Scallops can have up to 200 eyes, although scientists still don't know exactly how they all work together to help the mollusks see.

What Scallops’ Many Eyes Can Teach Us About the Evolution of Vision

Scallop eyes, which function similar to telescopes, are even more complex than scientists previously knew

Even large equines can get a little hoarse.

New Research

Even Mild Cases of Asthma Can Slow Down Elite Racehorses

Researchers found 80 percent of racehorses surveyed suffered from airway inflammation that impacts performance

Scanning electron micrograph of HIV-1 (in green) budding from cultured lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell). Multiple round bumps on cell surface represent sites of assembly and budding of virions.

Scientists Identify Factors That Make People Naturally Resistant to H.I.V.

Studying key points on the H.I.V. virus that are weak to immune system attacks could lead to new treatments or H.I.V. vaccines

The first test of a thermonuclear weapon, or a hydrogen bomb, codenamed Ivy Mike and conducted by the United States in 1952 over the island of Elugelab in Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

Particles From Cold War Nuclear Bomb Tests Found in Deepest Parts of the Ocean

Crustaceans in the Mariana Trench and other underwater canyons feed on food from the surface laced with carbon-14 from Cold War bomb tests

The fossil Eremotherium was from south Georgia. And it was an important one, since it firmly establish the presence of the giant ground sloth, which had previously been unknown in the United States.

A Giant Sloth Mystery Brought Me Home to Georgia

A new book from former Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough describes his journey into the collections in search of connections to his heritage

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine talks about getting American astronauts to the moon in the next five years while participating in a Future Con panel discussion at Awesome Con.

Future Con

This Year’s Future Con Showcased Cutting-Edge Science and Real-Life Superheroes

A part of Washington, D.C.’s Awesome Con, the dynamic presentation series blends entertainment and education

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Smithsonian Voices

Was the Loch Ness Monster a Plesiosaur and Other Questions From Readers, Including Slash (Yes, THE Slash)

Cat-loving paleontologist answers your questions in the National Museum of Natural History’s YouTube series, “The Doctor Is In”

A map of DNA with the double helix colored blue, the landmarks in green, and the start points for copying the molecule in red. David Gilbert/Kyle Klein, CC BY-ND

New Nanotechnology Imaging Technique Sheds Light on DNA Structure

The new technology could help pinpoint how errors occur in DNA replication, which can cause cancer and other diseases

Argali are the largest wild sheep in the world, weighing up to 400 pounds.

The Decades-Long Effort to Protect the World’s Largest Sheep

In the Gobi Desert, where argali roam, a group of Mongolian researchers work to conserve the wild sheep populations

"I certainly see ourselves moving in a direction where conception through sex will come to be seen as natural, yet dangerous," says Metzl.

How To Prepare for a Future of Gene-Edited Babies—Because It’s Coming

In a new book, futurist Jamie Metzl considers the ethical questions we need to ask in order to navigate the realities of human genetic engineering

Human burials exposed and recovered during the archaeological excavations at the forest island of La Chacra during excavations.

Archaeologists Discover Some of the Amazon’s Oldest Human Burials

As early as 10,000 years ago, humans created settlements on elevated forest mounds in parts of southwestern Amazonia

Using a brain implant with a series of electrodes, scientists can read neurological signals and translate the brain activity into spoken language.

Brain Implant Device Allows People With Speech Impairments to Communicate With Their Minds

A new brain-computer interface translates neurological signals into complete sentences

Julie Packard (detail) by Hope Gangloff

Women Who Shaped History

Fishes Were Julie Packard’s Wishes for Her New Smithsonian Portrait

National Portrait Gallery unveils a painting honoring the renowned ocean conservationist and director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium

A map of earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher between 1900 and 2013. Bigger dots represent stronger quakes, and red dots represent shallow earthquakes, green dots mid-depth, and blue dots represent earthquakes with a depth of 300 kilometers or more. See the full map and legend here.

Could Machine Learning Be the Key to Earthquake Prediction?

Predicting earthquakes might be impossible, but some experts wonder if tools that can analyze enormous amounts of data could crack the seismic code

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Smithsonian Voices

How the Geologic History of the Earth Provides Clues for Our Future

For Earth Day, Smithsonian paleobiologist Scott Wing reminds us that we can look to the fossil record to better understand human-caused global changes

With the snap of his fingers, Thanos wiped out half the life in the universe.

If Thanos Actually Wiped Out Half of All Life, How Would Earth Fare in the Aftermath?

The aftereffects of such a mass extinction don’t require a supervillain’s intelligence to understand

Police move in behind students blocking entrance to the Santa Barbara wharf on the first anniversary of the Santa Barbara oil spill on January 29, 1970 in Santa Barbara, California.

How an Oil Spill Inspired the First Earth Day

Before Earth Day made a name for the environmental movement, a massive oil spill put a spotlight on the dangers of pollution

Close-up of a wildebeest, also called gnus or wildebai, in the grasslands of the Masai Mara in Kenya, August 2018.

Twelve Epic Migratory Journeys Animals Take Every Spring

As temperatures rise and foliage blooms in the north, creatures from insects to whales set out for long treks across the planet

This artist's-concept illustration depicts the spacecraft of NASA's Psyche mission near the mission's target, the metal asteroid Psyche.

Future of Space Exploration

NASA Prepares to Build Spacecraft Bound for a Metal Asteroid

The Psyche spacecraft, headed to an asteroid with the same name, will explore a metal world thought to be the leftover core of a destroyed planet

Three generations of the Marsili family at home in Siena, Italy. From left: Maria Elena; Letizia and her son Ludovico; matriarch Maria Domenica.

The Family That Feels Almost No Pain

An Italian clan’s curious insensitivity to pain has piqued the interest of geneticists seeking a new understanding of how to treat physical suffering

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