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Science / Our Planet

A digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Ebola virus particles.

New Research

Tracking the 2014 Ebola Outbreak Through Its Genes

Genetic detective work also revealed 395 mutations unique to the virus in West Africa

Seen in 2012, an excavator works on a road near an Indonesian oil palm plantation built on disputed lands once home to a rainforest.

The Best and Worst Places to Build More Roads

Road works today are “basically chaos”—but a new global road map could be key to protecting agriculture and nature

Pink Sands Beach, Harbour Island, The Bahamas

The World’s Most Colorful Beaches

From green sand to glass, here are some of the most eye-popping beaches around the world

The Napa Valley may be beautiful, but its fertile soil is a double-edged sword.

Why Earthquakes Make Napa Wine Taste So Good

The soil that makes Napa Valley grapes so special also makes the region vulnerable to earthquakes

Ask Smithsonian

What Are the Biggest Waves in Recorded History?

How do waves even get this big?

California’s exceptional drought has exposed the bottom of Big Bear Lake.

New Research

California’s Record Drought Is Making Earth’s Surface Rise

Lifting land shows that the U.S. West is now missing some 62 trillion gallons of water

In the public imagination, heat waves remain a B-list natural disaster.

Forecasters Will Soon Be Able to Predict Heat Waves Weeks in Advance

In the public imagination, heat waves remain a B-list natural disaster, but in reality, they are deadly

An urban spider hangs out in downtown Los Angeles.

New Research

Friendly Neighborhood Spiders Get Bigger in Cities

A study of orb-weaving spiders in Australia shows a correlation between urbanization and fatter arachnids

Scientists observed the view down the borehole via a computer at the surface as they drilled into the Antarctic ice to reach Lake Whillans.

New Research

Thousands of Microbe Species Live in This Buried Antarctic Lake

Drilling through half a mile of ice let scientists uncover the first solid evidence of life in a subglacial lake

The full moon is seen near Earth's horizon from the International Space Station.

Earth Is Making the Moon All Warm and Soft on the Inside

A new model boosts the notion that a layer of rock near the moon’s core is squishy and perhaps partially melted

Seawater contains hundreds of viruses, revealed with dye in the flask on the right. Most are harmless, but some microbes living under the sea and amid the sand aren't.

Eight Diseases To Watch Out For At the Beach

Forget sharks: These potentially deadly pathogens and parasites can lurk in sand and sea

An artist's rendering of Caiuajara dobruskii surrounded by its young in the ancient Brazilian desert.

New Research

New Desert-Dwelling Pterosaur Unearthed in Brazil

A massive bone bed is already yielding insights into the flying reptile’s lifestyle

Air travel is potentially a huge contributor to an individual's carbon footprint. Are offsets a viable answer?

Can Eco-Conscious Travelers Do Anything To Fly Green?

Buying carbon offsets won’t stop global warming, but if you’re traveling, it’s your best individual option for reducing your carbon footprint

Google hosts its fourth-annual science fair. Shown here, the 2013 winners.

Google Thinks These 18 Teenagers Will Change the World

The global finalists of this year’s Google Science Fair take on cyberbullying countermeasures, tar sands cleanup and wearable tech

A NASA satellite image shows Hurricane Iselle approaching Hawaii, with Hurricane Julio hot on its heels.

What Happens When a Hurricane Meets a Volcano?

When Iselle crosses the Big Island of Hawaii, it will offer a rare glimpse at a clash of the titans

Two hurricanes, Iselle and Julio, that could hit Hawaii this weekend (seen here in a satellite image captured August 4) may have been influenced by an El Niño developing in the Pacific.

New Research

Ancient Clam Shells Show That What Drives El Niño Is Still Unclear

Earth’s path around the Sun may play a role, but other factors are still unknown

A critically endangered European eel.

New Research

Eels Are Victims of Noise Pollution

Critically endangered European eels get distracted by man-made noise, making them more likely to get eaten by a predator

Algae floating on Lake Erie seeped into the City of Toledo's water supply, forcing a region-wide water ban.

The Algae Problem in Lake Erie Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

The Great Lake is sick, and Toledo’s toxic algae is just a symptom

Fun fact: Most of the fish oil harvested from the sea goes to fish farms.

New Research

Fish Oil Could (One Day) Come From Plants

A field trial of genetically modified oilseed plants that can make fish oil hopes to help fish farming become more sustainable

Tropical regions are home to many unique species, such as this tiny frog belonging to the genus Dendrophryniscus that lives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. A new study finds that removing just a few trees can quickly cause biodiversity in these tropical forests to fall.

New Research

Removing Just a Few Trees Can Lower Tropical Animal Biodiversity

Selective logging can halve the number of species of mammals and amphibians in a forest

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