Theories and Discovery
Revolutionary ideas and breakthroughs in science that have advanced our knowledge of the universe- Explore more »
Everything You Didn’t Know About Clarence Darrow
A newly released book brings new insight into the trial attorney made famous by the Scopes monkey trial
June 11, 2011 |
By T.A. Frail
A Triumph in the War Against Cancer
Oncologist Brian Druker developed a new treatment for a deadly cancer, leading to a breakthrough that has transformed medicine
May 2011 |
By Terence Monmaney
A Flowering Plant, Set in Stone
Smithsonian readers may recognize the Liaoning province of China as the place where amazing fossils of bird-like dinosaurs have been found:In a pine forest in rural northeastern China, a rugged shale slope is packed with the remains of extinct creatures from 125 million years ago, when this part ...
April 08, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Five Reasons Anti-Evolution Measures are a Bad Idea
In 1925, John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was put on trial in Tennessee for having the audacity to teach evolution to his students. In the 21st century, teachers don't have to worry about being arrested for teaching this fundamental topic in science, and the Supreme Court declared teachi...
April 04, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Piltdown Man, Paleoanthropology's April Fool's
This is the story of a missing link that never was
April 01, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
When is the Right Time to Mate?
For animals in the Northern Hemisphere, this is a pretty exciting time. The day length is steadily increasing, which is the primary signal to seasonal breeders that it is time to seasonally breed. Hibernating species such as chipmunks wake up with enlarged gonads and ready to go; songbirds start si...
March 08, 2011 |
By Laura Helmuth
Why Bird Brains Bloom in Spring
Aah, springtime. Crocuses are blooming, squirrels are cavorting, birds are singing ... and the HVc region of the neostriatum, the robust nucleus of the archistriatum and area X of the parolfactory lobe are recrudescing. Those are the bits of a male bird's brain responsible for singing, and they are...
March 07, 2011 |
By Laura Helmuth
Quagga: The Lost Zebra
Name: Quagga (Equus quagga quagga)Description: A type of zebra from South Africa whose stripes faded below the neck. Once thought to be a separate species, scientists who have performed DNA analyses on zebras now say that the quagga is a subspecies of the plains zebra.Why the Quagga is "Lost": Larg...
March 01, 2011 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The Shark That Will Give You More Nightmares Than Jaws
If the movie Jaws scared you away from swimming, perhaps you should avoid the "Journey through Time" section of the Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History. There you'll find a collection of fossil marine life dating back as far as 500 million years ago. In one case is possibly th...
January 26, 2011 |
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
Bird Sets Up Protection Racket to Ensure Meals
Announcing your presence would seem to be a bad strategy for a bird that survives through kleptoparasitism—stealing food from others. But that's just what the fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) of the Kalahari Desert does. And the drongos seem to have taken some lessons from the Italian mafia,...
December 15, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Ready for Contact
Humans have searched for extraterrestrial life for more than a century. What will we do when we find it?
December 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
How Did Whales Evolve?
Originally mistaken for dinosaur fossils, whale bones uncovered in recent years have told us much about the behemoth sea creatures
December 01, 2010 |
By Brian Switek
The Top Ten Daily Consequences of Having Evolved
From hiccups to wisdom teeth, the evolution of man has left behind some glaring, yet innately human, imperfections
November 19, 2010 |
By Rob Dunn
Where Little Fiddler Crabs Like to Hide
Life can be tough for a fiddler crab. So many other creatures find them tasty: migratory birds, shrimp, fish, raccoons, turtles, even other species of crab. Adults, at least, can dig themselves a burrow and fight off predators. But juveniles don't—or can't—seek shelter in the sand. They can hide be...
November 10, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Comparing Apples and Oranges
The phrase "comparing apples and oranges" is often invoked when a person compares two items that are thought to be so different as to make any comparison invalid. But are apples and oranges really that different? According to TimeTree.org, Malus x domestica (the apple) and Citrus sinensis (the nave...
November 02, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
The World's Oldest Living Organisms
Just how long has the world's oldest living thing been on this planet? That would be Siberian actinobacteria, and they've been here for some 400,000 to 600,000 years, longer than our species has existed.Photographer Rachel Sussman is keeping track of these ancient specimens. She's been photographin...
September 15, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Cootie Catchers Say Lice Reveal Lots About Early Humans
Children all over America are returning to school this fall and I’m sure parents have done all they can to prep their youngsters—which hopefully involves any and all vaccines and boosters. But not even the most diligent efforts toward preventative health care can save your child from the bug that h...
September 13, 2010 |
By admin
The Mimic Octopus
The mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) has some interesting ways to keep from being eaten. The brown-and-white stripes on its arms resemble the patterning on venomous sea snakes and the coloring of spiny lionfish. And it can vary its shape and positioning to look like a variety of different under...
August 27, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
Flowers May Adapt Faster than Thought to Climate Change
One of the big worries about climate change is that organisms will be unable to migrate or adapt quickly enough to deal with all the coming changes to their environments, which could lead to a lot of extinctions. But a new study led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which appears in Molecular Biol...
August 13, 2010 |
By Sarah Zielinski
