A captive Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) in Denmark.

Age of Humans

Mama Bears Use Humans To Keep Their Cubs Safe

During mating season, humans might stress female bears out, but male bears stress them out more

Shanghai in 2009.

Age of Humans

Stop ‘Naming and Shaming’ Polluted Cities. It Doesn’t Work

Why calling out ‘Most polluted cities’ sometimes backfires

Keep on the sunny side

Age of Humans

Podcast: “Warm Regards” and the Challenge of Humanizing Climate Change

Meteorologist Eric Holthaus and others seek the bright side of an often gloomy conversation

The Bullet Cluster, originally detected using weak lensing

Think Big

“Weak Lensing” Helps Astronomers Map the Mass of the Universe

By making galaxies a little bit brighter, it points the way to elusive galaxies and lets us detect that most mysterious of substances: dark matter

A reconstruction of naked chrysopoid larva with "dorsal basket."

Some Ancient Insects Wore the Exoskeletons of Other Bugs to Disguise Themselves

New amber specimens show that insects have been mastering the art of disguise for 100 million years

You'll never guess how researchers found this fossil of the petite terrestrial crocodile Hoplosuchus kayi.

These Are Some of the Weirdest Ways Paleontologists Find Fossils

Sometimes you pee on them, sometimes you’re just trying to get away from other paleontologists. Here are the discovery stories scientists won’t tell you

Museum collections can help public health officials identify new diseases, learn their origins, and determine how to best stop them.

Museum Director Calls for Increased Funding for Scientific Collections to Save Lives

Infectious disease researchers should be using museum collections to fight newly discovered pathogens

Hospital staff in West Darfur receive the yellow fever vaccine.

Why We’re Giving People 20 Percent Doses of the Yellow Fever Vaccine

Vaccine stores in Africa have repeatedly been depleted. The WHO’s decision to allow mini-doses reflects a precarious—and cyclical—shortage

Blake Lively in "The Shallows."

Shark Week

How Realistic Is the Shark Science in “The Shallows”?

We ask shark expert Chris Lowe whether the science in the upcoming shark thriller has any teeth. Beachgoers: You’re welcome.

This Is Martha, the World’s Last Known Passenger Pigeon

Martha, was the last passenger pigeon to ever fly

Invasive kudzu girdles a forest.

Age of Humans

The Global Price of Invasive Species

The U.S. and China pose the greatest threat as exporters of invasive species, but other countries have more to lose

In this watercolor painting, the Zika virus (in pink) infects a cell (cell membrane and receptors in green, interior in blue). Blood plasma surrounds the viral particles.

Art Meets Science

This Painting Shows What It Might Look Like When Zika Infects a Cell

David S. Goodsell’s watercolor-and-ink artworks use the latest research to illustrate viruses, proteins and more

Rough diamonds from the Juina region of Brazil.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Diamonds Illuminate the Origins of Earth’s Deepest Oceans

Crystals could be the key to where our water came from, and what that means for finding life on other planets

A man walks by a botanica, a store stocking medicinal plants, in Chicago.

Age of Humans

Will Medicine Survive the Anthropocene?

Up to ten percent of major drugs contain plant-derived ingredients, but a warming world could put those—and other medicines—at risk

An algal bloom caused by eutrophication, when an ecosystem is overloaded with nutrients like phosphorus.

Age of Humans

Podcast: On the Way to Peak Phosphorus

On this episode of Generation Anthropocene, we dive into one of the most underappreciated elements on the periodic table

Charlie Morrow and dozens of others will stream video and audio of science, art and shamanism connected to their cultures as the sun passes at 5 p.m. in each of the Earth's 24 time zones.

It’s a Global Solstice Party and You’re Invited

Sound artist Charlie Morrow organized artists and scientists from around the Earth to celebrate the solstice

The Svalbard seed bank is one of many seed libraries in the world, and one of the best funded.

Age of Humans

From Lack Of Diversity To Lack Of Funding, Seed Banks Face a World Of Challenges

Gene banks are meant to protect biodiversity, yet they themselves are in need of protection

Pie chart showing the number of times ankylosaur fought a particular foe.

Sadly, “Ankylosaur Fight Club” Is Probably Wishful Thinking

Ornate armor may have had more to do with communication than combat

The World’s First Camels Roamed…South Dakota?

The Badlands of South Dakota are filled with the fossils of fascinating and surprising prehistoric animals

Prospecting for fossils in the Morrison Formation near Shell, Wyoming

Family Travel

Hunting Lost Worlds in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin

A geology tour with Kirk Johnson, Director of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and Will Clyde, a geology professor at University of New Hampshire

Page 178 of 454