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Science / Our Planet

One of the rarest orchids east of the Mississippi, the small-whorled pogonia, emerges from a long dormancy when there is an abundance of specific fungi in the soil.

A Mystery of Hiding Orchids, Solved

Smithsonian scientists have discovered what triggers the rare small-whorled pogonia to awaken from dormancy

This year we've seen swelling efforts to protect vast swaths of ocean. Are they scientifically sound?

Do Ocean Preserves Actually Work?

The U.S. now leads the world in protected marine areas. But are they a scientifically sound strategy?

Ocean Legacy has a task not even Sisyphean would envy: picking up, sorting and recycling the vast amount of plastic that ends up on our shores.

Future of Conservation

Turning Ocean Garbage Into Gold

From the common plastic water bottle to the shoes of tsunami victims, one recycling organization tries to find a home for all ocean refuse

This year's science left us speechless and maybe a tiny bit more knowledgeable.

The Top 9 Baffling, Humbling, Mind-Blowing Science Stories of 2016

From gravity’s song to the evolutionary secrets of dogs, this year unlocked a treasure trove of scientific discovery

At the top of Dome A, an unmanned research station, is a smattering of antenna masts, small shipping containers, scientific equipment and a lot of footprints that take years for the snow and meager wind to cover up.

The Coldest, Driest, Most Remote Place on Earth Is the Best Place to Build a Radio Telescope

This remote Antarctic field station is an ice-covered arid desert, perfect for peering deep into space

This year, the Great Barrier Reef was found to be hiding another reef beneath it.

Top Eight Ocean Stories That Made Waves in 2016

2016 wasn’t all bad: Stubborn environmental problems were livened up thanks to new solutions, “gee whiz” discoveries and mysterious orbs

The shipworm, scourge of sailors everywhere, is actually a kind of ghostly saltwater clam.

How a Ship-Sinking Clam Conquered the Ocean

The wood-boring shipworm has bedeviled humans for centuries. What’s its secret?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did Harriet Tubman Escape to and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Theropods, the dinosaurs Gates studied, hail from the Triassic period.

A Surprising New Theory of How Dinosaurs Got So Huge

Those species with adorned skulls increased in body size faster than those without

The largest gem-quality diamond ever found in North America goes on view at the Smithsonian.

The Foxfire Diamond Bedazzles as Smithsonian’s Newest Rock Star

The largest gem-quality diamond ever found in North America glows bright blue in the dark

Marc Edwards and LeeAnne Walters

Without These Whistleblowers, We May Never Have Known the Full Extent of the Flint Water Crisis

A concerned mother and a renowned scientist spearheaded the investigation that exposed the dangers lurking in the water supply of the Michigan city

Mustard gas from wars past is decaying in the world's oceans—but scientists don't yet know how dangerous it could be. Here, U.S. Navy ship prepare for scheduled deployment in the Pacific Ocean in 2014.

Chemical Weapons Dumped in the Ocean After World War II Could Threaten Waters Worldwide

How worried should we be? Chemists are racing the clock to find out

Payam Pourtaheri and Ameer Shakeel enjoy casual conversation with Radia Perlman, 2016 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee during the Meet the Experts session at 2016’s Collegiate Inventors Competition.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Could These College Inventors Tackle the Global Pesticide Problem?

Developed by a team of University of Virgnia students, AgroSpheres break down pesticide residues on crops hours after they are applied

Brian Helmuth and his lab at Northeastern University engineered the little black data loggers from polyester resin.

Robot Shellfish May Tell Us About Climate Change’s Impact on Marine Species

Climate scientists at Northeastern University have developed “robomussels” with sensors to track temperatures in mussel beds

Mangroves are rich and biodiverse coastal ecosystems that flood and emerge with the tides. Now villagers are burning these trees to better their lives.

Madagascar’s Mangroves: The Ultimate Giving Trees

Locals already use the trees for food, fuel and building materials. Now they’re burning them to make lime clay

Six Places on Earth That Scientists Say Look Like Other Planets

The eerie resemblance these locales have to Mars and beyond has attracted researchers for years

Zak van Biljon photographed Kennedy Lake in British Columbia using infrared film.

Art Meets Science

Looking at Nature Through Infrared Film Will Have You Seeing Red

See the world on a whole different spectrum

From top left, clockwise: male orangequit; female tungara frog; purple mort bleu butterfly; sunflower; red coral; Galapagos marine iguana

Big Data Just Got Bigger as IBM’s Watson Meets the Encyclopedia of Life

An NSF grant marries one of the world’s largest online biological archives with IBM’s cognitive computing and Georgia Tech’s moduling and simulation

Some researchers are trying to harness the energy from huge storms.

Future of Energy

Can We Capture Energy From a Hurricane?

Loaded with power, massive storms may be another conduit for renewable energy

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