Science

Best Space Photos of the Week

A Solar Flare and a Volcano Blizzard Are Among These Stellar Shots

An X-class explosion and a snowy satellite image feature among our picks for the week’s best space images

March 13, 2015

From Auto-Tune to Motor Oil, Pi Helps Power the World

More than just a famously never-ending number, pi has a knack for appearing in the mathematical formulas we use every day

March 13, 2015

Indiana Almost Made Pi Equal to 3.2, and Other Pi Day Facts

As you celebrate the mathematical holiday, here’s a history of notable moments in the irrational number’s past

March 13, 2015

Ask Smithsonian: How Do People Get Phobias?

The origins of irrational fears

March 12, 2015

Anthropocene

Humans Relied on Rainforest Riches 12,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

Fossil remains suggest that prehistoric people in Sri Lanka may have eaten monkeys and other forest species

March 12, 2015

New Research

Fecal Fermentation and Electronic Pills May Help Decipher Gut Gases

Some intestinal gases have been linked with diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome and colon cancer, so tracking them might explain the connection

March 12, 2015

The World is Full of Circles

In honor of a very special Pi Day, enjoy this map that explores the human-made and natural structures that come closest to a perfect circle

March 12, 2015

New Research

Rare Collection of Whale Fetuses Reveals the Evolution of Cetacean Hearing

Smithsonian researchers offer up an unprecedented glimpse at the development of the “acoustic funnel,” an ear area found exclusively in whales

March 11, 2015

New Research

Water Drops Leap Off Gecko Skin Thanks to Tiny Spines

Specialized hydrophobic structures on gecko skin encourage dewdrops to be swept away by the wind or to collide and shoot off one another like pool balls

March 10, 2015

New Drawings Show the Strange Beauty of Phages, the Bacteria Slayers

Phage viruses rearrange genes, prey on bacteria and maintain microbial diversity. Can we harness them to do our bidding?

March 9, 2015

Art Meets Science

A Goat’s Stomach Never Looked So Good

Eleven venues worldwide will exhibit these 20 striking micrographs, MRI scans and illustrations—all winners of this year’s Wellcome Image Awards

March 9, 2015

Best Space Photos of the Week

These Cosmic Visions Include a Mars Ocean and a Supernova Quartet

The red planet’s deep blue sea and a rare Einstein cross feature among the week’s best space images

March 6, 2015

Think Big

These Dragonflies Helped an Astronomer Find Ghostly New Galaxies

A Yale scientist set out to capture the insect’s full lifecycle and ended up discovering hidden wonders of the cosmos

March 6, 2015

New Research

After Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders

When their reproductive years are done, females take on new roles as wise survival guides

March 5, 2015

New Research

How Praying Mantises Can Jump Faster Than the Blink of an Eye

Stunning slow-mo videos capture juvenile mantises as they corkscrew through the air and precisely land their target

March 5, 2015

Announcing the Finalists of the 12th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest

See the finalists of our 2014 photo contest and vote for the Readers’ Choice winner

March 4, 2015

Anthropocene

Oldest Human Fossil Unearthed in Ethiopia

At about 2.8 million years old, the Ledi jaw may belong to “the stem for the Homo genus,” according to its discoverers

March 4, 2015

Anthropocene

While the U.S. East Shivers, Unusual Heat Stirs Trouble Across the Globe

Cancelled dog-sled races and restless grizzly bears serve as reminders that global warming is still at work

March 4, 2015

Can a Gorilla Really Get Drunk From Bamboo?

A photographer was punched by an allegedly drunk gorilla—but wildlife biologists are crying foul

March 3, 2015