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Science

What would the days, weeks, years after a nuclear explosion really look like? In 1983, Carl Sagan gave the public their first imagining.

When Carl Sagan Warned the World About Nuclear Winter

Before the official report came out, the popular scientist took to the presses to paint a dire picture of what nuclear war might look like

Thought leaders gathered at the National Museum of Natural History to discuss the past, present and future of the flu.

The Next Pandemic

When the Next Pandemic Hits, Will We Be Prepared?

The question isn’t whether a pandemic will strike—it’s how it will play out.

There are good reasons why you won't see a Siamese fighting fish swimming this way in the wild.

The Evolutionary Reason Why Fish Don’t Swim Upside Down

It’s a natural question for animals that float, but few scientists have delved into the details

Corpsmen in cap and gown ready to attend patients in influenza ward of US Naval Hospital in Mare Island, California, December 10, 1918.

The Next Pandemic

The United States Is Not Ready for Another Flu Pandemic

You might think that today, if a pandemic like the 1918 flu hit, we’d be ready for it. You’d be wrong

A demonstration at the Red Cross Emergency Ambulance Station in Washington, D.C., during the influenza pandemic of 1918

The Next Pandemic

Why Did the 1918 Flu Kill So Many Otherwise Healthy Young Adults?

Uncovering a World War I veteran’s story provided a genealogist and pharmacologist with some clues

Crested pigeons make an awful racket when they take off—but where's it coming from?

New Research

Australian Pigeons Have a Specially Evolved Feather to Better Annoy the Heck Out of You With

Pinpointing the birds’ noisemakers could help researchers better understand why urban avians make so much dang noise

In her second book, The Sexes Throughout Nature, Blackwell argued that while male lions are physically larger and stronger, female lions were “more complex in structure and in functions” through their ability to reproduce and feed their young.

The Woman Who Challenged Darwin’s Sexism

How a preacher with no scientific training ended up writing the first feminist critique of Origins

Did a well-known Biblical eclipse really occur? Two physicists set out to investigate.

New Research

How Scientists Identified the Oldest Known Solar Eclipse … Using the Bible

The new research by two physicists adds to astronomical knowledge—and overturns previous Biblical interpretations

Harriot Hunt was accepted into Harvard Medical school and treated hundreds of patients over her 25-year-career, blazing a trail for future generations of female physicians.

Women Who Shaped History

The Medical Practitioner Who Paved the Way for Women Doctors in America

Harriot Hunt refused to let her gender limit her ambitions—or those of the next generation of physicians

Sleek new entranceways will grace the refurbished museum.

Here’s Why Washington’s Beloved Air and Space Museum Is Facing a Sweeping Seven-Year Upgrade

The museum will remain open as it works to enhance the visitor’s experience

The Next Pandemic

Watch: Experts Discuss “The Next Pandemic: Are We Prepared?”

Thought leaders gathered at the National Museum of Natural History on November 13 to discuss the past, present and future of the flu

The herbarium of Washington, D.C.'s Natural History Museum teems with pressed specimens of thousands of distinct plants.

How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Archival Museum Research

A new study shows off a computer program’s specimen-sorting prowess

Since commercial harvesting of sea cucumbers began in British Columbia, indigenous people have grown more worried about the long-term sustainability of catching them.

Is the Mysterious Sea Cucumber Slipping Out of Our Grasp?

The slimy, tasty enigmas have long been over-harvested. An indigenous community in Canada could be close to finding a sustainable solution

3D illustration showing an aerial view of the Khufu pyramid with the new "Big Void."

New Research

How Researchers Uncovered a Massive Void in the Great Pyramid of Giza

The cavity could hold clues to how the pyramids came to be

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