Hurricane Maria, September 2017

Turning Hurricane Data Into Music

Can listening to storms help us understand them better? A meteorologist and a music technologist think so

Jane Goodall reaches out to touch hands with Flint, the first infant born at Gombe after her arrival.

New Jane Goodall Documentary Is Most Intimate Portrait Yet, Says Jane Goodall

The famed chimp researcher didn’t want yet another documentary made about her. Jane changed her mind

The Ten Best Science Books of 2017

These books not only inspired awe and wonder—they helped us better understand the machinations of our world

While highly social and cooperative among themselves, dwarf mongooses take a while to warm up to newcomers.

New Research

For Immigrant Mongooses, It Can Take Time to Earn Society’s Trust

In some species, however, deporting your own family members is the norm

Capturing a Photo of a Swimming Polar Bear is Risky Work

A wildlife photographer spots a swimming polar bear, completing the last lap of its summer migration. It’s the perfect photo op

For the first time, human beings harnessed the power of atomic fission.

The Science Behind the First Nuclear Chain Reaction, Which Ushered in the Atomic Age 75 Years Ago

That fateful discovery helped give us nuclear power reactors and the atomic bomb

Transient killer whales, hunters extraordinaire, cruise by a sea lion haulout in the northeast Pacific.

A Tale of Two Killer Whales

Orca whales actually comprise two distinct types—and one may soon be destined to rise above the other

Simply by pooping, the once-endangered cape zebra helps researchers measure its health and well-being.

New Research

How Stressed Out Are Zebras? Just Ask Their Poop

Scientists are scooping up the pungent piles of data to measure the health of once-endangered ungulates

Don't touch that thermostat.

Future of Energy

The Things People Do To Foil Energy-Saving Buildings

New research on how occupants inhabit energy-efficient buildings reveals behaviors designers don’t anticipate—and a slew of bloopers

Natalie Batalha

American Ingenuity Awards

Meet Natalie Batalha, the Explorer Who’s Searching for Planets Across the Universe

The Kepler mission’s project scientist, she has guided the discovery of thousands of planets

Gary Steinberg

American Ingenuity Awards

A Neurosurgeon’s Remarkable Plan to Treat Stroke Victims With Stem Cells

Gary Steinberg defied convention when he began implanting living cells inside the brains of patients who had suffered from a stroke

Polar Bear Goes After a Young Beluga Calf

A male polar bear stands on the edge of the ice waiting for potential prey. But he’s set his sights on something bigger than a seal today

Plants are keeping time.

The Next Pandemic

To Make Precision Medicine, Scientists Study the Circadian Rhythms in Plants

Biologists are taking a close look at how precisely calibrated timekeepers in organisms influence plant-pathogen interactions

H1N1 influenza virus particles shown in a colorized transmission electron micrograph

The Next Pandemic

Scientists Are One Step Closer to a “Personalized” Flu Shot

While still decades away, new research shows how custom vaccines could be developed

Stanford scientists are building up an archive of mosquito sounds.

The Next Pandemic

Before You Swat That Mosquito, Record It on Your Cell Phone

That’s the strategy behind Abuzz, a crowdsourcing project designed to track mosquito activity around the world

Alpha Male Tiger Forces This Cub to Submit

A young tiger comes face-to-face with an encroaching male tiger, threatening to take over his father’s territory

The Ten Best STEM Toys of 2017

Kid tested and parent approved, these tech toys stand out for holiday wish lists

The proof is in the lack of pudding.

Why You Won’t See Pudding on the Thanksgiving Table

The once-classic American dish has been widely replaced with the casserole—thanks in part to anti-immigrant sentiments

Using seal bombs to deter marine mammals is legal, though using them to round up target species is not.

Why California Fishermen Are Throwing Deafening “Seal Bombs” at Sea Lions

…and why no one is stopping them

Thirteen Books That Informed and Delighted Smithsonian Scholars This Year

With a mission to increase and diffuse knowledge, Smithsonian thought leaders are voracious readers

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