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Science / Our Planet

Taxonomic vandalism can have disastrous consequences for wildlife conservation—but it could also impact human health. Shown here, an African spitting cobra poised to strike.

A Few Bad Scientists Are Threatening to Topple Taxonomy

Naming species forms the foundation of biology—but these rogue researchers are exposing the flaws in the system

For tree poachers, sometimes known as "midnight burlers," redwoods can present a lucrative opportunity for theft. New research recommends ways to deter this hard-to-trace wildlife crime.

New Research

How Forest Forensics Could Prevent the Theft of Ancient Trees

To track down timber thieves, researchers are turning to new tech and tried-and-true criminal justice techniques

Water water everywhere, and not a day to think.

How Coastal Cities Are Evolving to Deal With Extreme Rain

Facing the specter of more and worse rainstorms, these vulnerable areas are turning to innovative urban design

Scientists can study stress in these petite primates with simply a few strands of their hair.

New Research

Stress Is Killing These Teeny Lemurs, and The Story Is In Their Hair

Sampling the fur of Madagascar’s gray mouse lemurs reveal a bevy of environmental pressures

Costa Rica's Guanacaste region is among the country's many beautiful ecological zones—and the waste from local juice company is helping keep it that way.

Costa Rica Let a Juice Company Dump Their Orange Peels in the Forest—and It Helped

How a controversial experiment actually bore fruit

A geologist looks out into a caldera in Nevada's McDermitt Volcanic Field.

Future of Energy

Will Supervolcanoes Help Power Our Future?

Vast new deposits of lithium could change the global politics of battery production—if we can get at them

Humpback whales sounding in Windham Bay, Alaska.

What Humpback Whales Can Teach Us About Compassion

Are these orca-fighting, seal-saving good Samaritans really just in it for themselves?

Monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed leaves and dropping their feces (taken in the laboratory facility).

How Insect Poop Could Solve All Our Problems

Bugs use their feces for weapons, navigation and gardening. Can we tap into this poop party?

A NASA image of Hurricane Sandy moving along the United States' East Coast. Extreme weather events like this are becoming more frequent, but scientists still face challenges when attributing any one storm to climate change.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does Climate Change Cause Extreme Weather Events?

It’s a challenge to attribute any one storm or heat wave to climate change, but scientists are getting closer

Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, or porcelainberry originated in China, Korea, Japan and Russia, but is a vigorous invasive in the United States.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Scientists Are Using This Collection of Wood Samples to Combat Illegal Logging

Archie F. Wilson loved wood enough to amass the country’s premiere private collection. Now scientists are using it as a weapon against illegal logging

Franklin’s lifelong quest was spreading scientific knowledge to regular people.

Benjamin Franklin Mocked Eclipse Astrology to Elevate Science

The founding father used his almanacs to promote a scientific understanding of celestial events—often with withering humor

A green bluebottle fly, part of the Calliphoridae family of carrion flies.

How Fly Guts Are Helping Researchers Catalog the Rainforest

These tiny, buzzing lab assistants provide scientists with a treasure trove of conservation data

In a healthy reef, coral symbionts make food for the coral animal.

A Blueprint for Genetically Engineering a Super Coral

Why some researchers are proposing a drastic measure to save a threatened ecosystem

The algal scrubber in action.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Algae to Revitalize America’s Waterways

Walter Adey’s algal turf scrubber filters pollutants to clean water

A scuba diver swims in the coral reefs of Palau. Beneath the depths that humans can dive, natural wonder and a better understanding of our planet awaits.

Why The First Complete Map of the Ocean Floor Is Stirring Controversial Waters

Charting these watery depths could transform oceanography. It could also aid deep sea miners looking for profit

Even top predators like pumas flee in our presence. Worse, they might be disrupting entire food chains as they go.

New Research

How Fear of Humans Can Ripple Through Food Webs and Reshape Landscapes

Predators like pumas cower in our presence. And these big cats aren’t the only ones

A view from within the Tyson Forest Dynamics Plot in Missouri.

New Research

Why Do We See More Species in Tropical Forests? The Mystery May Finally Be Solved

Surveying 2.4 million trees showed that predators may help keep the trees at sustainable levels

Every species lights up the night in its own unique sequence of patterns, colors and flashes.

Illuminating the Secret Language of Lightning Bugs

For these light-up lovers, each flash in the night could mean sex or death

Coral reefs, like this one off the coast of South Africa, are rich both in hue and aquatic sounds.

Coral Reefs Sound Like Popcorn, and That’s a Good Thing

The oceans boast a vibrant soundscape, but we may be slowly silencing their symphonies

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