A cheetah stalks past a herd of giraffes in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve.

Age of Humans

Humans Caused a Major Shift in Earth’s Ecosystems 6,000 Years Ago

We upended a pattern held for 300 million years, and that may mean we are causing a new phase in global evolution

Lush rainforest surrounds the Chagres River in Panama.

Age of Humans

Some Forests Have Outsized Impacts on Local Water

A comprehensive new report emphasizes the importance of upland forests for providing clean water, mitigating storms and reducing erosion

High in the sky, aerosols from airplane exhaust become encased in ice and form the bright contrails seen in a plane’s wake.

Age of Humans

Airplane Contrails May Be Creating Accidental Geoengineering

Dissipating haze from plane exhaust alters how sunlight reaches the Earth and may be unintentionally affecting our climate

An artist's illustration of a planet-like body in the Kuiper belt.

New Research

A Brief History of the Hunt for Planet X

The flutter over a possible new world beyond Neptune highlights the long, legitimate search for planets in the solar system’s fringe

Ask Smithsonian: How Do Colors Affect Our Moods?

Whether you are feeling green with envy or you’re singing the blues, the link between color and feeling is a highly individual thing

Say hello to your faithful friend Demodex folliculorum.

New Research

Your Hair Mites Are So Loyal Their DNA Reflects Your Ancestry

Mite DNA could hold clues to ancient human migrations and future skin health

Divers approach a bull shark in the water off Mauritius. Though environmental conditions are much the same in Mauritius and neighboring La Réunion, the latter is one of the most dangerous shark-attack spots in the world.

Age of Humans

Why Is This Indian Ocean Island a Hot Spot for Shark Attacks?

La Réunion has seen way more attacks than its neighbor Mauritius, and scientists are struggling to figure out why

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For the First Time Ever, a Rehabilitated Tiger Has Birthed Cubs in the Wild

In an update from our February cover story, Zolushka found a mate in Siberia and now has two baby tiger cubs

An illustration shows what Shonisaurus popularis might have looked like in the late Triassic.

What Killed These Marine Reptiles Found in a Nevada Ghost Town?

Paleontologists are going high tech to solve the mystery of a mass ichthyosaur death near the old mining town of Berlin

A forest elephant takes an unintentional selfie in a camera-trap photo snapped in South Sudan.

Rare Forest Elephants Seen for the First Time in South Sudan

A recent camera trap survey also spied a wealth of other species thriving in remote forests despite the young country’s civil unrest

The Lake Mills reservoir gets drawn down in March 2012 as part of the Elwha River Restoration, which involved the largest dam removal project in U.S. history.

Age of Humans

Removing a Dam Can Be a Net Win for the Planet

Once hailed as clean power sources, dams are sometimes more costly to maintain than they are to tear down

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Age of Humans

Video: What Is the Anthropocene and Why Does It Matter?

This animation explains why scientists think we’ve entered a new chapter in Earth’s history

The IVF pups were more than 30 years in the making.

New Research

These Baby Beagles Are the First Dogs Born by In Vitro Fertilization

After more than 30 years, scientists have figured out how to create healthy puppies in the lab

In this artistic reconstruction, a pod of Albicetus travel together through the Miocene Pacific Ocean, surfacing occasionally to breathe.

A Moby-Dick Emerges from the Smithsonian Collections

The rediscovery of a fossil whale, previously believed to be an extinct walrus, is reexamined and digitized

Lake Titicaca in myth is the birthplace of humanity, and the people who live on its shores depend on it for their livelihoods.

Age of Humans

What Are North American Trout Doing in Lake Titicaca?

The famous lake between Bolivia and Peru is struggling due to pollution, overfishing and the misguided intentions of almost 100 years ago

A German cockroach in a moment of solitude.

New Research

The Scent of Their Own Poop Entices Cockroaches to Congregate

Gut microbes imbue German cockroach feces with scents that allow them to find kindred groups

A gibbous moon shines over a large petrified log embedded in the sandstone at Blue Mesa in Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park.

Protecting Arizona’s Petrified Forest Can Be as Easy as Taking a Hike

After dispelling myths about vandals and thieves, rangers are working to make this national park more open and engaging

A floating platform in Skadar Lake entices pelicans to build their nests here, protecting them from floods.

Age of Humans

How Floating Nests May Save One of the World’s Largest Water Birds

Designed to withstand floods, the rafts are helping the Dalmatian pelican make a comeback in Montenegro and Albania

The ruins of an ancient Norse settlement still stand near Hvalsey Fjord in Greenland.

New Research

Did Climate Change Make the Norse Disappear From Greenland?

Evidence from glacial deposits adds a new twist to the tale of the mysterious lost settlements

Water gushes out of Aswan Dam in Egypt.

Age of Humans

Humans Are Draining Even More of Earth’s Freshwater Than We Thought

Ironically, building dams and irrigation systems may end up driving food and water shortages

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