Mosquito researcher Kelly Bennett, turkey baster in hand, is on the prowl, collecting specimens for study

Hunting Deadly Mosquitoes in Panama

The latest podcast “Sidedoor” travels with Smithsonian experts on the trail of the buzzing beasts known as the Aedes

Bloede Dam (ca. 2016) near Ilchester, Maryland

Drones Will Track One of the Largest Dam Removals on the East Coast

When a Maryland dam comes down this fall, a team of scientists will deploy drones to monitor the flow of more than two million cubic feet of sediment

The human gut is filled with trillions of microbes.

The Benefits of Probiotics Might Not Be So Clear Cut

An individual’s natural gut bacteria determine whether the so-called dietary supplements help or do nothing at all

Toxic Chemicals Banned 20 Years Ago Finally Disappearing From Arctic Wildlife

But the appearance of new chemicals is creating an uncertain future for polar bears, orcas and seabirds

Oils extracted from the citronella plant are a powerful mosquito repellent.

Why Plant-Based Mosquito Repellents Are So Hard to Make

Bug sprays with DEET feel oily and smell gross. But turning natural plant oils into commercial products isn’t easy

A landslide in the Cusco region of Peru destroyed more than 100 houses in March 2018.

New Software Can Predict Landslides Weeks Before They Happen

Australian researchers are using AI and mathematics to detect tiny changes that may precede the often-deadly events

When the U.S. Government Tried to Make It Rain by Exploding Dynamite in the Sky

Inspired by weather patterns during the Civil War, the rainmakers of the 1890s headed to west Texas to test their theory

An artistic rendering of Edward Jenner vaccinating eight-year-old James Phipps in 1796.

The Mysterious Origins of the Smallpox Vaccine

Though the disease was declared eradicated in 1980, the era of smallpox is far from over

RangerBot is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to identify and kill crown-of-thorns starfish by lethal injection.

Sea-Star Murdering Robots Are Deployed in the Great Barrier Reef

The RangerBot is a new line of defense against coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish

Siblings Could Shed Light on Roots of Autism

Most research has focused on studying two parents and two autistic children, but new research calls for learning more about siblings who don’t have autism

Here’s What We Know (and Don’t Know) About Flushing Contact Lenses Down the Drain

Though they are tiny, the lenses add up—and might be infiltrating the environment

This pipefish couple may seem the picture of romance, but the male may have something bigger and better in mind.

Pregnant Male Pipefish Are the Sea’s Swaggery Swingers

Male pipefish, which take on the burden of carrying eggs to term, can compromise their own pregnancies if they see a “huge, sexy female” swimming by

Young birds that grew up with added urban background noise showed signs of faster aging than birds without.

Noise Pollution Might Cut Birds’ Lives Short

Stressed out teen birds have enough to deal with—noise seems to be one factor that could seal their fate

These wrinkly rodents continually surprise researchers.

How Eating Poop Makes These Mole-Rats More Motherly

New research suggests a colony’s queen stimulates babysitters by transferring a type of estrogen through her feces

Sometimes, it's okay to skip leg day.

For Men, Gains in the Gym May Come at a Cost to Sperm

There might be a tradeoff between how strong men look and sperm count

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Smithsonian Voices

Biologists Say Chesapeake Bay Cownose Rays Travel to Florida and Back

While scientists have unraveled one mystery about cownose ray migrations, there are still many unknowns surrounding the animals. Read more: http://www.smi

How do animals think and feel?

Do Animals Experience Grief?

A growing body of evidence points to how animals are aware of death and will sometimes mourn for or ritualize their dead

New research shows that fish can tell the differences between quantities. What does that mean for our special human brains?

One Fish, Two Fish, Fish Can Count(ish?)

New research shows—again—that fish “count” like humans do. Are our cognitive evolutionary roots fishier than we thought?

Two-horned Diceratherium rhinos

When Rhinos Once Roamed in Washington State

Road-tripping through prehistoric times on the West Coast

A female lion prowls inside one of the temporary enclosures at Liwonde National Park. The lions spent a few weeks acclimating to their new homes before being released into the more than 200-square-mile preserve.

Lions Are Coming Back to Southern Malawi, Where They Haven’t Been Seen for Decades

The apex predators have been returned to Malawi’s Liwonde National Park in an effort to restore the ecosystem and boost tourism

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