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Science

Hominid fossils dating to 1.8 million years ago have been found in Dmanisi, Georgia. Researchers are using computers to find more fossils in the region.

Computers Are Good Fossil Hunters

New technology is allowing researchers to narrow their searches for places where ancient hominids were likely to have lived, traveled and left fossils

The tyrannosaur Gorgosaurus in a classic death pose (although note that the tail is almost entirely missing and speculatively reconstructed).

SVP Dispatch: Dinosaur Round-Up

At the close of the annual paleontology meeting, dinosaur science seems more vibrant than ever

Do you freeze your jeans?

The Myth of the Frozen Jeans

Cold temperatures aren’t enough to kill off any bacteria on your clothing

The skull of Utahceratops, one of the unusual dinosaurs from southern Utah

SVP Dispatch: Life on the Lost Continent

At the annual SVP meeting, paleontologists review just how western North America got so many weird dinosaurs

A false-color image of flooding in Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand’s Flooding, As Seen From Space

Bangkok residents have to avoid the crocodiles let loose by the flood

Luke, the National Zoo's male lion

Secrets of a Lion’s Roar

Not all cats roar, but those that do fascinate us with their mysterious and frightening sounds

A Protoceratops nest containing up to 15 baby dinosaurs

At Last, a True Protoceratops Nest

Plus, fossil evidence for a Cretaceous turducken: inside the guts of a feathered Microraptor dinosaur were the partial remains of a prehistoric bird

The molar tooth of a Denisovan

Modern Humans Once Mated with Other Species

Genetic studies reveal that some modern humans carry DNA from extinct hominid species, evidence of ancient interbreeding

A Daspletosaurus skull at the Museum of the Rockies, where Jack Horner is the curator of paleontology.

SVP Dispatch: Dinosaurs and the Proofs of Evolution

In last night’s lecture, paleontologist Jack Horner gave five proofs of evolution based on what we know about dinosaurs

The Global Change Research Wetland at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

Why Smithsonian’s Environmental Staff Like Science

Science is our attempt to figure out the inner workings of a very messy world

A kinkajou in Costa Rica

What In The World Is A Kinkajou?

It’s a carnivore, though it mostly eats fruit. It has a prehensile tail, but it’s not a primate

A Triceratops jack-o'-lantern

Dinosaur Sighting: Jack-O’-Ceratops

When it comes to pumpkin popularity, it looks like Tyrannosaurus has some competition

None

Wild Things: Feathered dinosaurs, king crabs and spotted hyenas

Traveling snails, brainwashed rats and more updates from the world of wildlife

Infamously fierce, rhinoceroses, pictured is a black rhino in Kenya, are victims of rumors that have driven the price of their horn to hundreds of dollars an ounce.

Defending the Rhino

As demand for rhino horn soars, police and conservationists in South Africa pit technology against increasingly sophisticated poachers

In primates, brain size correlates with group size.

Humans Evolved Big Brains to Be Social?

Some scientists think humans and other primates evolved big brains in response to the social challenges of living in large groups

For the past century, carnivorous dinosaurs like Allosaurus—seen here at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County—have been made-to-order movie monsters.

Cinema’s Spookiest Dinosaur Scenes

Dinosaurs have been movie monsters for a century. Here’s a short countdown of some of their scariest moments in film.

Anyone dressing up as a mad scientist today?

Five Last-Minute Science-Themed Halloween Costume Ideas

No one else will be dressed like dark energy

A cast of the sauropod Diplodocus at the Utah Field House of Natural History in Vernal, Utah. Our current understanding of sauropods like this differs greatly from hypothetical restorations of "living dinosaurs" in Africa.

Living Sauropods? No Way

Dinosaurs have long been rumored to still survive in the Congo Basin, but is there any truth to the tall tales?

1990s virtual reality as seen in The Carousel of Progress

Jaron Lanier’s Virtual Reality Future

The father of virtual reality believed technology promised infinite possibilities. Now, he worries that it’s entrapping us

The Terkezi Oasis in Chad, as seen from Landsat 7

A Ghostly Scream From the Sahara

Superstitious sitings may have a root in human evolution

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