Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Science / Our Planet

Ribbon worms come in all shapes and sizes. This one, with white stripes along the body, was found off the coast of Mexico.

14 Fun Facts about Marine Ribbon Worms

Ribbon worms swallow prey whole, grease themselves with their mucus to slide quickly through mud, split into new worms if severed, and much more

A high resolution photo of the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day

A New Meaning to Green Urban Design: Dyeing the Chicago River

The story behind how the Windy City gets its yearly watery makeover

None

Vanishing Marine Algae Can Be Monitored From a Boat With Your Smartphone

An app allows boat travelers to track declining levels of phytoplankton, a microscopic organism at the base of the marine food chain

None

Stressed Corals Dim Then Glow Brightly Before They Die

Measuring how coral fluorescence changes may serve as an early indicator of the declining health of a reef

The pollution in California’s San Joaquin Valley, including above this Norton cornfield, was tested by NASA as part of a program to monitor air quality from space.

New Study Examines San Joaquin Valley, Home to America’s Dirtiest Air

The smog-filled valley recently hosted NASA planes that tested air quality to help calibrate future satellite efforts to measure air pollution

“Children play in yard of Ruston home, while Tacoma smelter stack showers area with arsenic and lead residue.” Gene Daniels, Ruston, Washington, August 1972.

16 Photographs That Capture the Best and Worst of 1970s America

A new exhibit at the National Archives highlights an interesting decade—one that gave rise to the environmental movement and some awkward fashion

Caffiene, naturally present in some plant nectars, was shown to improve honeybees’ long-term memory in a new study.

Even Bees Get a Buzz When They Drink Caffeine

The drug, naturally present in coffee and citrus plant nectars, is shown to improve honeybees’ long-term memory

None

Which Major Cities Are Leaders in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Research shows that cities can cut emissions by 70 percent; check out the ones striving their hardest to curb their carbon appetites

Locusts covering a bush during the 2004 swarm near the Red Sea cost in Israel.

A Plague of Locusts Descends Upon the Holy Land, Just in Time for Passover

Israel battles a swarm of millions of locusts that flew from Egypt that is giving rise to a host of ecological, political and agricultural issues

Rapidly melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage (left) and North Pole (center) navigable during the summer.

Climate Change Could Allow Ships to Cross the North Pole by 2040

Melting sea ice will open up shipping lanes across the Arctic, potentially making the Northwest Passage and North Pole navigable during summer

None

Trapped as Climate Changes, Giant Gusts of Hot Air Trigger Weather Extremes

Thanks to global warming, hot air piles up at mid-latitudes and causes storms and heat waves to linger for long stretches of time, new research shows.

None

Transforming Raw Scientific Data Into Sculpture and Song

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores

None

What Does the Unbelievably Bad Air Quality in Beijing Do to the Human Body?

The level of soot in Beijing’s air is off the charts, leading to higher risks of lung cancer, heart attacks and other health problems

None

Photos: The Uneasy Conflict Between Artificial and Natural Light

Artist Kevin Cooley has traveled the world capturing landscapes where one light shines on the horizon

Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian’s National Gem and Mineral Collection, says the size of the Dom Pedro Aquamarine is “unprecedented.”

Introducing the Dom Pedro Aquamarine

The one gem that can rival the Hope Diamond is finally on display at the Natural History Museum

None

Could Solar Panels on Your Roof Power Your Home?

Researchers at MIT are investigating how to turn houses in Cambridge, Massachusetts, into mini-power plants

How Did Plants Develop Photosynthesis?

For a large chunk of the Earth’s existence, flora have used the Sun’s light to turn the planet green

Dust lofted up from the Sahara can be blown across the Pacific and seed clouds over California.

Dust from the Sahara Can Seed Rain and Snow Clouds Over the Western U.S.

Clouds above California contain dust and bacteria from China, the Middle East and even Africa, new research shows

Wild bees, such as this Andrena bee visiting highbush blueberry flowers, provide crucial pollination services to crops across the globe.

Could Disappearing Wild Insects Trigger a Global Crop Crisis?

Three-quarters of the world’s crops—including fruits, grains and nuts—depend on pollination, and the insects responsible are disappearing

Portion of the cover of the February 1989 issue of Life magazine

In 1989, ‘Life’ Magazine Said Goodbye To Video Stores, Mailmen and Pennies…

In 1989, “Life” magazine predicted that, by the year 2000, many staples of modern American life might find themselves on the scrapheap of history

Page 73 of 106