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Science / Human Behavior

A red fox listening for prey under the snow in Yellowstone National Park. Noise can affect foxes and other animals that rely on their hearing when they hunt.

How Human Noise Ruins Parks for Animals and People

Even in America’s most pristine wildernesses, unwanted sound is changing landscapes

The Mona Lisa's sparse setting may help visitors better appreciate its beauty, according to a new psychology study.

New Research

Distraction May Make Us Less Able to Appreciate Beauty

Truly experiencing the beauty of an object could require conscious thought, vindicating the ideas of Immanuel Kant

Would you trust nutrition research underwritten by a GMO company?

People Don’t Trust Scientific Research When Companies Are Involved

But sometimes, they should

A still from the 2015 film The Big Short, featuring actors Billy Magnussen and Max Greenfield.

New Research

From Budweiser to Heineken, Alcohol Brands Are Rampant in Hollywood Films

Over the past two decades, even G-rated films have amped up the booze labels

The stone flakes are flying, but what brain regions are firing?

New Research

How Smart Were Early Humans? “Neuroarchaeology” Offers Some Answers

Brain Imaging Gives Insight Into Early Human Minds

Drinking fountain on the Halifax County Courthouse (North Carolina) in April 1938.

New Research

Racism Harms Children’s Health, Survey Finds

Racism may not be a disease, exactly. But a growing body of research finds that it has lasting physical and mental effects on its victims

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.”

Europe’s Famed Bog Bodies Are Starting to Reveal Their Secrets

High-tech tools divulge new information about the mysterious and violent fates met by these corpses

Why I Take Fake Pills

Surprising new research shows that placebos still work even when you know they’re not real

Former U.S. president Barack Obama goes book-shopping with his daughters in Washington, DC in 2015.

New Research

Liberals and Conservatives Read Totally Different Books About Science

The good news: Everyone likes dinosaurs

Sometimes when we say "you," we really mean "me"

New Research

When I Say “You” But Really Mean “Me”

In some cases, the use of the second-person pronoun could help us put distance between ourselves and negative emotions

Unmasking the Mad Bomber

When James A. Brussel used psychiatry to think like a criminal, he pioneered the science of profiling

"Numbers are a human invention, and they’re not something we get automatically from nature," says Caleb Everett.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Humans Invented Numbers—And How Numbers Reshaped Our World

Anthropologist Caleb Everett explores the subject in his new book, Numbers and the Making Of Us

Researchers have found that when our minds wander, our moods tend to suffer.

Why Mind Wandering Can Be So Miserable, According to Happiness Experts

We still don’t know why our minds seem so determined to exit the present moment, but researchers have a few ideas

In nature and in human history, cannibalism is actually quite mainstream. No humans were harmed in the making of this image, which is of Ribeye steak.

Fall in Love With Cannibalism This Valentine’s Day

Pair your red wine and chocolate hearts with another delicious accompaniment: cannibalism, in the form of a new book

Still Life with Fruit, Oysters, and Wine by Everhart Kuhn, ca. 1865

Ask Smithsonian

Are Oysters an Aphrodisiac?

Sure, if you think so

It may not be pretty, but meat eating has been a critical factor in creating the fossil record.

Why Paleontologists Should Love Meat-Eaters

… Particularly the ones that feasted on human flesh. Thanks, guys!

Being stuck in a crowd can be an overwhelming experience. Physicists and computer scientists bring some order to the chaos.

How Fluid Dynamics Can Help You Navigate Crowds

If you plan to be in a seething mass of humans at some point—whether it’s an inauguration or protest thereof—here’s how to keep yourself safe

A smartphone could help people fight depression.

How Mobile Technology Can Help Universities Combat Depression

Using sensors on smartphones and smartwatches can shed light on patients’ symptoms, even identifying ones they didn’t notice or share with counselors

Caption: Six pairs of hand and footprints were discovered in 1998, including two that are small enough to have belonged to children.

New Research

Footprints Found at Ancient Hot Springs Could Represent Earliest Settlement of Tibetan Plateau

New age measurements of the footprints help pinpoint when humans first settled the highest region on Earth

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