Puma skull from the Motmot burial.

The Maya Captured, Traded and Sacrificed Jaguars and Other Large Mammals

New archeological findings suggest the Maya city state Copan dealt in a robust jaguar trade

Blombos Cave drawing with ochre pencil on silcrete stone.

Stone Age Markings May Be the Oldest Drawing Ever Discovered

The crosshatch symbol was made with a red ochre utensil more than 70,000 years ago

Young grassland birds don't rush their final nest exit. They instead stick around as long as possible to gobble up as much food as they can stomach.

These Teen Birds Love Sleeping In, Too

A new study suggests young grassland songbirds postpone fledging in order to mooch off mom and dad as long as they can

A jaw of an Eoconodon coryphaeus—a house cat-sized omnivore that lived between about 66 and 63 million years ago—that Williamson collected in the San Juan Basin.

Nuclear Technology May Help Bring Early Mammal Evolution Into Focus

Using a neutron scanner at Los Alamos, paleontologists are generating high-resolution imagery of early mammal fossils

Ketamine syringe, 10mg held by a healthcare professional.

Ketamine Works as a Fast-Acting Antidepressant, But the Full Effects Are Still Unknown

A new study suggests that ketamine activates the brain’s opioid receptors, complicating its use to treat clinical depression

A concussion occurs when the brain impacts the inside of the skull with enough force to temporarily affect brain function.

How Virtual Reality and Sideline Brain Scans Could Help Diagnose Concussions

Determining if an athlete or soldier has a concussion often depends on what they tell you, but new technologies could provide a more objective approach

The airways inside the human lung.

Tracking Down the Origins of Cystic Fibrosis in Ancient Europe

CF is the most common genetic disease among Caucasians, and how it became so widespread is something of a mystery

How Scientists Can Learn About Human Behavior From Closed-Circuit TV

While researchers used to rely on interviews and experiments, raw video reveals subtle, previously hidden reactions

The remotely operated vehicle Hercules explores the hydrothermal vents of Lost City during a 2005 expedition.

Diving Deep to Reveal the Microbial Mysteries of Lost City

An expedition sets out this week to explore a field of hydrothermal vents in the deep Atlantic, one of the most extreme ecosystems on the planet

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

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