Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson

Helen Thompson writes about science and culture for Smithsonian. She's previously written for NPR, National Geographic News, Nature and others.

Stories from this author

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

Reproduction of early English vessels at Jamestown, Virginia.

Rising Seas Threaten to Swallow These Ten Global Wonders

Climate change-induced increases in sea level are forcing archaeologists and communities to get creative and make tough calls

Ten years on, some of the scars that Katrina tore into coastal ecosystems persist, while others have healed. NASA's Landsat 8 satellite captured this image of the swamps and marshes that buffer New Orleans in August 2015.

How Hurricane Katrina Redrew the Gulf Coast

While storms here are nothing new, human influence helped Katrina make Louisiana’s ecological problems worse

This Pesticide Doesn’t Kill Spiders, But It Does Mess With Their Heads

Just because a chemical isn’t lethal doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous to other insects

An image of the Italian Alps, snapped in June by the ESA's Sentinel-2, could be used in biodiversity studies.

Why Satellites Are a Biologist’s Best Friend

From tracking penguins to coral reefs, satellites are changing the way scientists study ecology

Is Chocolate Milk the Next Sports Drink?

It all comes down to cows

A solar flare erupts from the Sun in 2012.

When Will the Next Solar Superflare Hit Earth?

The year 2209 just got a lot scarier

The motor convoy departed D.C. on July 7, 1919.

How a Hellish Road Trip Revolutionized American Highways

Quicksand, food rationing, and embarrassment may have prompted Ike to push for a better highway system

Dinosaurs May Have Lived (and Died) Among Ancient Daisies

Triceratops loves me, Triceratops loves me not…

Dense smoke rises as fire engines arrive at the blast site after the deadly explosions in Binhai New Area in Tianjin, China.

It’s Strangely Difficult to Measure Big Explosions

But is it time for a makeover?

A painting of a bird from the 1633 Manual of Calligraphy and Painting.

The World’s Oldest Multicolor Printed Book Was Too Fragile to Read…Until Now

The 1633 book has now been digitized

Why Coffee Makes Some People Poop

It’s not the caffeine

Engineers at Cambridge University created a robot that could build and improve on other robots, in an artificial form of natural selection.

Watch a Robot Evolve

It’s the mother of all robots

Acropora species, like those pictured above in Malaysia, seem to be targeted by a disease that destroys coral tissue.

A Mysterious Disease Is Killing Corals

Researchers still haven’t cracked the mystery of “white syndrome”

Watch the Perseids Peak This Week

Summer’s stunning meteor shower is sure to please stargazers

The famous terracotta army guards the tomb of Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang. Dozens of other graves and ruins around China are not so well secured.

What’s Behind China’s Professional Tomb Raiding Trend?

Move over, Lara Croft: raiding tombs is an increasingly viable career in China

What do this cat's pupils say about what it had for dinner?

How Do Animals Find Food? The Answer’s in Their Eyes

Pupil shape provides differing advantages to those who crave the hunt and those who hide

Does this look like a stoner to you?

Did Shakespeare Smoke Pot?

Tobacco pipes in the Bard’s backyard may retain traces of cannabis, but some historians remain skeptical

Teenage Girls Have Led Language Innovation for Centuries

They’ve been on the cutting edge of the English language since at least the 1500s

Why Don’t Balancing Boulders Fall During Earthquakes?

The interaction of nearby fault lines may lessen ground shaking around some balancing rocks

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