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A dog walks through a favela in Recife, Brazil. Many such poor urban areas in the country are hotbeds for visceral leishmaniasis.

Dogs Infected With a Deadly Human Parasite Smell Better to Insect Vectors

New research suggests female sand flies that pass the protozoa that causes visceral leishmaniasis to humans are attracted to affected canines

Ocean creatures are noisier than scientists first thought.

Women Who Shaped History

Biologist Marie Fish Catalogued the Sounds of the Ocean for the World to Hear

Scientists once thought marine life kept quiet. Then the Navy tapped an aptly named researcher with an open mind

Deb Haaland speaks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the National Native American Veterans Memorial, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.

Smithsonian Voices

Indian Country Weighs In on Deb Haaland’s Confirmation as Secretary of the Interior

Seen as “one giant leap for Native women, “Haaland (Laguna and Jemez Pueblos) is hailed for her experience, strength and wisdom

Merab Ninidze and Benedict Cumberbatch in The Courier.

Based on a True Story

The True Story Behind ‘The Courier’

A new spy thriller draws on the fascinating life—and whopping lies—of one of the U.K.’s most famous intelligence agents

When suburbanites want to limit the number of deer in their area, it can be easier said than done.

How Can Suburbs Control Deer Populations? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Leafhoppers are known for devastating crops like potatoes and grapes. But they can be a benign presence within a balanced jungle ecosystem.

Planet Positive

The Wild World of a New Nature Preserve in Ecuador

Scientists have already begun discovering new species in the hotbed of biodiversity

Across the globe, culling has become the default strategy for the egg industry to eliminate the unwanted hatchlings.

Can New Technologies Eliminate the Grim Practice of Chick Culling?

As the U.S. egg industry continues to kill male chicks, scientists are racing to develop accurate and affordable ways to sex a chick before it hatches

Illustration of Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, the likely inspiration for Molly Pitcher, stoking a cannon for the U.S. Pennsylvania artillery during the Battle of Monmouth

Women Who Shaped History

Molly Pitcher, the Most Famous American Hero Who Never Existed

Americans don’t need to rely on legends to tell the stories of women in the Revolution

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Smithsonian Voices

How the World’s Largest Aquamarine Gem Came to Be

The Dom Pedro Aquamarine is one of the largest mineral crystals found inside Earth’s rocks

In makeshift home laboratories, a team of scientists discovered that cotton flannel is the optimal fabric, and their latest study says that the moisture from our breath makes the mask more effective.

How to Build a Better Homemade Face Mask, According to Science

When Covid-19 hit, Smithsonian researchers set up makeshift home laboratories to conduct groundbreaking studies on mask fabric materials

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Remembering Tulsa

Looking Back at the Tulsa Race Massacre, 100 Years Later

Confronting the murderous attack on the most prosperous black community in the nation

Newhaven Wildlife Sanctuary, where Aboriginal Warlpiri ranger Christine Ellis hunts feral cats to help protect native species

Australia’s Cats Kill Two Billion Animals Annually. Here’s How the Government Is Responding to the Crisis

A new report from the federal parliament recommends cat registration, nighttime curfews and spaying and neutering

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Remembering Tulsa

The Unrealized Promise of Oklahoma

How the push for statehood led a beacon of racial progress to oppression and violence

Newbery Honoree Alicia D. Williams is the author of Genesis Begins Again and the new picture book Jump at the Sun, the first biography of Zora Neale Hurston written for children.

Smithsonian Voices

How Alicia D. Williams Is Reviving Storytelling for Black Children

Williams wanted a different story for her daughter—and for herself. So, she set out to write it

Wildlife often reclaims areas deemed uninhabitable for humans, such as Nomans Land, Massachusetts, which was once a US Navy testing site.

This Uninhabited Island Off of Massachusetts Is Littered With Bombs

Whether wildlife refuge, research destination or restored traditional homeland, the fate of Nomans Land is up for debate

A fulgurite made of fused quartz found in Florida

Ancient Lightning May Have Sparked Life on Earth

More than a billion strikes a year likely provided an essential element for organisms

A young male in Lassen County, California, wears a collar that transmits his location. He was in a litter of four pups born in the area in 2019.

Planet Positive

The Wolf That Discovered California

Nearly a century after the last wolf was eradicated in the state, a lone female arrived and established a pack. Not everyone is cheering

Panamanian golden frogs—such as F1, seen here—are native to the rainforests and cloud forests of Panama but haven't been seen in the wild since 2009. Each creature's bright coloration warns predators of its deadly skin, which contains enough toxins to kill 1,200 mice.

Panama

A Small Band of Panamanian Golden Frogs Is Saving Their Species From Oblivion

Victims of a deadly fungus, the amphibians are now being selectively bred through a program at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo

Because of their honeycomb shape, the huts can fit together like a beehive, expanding to fit growing needs.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

The World’s First 3-D Printed School May Soon Be a Reality

Thinking Huts, a nonprofit founded by a 15-year-old, plans to kick off construction in Madagascar this summer

Ida Holdgreve answered an ad for "plain sewing"–a typo that turned a new page in women’s history.

Women Who Shaped History

How Ida Holdgreve’s Stitches Helped the Wright Brothers Get Off the Ground

In 1910, Orville and Wilbur Wright hired an Ohio seamstress, who is only now being recognized as the first female worker in the American aviation industry

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