A condor, tagged with a transmitter for tracking, perches on California's coast.

Age of Humans

Mercury-Laden Sea Lion Carcasses Threaten California’s Coastal Condors

The new findings put a wrench in conservation of one of the world’s rarest birds

Sharks are a broad and diverse group of species, but in the public imagination we tend to treat them all the same.

Humans Have Promoted the Reef Shark to Apex Predator

How these diverse predators ended up getting all the credit

What secrets do those lonely ice sheets hold?

Age of Humans

A Radioactive Cold War Military Base Will Soon Emerge From Greenland’s Melting Ice

They thought the frozen earth would keep it safely hidden. They were wrong

Death Valley: One of the Most Extreme Places on Earth

In 1913, temperatures in Death Valley reached a world-record high of 134 degrees Fahrenheit

Leopard territory in Southeast Asia has been reduced by 94 percent.

New Research

The Indochinese Leopard Is Down to Just a Few Lives

These threatened cats now occupy just 8 percent of their historic range in Cambodia, new population estimate finds

Paleontologist Paul Olsen of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory is co-leading a project in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park to drill deep into rocks dating back more than 200 million years.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Defying Critics, Paleontologist Paul Olsen Looks for Hidden Answers Behind Mass Extinctions

From a childhood spent discovering fossils to tangling over questions of ancient life and death, this scientist constantly pushes the boundaries.

New models of ocean currents suggest that the oceanic gyres thought to collect garbage actually have "exit doors" that allow plastic to eventually wash up on the shores of North and South America.

Age of Humans

The Ocean’s Great Garbage Patches Might Have Exit Doors

Garbage isn’t destined to swirl in the ocean forever; new models show it eventually washes up on shore.

What Is a Rattlesnake’s Rattle Actually Made Of?

Each time rattlesnakes shed their skin, a scale remains behind which, in time, becomes the infamous rattle

An eastern wolf in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park.

Rare Wolf or Common Coyote? It Shouldn’t Matter, But It Does

The concept of species is flawed, but it still has a huge bearing on conservation policy

A silverfish

New Research

Richer Homes Are Also Richer in Biodiversity

Scientists find that wealthier neighborhoods sport a greater diversity of bugs

Engraving of a woolly mammoth.

New Research

Solving a Mystery of Mammoth Proportions

Dwindling freshwater sealed the demise of the St. Paul woolly mammoths, and could still pose a threat today

Not always your friend.

A Neuroscientist Tells You What’s Wrong With Your Brain

Dean Burnett’s new book, Idiot Brain, explains why your mind evolved to thwart you

This artist's conception shows a dim red dwarf surrounded by three planets. To hold life at their surface, red dwarf planets must orbit close to their star, putting them in the line of fire from dangerous flares.

Think Big

Why the Universe Is Becoming More Habitable

The universe is far more welcoming to life today than it was when microbes on Earth arose—and will only grow more so

A pair of Scinax alcatraz frogs discreetly lay their eggs in a water-filled plant.

When Frogs Pull the Curtain: The Benefits of Mating in Secret

Smithsonian’s new curator of frogs explains why some frogs seek privacy when they mate

Municipal solid waste (aka garbage) being burned in an incinerator; this incinerator can handle 17 tons of trash an hour.

Age of Humans

Is Sustainable Trash-Burning a Load of Rubbish?

Some experts say it lets us get away with producing more and more garbage.

Named for photographer Barry Brown, meet the newly discovered scorpionfish Scorpaenodes barrybrowni.

On a Deep Dive in a Custom-Built Submarine, a New Species of Scorpionfish Is Discovered

A Smithsonian scientist dives deep to a coral reef and finds much to discover

A wheat field in Rajasthan, irrigated during the dry season with water from a johad.

Age of Humans

Back to Basics: Saving Water the Old-Fashioned Way

Across the world, communities are reviving old ways of saving or storing water—with promising results

Corvette Stingray

These Sleek, Sexy Cars Were All Inspired By Fish

You’ve heard about the Stingray, but what about the Bionic Boxfish?

An English Bulldog was featured in the American Kennel Club's presentation of The Nation's Most Popular Breeds Of 2015 on February 22, 2016 in New York City.

New Research

Bulldogs Are Dangerously Unhealthy, But There May Not Be Enough Diversity in Their Genes to Save Them

How we loved this dog into a genetic bind

An artist's impression of a planet forming through accretion.

Journey to the Center of Earth

To Uncover Earth’s Origins, Scientists Must Look Beyond It

Missions to study the other planetary bodies in our solar system could help solve the mystery of how our own came to be.

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