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A queen Oecophylla smaragdina ant

How Can Ant and Termite Queens Live So Long?

Scientists are working to understand the matriarchs, who can survive decades while investing huge amounts of energy into reproduction

The launch of new satellites later this year could make the job of identifying stranded whales from space even more effective.

Satellites Can Spot Beached Whales From Space

Very high resolution satellites give scientists a new way to find out when and where a large-bodied whale, such as a humpback or a sperm, is stranded

Anthony Fauci (left), director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical advisor to the President, listens as President Joe Biden (right) delivers remarks on the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Fauci has warned that Omicron could reach most of the population.

Covid-19

Seven Key Questions About Omicron Answered

As the variant spreads and more studies have been done, experts share what they know

An artist’s redendering of MethaneSAT, a satellite that will be launched this year and will be able to find leaks of the greenhouse gas.

A New Generation of Satellites Is Helping Authorities Track Methane Emissions

Efforts to identify leaks of the harmful greenhouse gas are improving with advances in technology

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

A tiger shark swims in the Bahamas. Over the past several decades, the predators ventured farther north in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Some Tiger Sharks Are Migrating Farther North Due to Climate Change

The predator’s movements in the Atlantic Ocean could scramble ecosystems and endanger the sharks by sending them outside marine protected areas

The remote Kibish Formation, in southern Ethiopia, features layered deposits more than 300 feet thick that have preserved many ancient human tools and remains. 

East Africa's Oldest Modern Human Fossil Is Way Older Than Previously Thought

Analysis of ash from a massive volcanic eruption places the famed Omo I fossil 36,000 years back in time

Little is known about most magnapinnid, or bigfin squid, species. The individual pictured here was spotted by the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, a magnapinnid was filmed in the Philippine Trench—the deepest ever sighting of a squid.

Scientists Find the World's Deepest-Dwelling Squid

Researchers went looking for a war wreck roughly 19,000 feet under the sea—and spotted the animal instead

Danish scientist Kristine Bohmann collects air samples in the Copenhagen Zoo’s tropical rainforest house.

Planet Positive

Scientists Pull Animal DNA Out of Thin Air

The new method, tested at two zoos, could revolutionize the study of biodiversity in the wild

Orange and lemon groves as well as the residence of the citrus pioneer William Wolfskill, c. 1882. 

The Bug That Saved California

The Golden State’s citrus industry faced a lethal threat. The solution would herald a new kind of pest control

“You become a little bit of a fixture in the community,” says Stewart, seen here in San Diego.

The Veterinarian Brings His Healing Presence to Pets of the Unhoused

Kwane Stewart discovers the little-known world of generosity and love

Robert Leverett walks through the old-growth forests in Mohawk Trail State Forest.

Old, Primeval Forests May Be a Powerful Tool to Fight Climate Change

Ecologists thought these trees had long been torn down in New England. Then Bob Leverett proved them wrong

A bar proprietress drinks during her 101st birthday party at her tiny bar in Tokyo.

Old-Age Record Could Reach 130 by Century's End

Analysis of supercentenarians suggests human lifespan may have no limit

The remarkable Hudsonian godwit.

Planet Positive

This Wonder Bird Flies Thousands of Miles, Non-Stop, as Part of an Epic Migration

The more scientists learn about the Hudsonian godwit, the more they’re amazed—and worried

A restoration of the extinct whale Phiomicetus, named by paleontologists earlier this year, preying upon a sawfish.

Whales Once Walked Along the Coasts of North America

Increasing fossil finds are helping researchers understand how such early whales made their way to the continent

The science behind bubbles in champagne is an active field of research. Here, a red spotlight highlights bubbles growing at the bottom of a goblet, where they stick thanks to surface tension.

The Science Behind Champagne Bubbles

As you uncork that bottle and raise your glass, take time to toast the physics and chemistry along with the New Year

A CT scan of the spiral intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark (Squalus suckleyi). The organ begins on the left and ends on the right.

Innovation for Good

Ten Scientific Discoveries From 2021 That May Lead to New Inventions

From nanobots to cancer treatments, nature inspires a wide variety of innovations

A roughly 2000-year-old mummified man of the Ansilta culture, from the Andes of San Juan, Argentina, had lice eggs and cement in his hair which preserved his own DNA

DNA Preserved in Lice Glue Reveals South American Mummies' Secrets

Remarkable samples from an ancient culture offer scientists a promising new way to study the past

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Evotourism ®

Seven New Things We Learned About Human Evolution in 2021

Paleoanthropologists Briana Pobiner and Ryan McRae reveal some of the year's best findings in human origins studies

Harvard University professor E.O. Wilson in his office in Cambridge, MA. He is considered to be the world's leading authority on the study of ants.

Remembering E.O. Wilson's Wish for a More Sustainable Existence

From a lifelong passion for ants, E.O. Wilson guided humanity to think of conservation

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

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Preview thumbnail for video 'This Orphan Zebra and Two Dalmatians Are Close

This Orphan Zebra and Two Dalmatians Are Close

Preview thumbnail for video 'Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Photo of the day

A child sliding down a slide photographed from a different viewpoint. The Child Who Slides From the Sky