Baby bonobos share papayas

Bonobos Offer Banana Bribes for Friendship

Chimpanzees will sooner kill than share food, but bonobos will sacrifice some of their own goods for the pleasure of interacting with strangers

Double-banded Argus, by Ralph Steadman

Bringing Extinct Birds Back to Life, One Cartoon at a Time

In his new book, Extinct Boids, artist Ralph Steadman introduces readers to a flock of birds that no longer live in the wild

A beloved symbol of biodiversity, the red-eyed tree frog, shown here in Panama, has evolved a flexible strategy for survival.

How the Tree Frog Has Redefined Our View of Biology

The world’s most charismatic amphibian is upending the conventional wisdom about evolution

Because they have barely been exposed to the world, children are some of psychology's most powerful muses.

Are Babies Born Good?

New research offers surprising answers to the age-old question of where morality comes from

To Larry Edwards, a cave is a time machine.

The Secrets of Earth’s History May Be in Its Caves

An underground scientist is pioneering a new way to learn what the climate was like thousands of years ago

PHOTOS: Getting Ready for the World’s Largest Radio Telescope

In Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers are preparing for a new array that will stretch across 10 miles

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Age of Humans

What Is the Anthropocene and Are We in It?

Efforts to label the human epoch have ignited a scientific debate between geologists and environmentalists

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Do Humans Have a Biological Stopwatch?

Neuroscientists don’t really know how humans keep time, but they have some theories

A 15th-century French calendar depicts the natural cycle of day and night.

Your Alarm Clock May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Switching up your sleep schedule is wreaking havoc on your body’s natural rhythm

Telomeres (tinted red) protect chromosomes like the plastic tips on shoelaces. The length of telomeres may be a marker for longevity.

Can Your Genes Predict When You Will Die?

New research suggests we can defy genetic destiny

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How Scientists Are Recreating a Mating Call Last Heard in the Jurassic Period

Preserved in stone, a set of ancient insect wings are “chirping” once again thanks to the work of entomologists

Welwitschia mirablis

Photos of the World’s Oldest Living Things

Among the organisms documented by photographer Rachel Sussman are 80,000-year-old aspen trees and 600,000-year-old bacteria

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Why Time is a Social Construct

Psychologists and anthropologists debate how different cultures answer the question, “What time is it?”

Wetlands at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.

How Will the Wetlands Respond to Climate Change?

Smithsonian scientists have taken to the Chesapeake Bay to investigate how marshlands react to the shifting environment

Smithsonian astronomers detect a planet forming from debris around a young star.

The Smithsonian Heads to Hawaii

Coral reefs and radio telescopes make a trip to the tropics more than worthwhile

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From the Editor

From the Editor

The levels of radiation astronauts experience over the course of an extended mission in deep space could lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Does Deep Space Travel Cause Alzheimer’s?

A new study indicates that the levels of radiation astronauts would experience over the course of a deep space mission could lead to dementia

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Remember These Titans of Science Who Died in 2012

From the inventor of the barcode to the discoverer of how cancer spreads, we take a look at the brilliant minds who shaped our culture and modern way of life

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Space Exploration and the End of an Era: Notable Deaths in 2012

Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, Roger Boisjoly and the shuttle program form this year’s late greats of space exploration

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Seven Must-See Art-Meets-Science Exhibitions in 2013

Preview some of the top-notch shows—on anatomy, bioluminescence, water tanks and more—slated for the next year

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