This seven-foot statue of Pearl Kendrick, center, and Grace Eldering, left, was unveiled in Grand Rapids in 2019. Lab assistant Loney Clinton stands to the right with a microscope.

Women Who Shaped History

The Unsung Heroes Who Ended a Deadly Plague

How a team of fearless American women overcame medical skepticism to stop whooping cough, a vicious infectious disease, and save countless lives

One reader wonders if European modernists thought of the American painter Georgia O’Keeffe as a remarkable artist.  

Ask Smithsonian

Was Georgia O’Keeffe’s Genius Appreciated Outside of America? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts.

Nick Pyenson, the Smithsonian Institution’s curator of fossil marine mammals, compares the skeletons of ancient whales to the life-sized model of a North Atlantic right whale displayed at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Whales have been evolving for more than 50 million years, and long before becoming ocean-dwelling giants, the earliest cetaceans walked on land. 

This Cliff Face Is Packed With Fossilized Whale Remains

An exposed prehistoric seafloor is a hotspot for relics, and now an international team is helping unravel their mysteries

A woman who is six months pregnant receives a Covid booster shot in Los Angeles. The CDC advises pregnant women to get vaccinated.

Covid-19

Seven Things to Know About Covid-19 and Pregnancy

From the effect of vaccines on a baby’s immunity to whether Covid-19 can cause stillbirths, experts weigh in with helpful information and advice

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders could affect between 1 and 5 percent of children in the United States.

New Tools May Help Diagnose Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

If conditions stemming from exposure to alcohol in-utero can be better identified, then scientists can more effectively research treatments

One of the species Stewart captured on audio is the Panamanian Golden Frog, a once-common species now rarely seen in the wild.

Listen to These Amazing Sounds of Lost Places and Animals Within Them

Prolific audio naturalist Martyn Stewart has released a free collection of his remarkable recordings before his passing

Ski jumpers use aerodynamics and physics to overcome gravity – at least for a while.

The Beijing Winter Olympics

The Freaky Physics of Ski Jump

Olympic ski jumpers do everything they can do counteract the effects of gravity and fly as far as they can down hills

Rams know how to use their heads, but tigers are strategic attackers.

Who Would Win in a Real-World Battle: A Bengal Tiger or a Ram?

The big cats are stealthy predators, but the mountain-climbing ungulates are agile defenders

Brine shrimp, and brine shrimp eggs, are teeny-tiny. But by analyzing the light they reflect, scientists can now identify aggregations of them from space.

Scientists Can Spot Shrimp Eggs From Space

By analyzing the light it reflects, scientists can say whether that floating blob in a satellite image is made up of shrimp, seaweed or something else

An illustration of Tetrapodophis, a lizard that was named based on a fossil likely smuggled out of Brazil to Germany

Why Smuggled Fossils Are Hurting Paleontology

Parachute science and lingering colonialism in fossil studies have negatively impacted the discipline

Runners in Hawaii exercise at sunset. Exercise has profound effects on brain structure and provides more subtle mental health benefits as well.

The Future of Mental Health

How Exercise Boosts the Brain and Improves Mental Health

New research is revealing how physical activity can reduce and even ward off depression, anxiety and other psychological ailments

Bobsled, luge and skeleton athletes descend twisting, steep tracks at speeds upward of 80 mph (130 kmh).

The Beijing Winter Olympics

The High-Speed Physics of Olympic Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton

In these sports that send humans hurtling faster than a car on a highway, tiny motions mean the difference between gold and a crash

A ram's thick skull protects its brain from serious injury.

Ten Reasons Rams Might Be the Perfect Football Mascot

They’re light on their feet, and they aren’t afraid to butt heads

Frozen ground preserved the body of this seven-week-old wolf pup, which lived during the Ice Age.

Five Fascinating Ice Age Finds Discovered in Yukon Permafrost

From a pristinely preserved wolf pup to ancient camels, remains found in northern Canada’s frozen earth have provided remarkable glimpses into the Ice Age

Fireworks fill the sky over the "Bird's Nest" arena in Beijing on January 30, 2022

The Beijing Winter Olympics

The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

As you watch the Beijing Winter Olympics, enjoy this guide to the history, science and thrills of the worldwide athletic competition

People visit the Red Beach, so named due to the Suaeda heteroptera plant which grows across the marshland landscape, in Panjin, China's northeastern Liaoning province.

Moonbows, Starling Migrations and Other Rare Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling For

Being in the right place at the right time makes for an awe-inspiring trip

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) undergoes sea trials in April 2021. In 2022, the MAS will sail the same path that the original Mayflower charted in 1620, collecting data along the way.

Captained by A.I., This New ‘Mayflower’ Will Cross the Atlantic This Spring

The autonomous ship will embark on the same journey the Pilgrims took more than 400 years ago, collecting scientific data along the way

Properly fitted N95 masks should filter 94-95 percent of viral particles.

Covid-19

What You Need to Know About Covid Masks in the Age of Omicron

From what to wear to how to avoid counterfeits, experts weigh in on the latest advice about masks and Covid-19

Roughly 500 years ago, vertebrae were arranged on sticks in Peruvian tombs.

Why Did 16th-Century Andean Villagers String Together the Bones of Their Ancestors?

Researchers suggest the practice was a response to Spanish conquistadors’ desecration of the remains

An illustration of a harbor porpoise (middle) swimming with two other porpoises. Analyzing harbor porpoises’ echolocation clicks gave scientists a way to measure how closely they approach tidal power turbines. 

For Good or Ill, Porpoises Avoid Tidal Power Turbines

The finding is good news if it means the porpoises are staying safe, but it is bad if they are losing habitat in the process

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