conditions for resin to capture a moment in time

Current experiments are focused on tomatoes, lettuce and other small-scale crops, with hopes to extend to high-calorie crops like grains and sweet potatoes in the future. 

Can Electro-Agriculture Revolutionize the Way We Grow Food?

A new technology is pushing the boundaries of farming by using electricity to grow crops without photosynthesis

Microbes can grow in clouds and even divide in two.

A Brief and Amazing History of Our Search for Life in the Clouds

By collecting samples after climbing a high peak and firing rockets with special traps into the upper atmosphere, scientists have found microbes living in thin air

The curious qualities of laughter can surprise, delight or even silence.

Why Does Laughter Have Such a Strange Power Over Us?

An anthropologist explores why the phenomenon has the ability to delight, disturb and disrupt

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There's More to That

The Truth About the Sex Lives of Dinosaurs

Fossils are providing more and more clues about how dinosaurs attracted one another and reproduced, which contributed to their remarkable ability to populate much of the Earth

A pangolin emerges from an underground tunnel at night at Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, a group that runs a pangolin conservation program inside the Cuc Phuong National Park in Vietnam.

Will the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry End the Pangolin?

The creature is being trafficked across Africa and Asia to fuel a steady demand for their scales, an ingredient in unproven remedies

An albino squirrel peeks out from within a tree.

Can a Small Town’s Protections for Albino Squirrels Inspire Other Cities to Guard Wildlife Against Cats?

Olney, Illinois, has taken steps to protect an iconic mammal from domesticated felines, setting a possible model for other places to follow

Cuddly lovebirds have come to represent Valentine's Day, and their name is even used to refer to two people who are infatuated with one another.

14 Fun Facts About Lovebirds, From Their Lifelong Devotion to Surprising Aggression

The cuddly, colorful parrots have become a symbol of Valentine’s Day. Here’s what to know about the famously affectionate birds

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Five Unusual Ways People Used Lead—and Suffered For It

Cultures throughout history have put lead to use for wacky and often deeply poisonous purposes

The scientists recorded dozens of scents, which they broke down into four categories, including embalming ingredients and odors from plant oils used by modern museum conservators.

Discover the Aromas of Ancient Egyptian Mummies, From Orange Peels to Pine to Incense

A new, first-of-its-kind analysis of the scents of nine mummies detected woody, spicy, herbal and rancid notes, among other odors

The Punta Medanosa colony of Magellanic penguins on the coast of Argentina has nearly 8,000 breeding pairs. Other colonies number in the hundreds of thousands.

What Did Scientists Learn After Thousands of Penguins Were Slaughtered by Mountain Lions?

The thriving bird colonies likely grew over several decades because local shepherds had temporarily eliminated pumas

The crusading physician pictured circa 1915, just a few years after she began her game-changing research among industrial workers. 

How Alice Hamilton Waged a One-Woman Campaign to Get the Lead Out of Everything

At first a crusader for workplace safety, the trained physician railed against the use of the toxic and ubiquitous material

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