Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Elizabeth Gamillo

New Zealand's long-tailed bats are about the size of a human thumb and weigh less than a tablespoon of sugar.

New Zealand’s Bird of the Year Is… a Bat

The winged mammal is critically endangered and won the award to raise awareness about their existence and importance to the island ecosystem

In areas where the auroras are normally observed, many individuals took to social media to share spectacular photos of atmospheric phenomena. The photo seen here was taken in Teriberka, Russia.  

Halloween Weekend Auroras Dazzle Northern United States, Canada and Russia

The light display was caused by a category X solar flare that erupted on October 28

The island's volcano has entered its sixth week of eruption and shows no signs of stopping. As seismic activity continues to increase, La Palma could be hit with an earthquake measuring a six on the Richter magnitude scale.

Spain’s La Palma Volcano Continues to Erupt and Spew Ash

The volcano has covered over 2,000 acres of land with lava

The prairie is 10,000 years old and was carved by the retreat of the last glaciers and is considered a gravel prairie. Only about 25 acres of high-quality gravel prairie are left in the state. Bell Bowl makes up five acres of what is left.

10,000-Year-Old Rare Prairie Land and Rusty Patched Bumblebee Threatened by Airport Construction in Illinois

Sightings of an endangered bee species have temporarily stopped construction, which is set to resume November 1

Poaching was amplified during Mozambique’s civil war between 1977 to 1992 to finance the war efforts. Elephant population numbers dropped from 2,500 individuals to around 200 in the early 2000s.  

Female Elephants Are Evolving Without Tusks in Mozambique

The genetic mutation causing tusklessness in females seems to be lethal in males

Other actions that curbed the spread of the virus include vaccine education programs, vaccination events, lockdowns, curfew times, and rigorous sanitary measures.

Puerto Rico Has the Highest Covid-19 Vaccination Rate Among the United States and Its Territories

Mass vaccination events and compliance with restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus helped control community transmission rates

Using micro-CT scans, the team visualized the crab's body in 3-D and even imaged its mouthparts lined with fine hairs. It is unknown if the five-millimeter-long crab is a full-grown adult, a juvenile or a baby.

This Tiny Crustacean Trapped in Amber Tells a Different Story About Crab Evolution

The Cretaceous-era fossil suggests that crabs left the sea some 50 million years earlier than scientists previously thought

The volcano (not visible in this image) emerged near Mayotte Island (pictured), located between East Africa and Magagascar.

Underwater Eruption Off France’s Mayotte Island Gave Rise to a New Colossal Seamount

The 2018 blast was the most significant active submarine eruption ever documented

After comparing all genomes, the researchers found that the Japanese wolf is part of an evolutionary branch of wolves that arose 20,000 to 40,000 years ago. Some of the wolves from this branch evolved into the Japanese wolves while others branched off and gave rise to modern dogs.

Ancient Japanese Wolves May Be the Closest Wild Relative of Modern Dogs

The results challenge previous theories about the origin of dog domestication

The change to more eco-friendly toys is already underway in some countries like the UK and Ireland. In France, kids can choose between receiving a sustainable toy or a book in the "One Book or One Toy" program with their Happy Meal.  

McDonald’s Will Offer More Sustainable Happy Meal Toys by 2025

New prizes will be made from renewable, recyclable plastics and cardboard in a shift away from using plastic made from virgin fossil fuels

Low-dose aspirin or baby aspirin (81 to 100 milligrams) has been used as a safe and cheap way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. Aspirin does this by thinning out the blood and preventing blood clots from forming, which may block arteries.  

Aspirin No Longer Recommended as a Preventative Measure Against Heart Attacks and Strokes in Older Individuals

The guideline change is based on bleeding risks some may face when taking the blood thinner

While the seeds do not indicate how the ancient humans used tobacco, researchers suspect that tobacco leaves, stems, and other plants may have been twisted together and chewed or sucked and the seeds were discarded or spit out.

Humans’ Earliest Evidence of Tobacco Use Uncovered in Utah

The charred seeds suggest that people used tobacco over 12,000 years ago—much earlier than previously thought

In 2019 alone, malaria killed 400,000 people, with most individuals residing in sub-Saharan Africa. Children under five are more vulnerable to the detrimental effects of malaria, and most deaths occur within this age group.

The World Health Organization Endorses the World’s First Malaria Vaccine

Four doses of the vaccine Mosquirix prevents the risk of the mosquito-borne disease by 40 percent

Covid-19 booster vaccines are also safe to receive along with the flu vaccine. However, third doses are currently authorized for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients who are immunocompromised, have underlying medical conditions, or those 65 years of age or older.  

Receiving a Flu Shot and Covid Vaccine at the Same Time Is Safe, Study Finds

Mild to moderate side effects were reported, such as fatigue in three-quarters of participants in the research

American bumblebees are a vital pollinator for wildflowers and crops, and their decline could have severe consequences for the environment.  

The American Bumblebee Has Nearly Vanished From Eight States

In two decades, the insect’s population has declined by nearly 90 percent due to a combination of threats, including habitat loss, pesticides and diseases

Lucy measures more than 46 feet wide, and about 24 feet tall and is equipped with solar arrays on its main body that allow it to power up its instruments. Each camera will enable Lucy to study the surface of the asteroids, detect traces of water or minerals, and count craters or rings.  

NASA’s Lucy Probe Asteroid Mission Will Study Fossil-Like Origins of Our Solar System

The spacecraft launches on October 16 and is expected to reach its target by 2027

Kīlauea has an elevation of 4,009 feet and a magma system that reaches 37 miles below the ground. The volcano is the youngest and most active on the Hawaiian Islands.  

Kīlauea Spews Magma and Golden Strings of Volcanic Glass on Hawaii’s Big Island

Most recently, the volcano had a series of small eruptions that began in December 2020 and lasted five months straight

Early humans may have eaten late-stage fertilized eggs, known as balut, or raised the chicks for feathers and meat.    

Thousands of Years Before Humans Raised Chickens, They Tried to Domesticate the World’s Deadliest Bird

Fossilized eggs found in rock shelters suggest cassowaries were cohabitating with our ancestors

Inspired by the fluttering seeds, researchers designed a tiny, winged microchip that is powerful enough to monitor environmental contamination, biohazards, and airborne disease. Here it is shown next to a lady bug for scale.  

This Flying, Chemical-Detecting Microchip Is Smaller Than a Grain of Sand

Inspired by helicopter seeds, the device could soon be used to monitor the environment

Babies may be exposed to microplastics from putting toys in their mouths or from plastic baby bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers that might shed pieces of PET.

Baby Poo Has Ten Times More Microplastics Than Adult Feces

The small pilot study included fecal samples from ten adults and six infants in New York state

Page 10 of 19