Not much is known about the megamouth, which was first observed by scientists in 1976. A new specimen (not pictured above) has traveled to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where researchers will study it to learn more about its behavior and life cycle.

Smithsonian Voices

Rare Megamouth Shark Arrives at the Smithsonian

Studying and eventually preserving the megamouth will help researchers learn more about the puzzling species

Goodnight Exomoon takes the classic children’s book Goodnight Moon and explores planetary science in a way that is relatable for the very young.

Inspire Your Toddler’s STEM Career With This ‘Goodnight Moon’ Parody

Astronomer Kimberly Arcand releases her new children’s book ‘Goodnight Exomoon’

This month's picks include Caste, Veritas and The Organ Thieves.

Books of the Month

The Forged Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, Hidden Castes and Other New Books to Read

These five August releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Scientists use a California condor specimen from 1835 — part of the Smithsonian’s very first collection of items — to study the critically endangered species. Pictured: a young California condor in Grand Canyon National Park.

Smithsonian Voices

Celebrate the Smithsonian’s 174th Birthday With a Look at Its First Collections

Historic museum specimens help us learn more about what a species once was like and what it could be like in the future

Vervet monkeys among fallen dead leaves and grass

Monkeys’ Attraction to Burned Grasslands May Offer Clues to Human Ancestors’ Mastery of Fire

A new study finds monkeys enter charred savannahs to avoid predators, lending support to a controversial theory about what drew hominins to blazes

Smithsonian Geologist Liz Cottrell answers your questions in the National Museum of Natural History’s YouTube series, “The Doctor Is In.”

Smithsonian Voices

How to Identify Rocks and Other Questions From Our Readers

Don’t miss the season finale of the National Museum of Natural History’s popular YouTube series, the “Doctor Is In”

Guano stains the cliffs of a gannet breeding colony in Shetland

Seabird Poop Is Worth More Than $1 Billion Annually

Scientists put a price tag on guano’s global benefits, which range from agricultural fertilizer to coral reef enricher

Sahara Conservation Fund ecological monitoring member Habib Ali (next to vehicle) engaging in typical day-to-day monitoring of reintroduced oryx.

Smithsonian Voices

Continuing Conservation in a Planet on Lockdown

Capacity building and local community involvement are key to continuing conservation during the current pandemic

Plunguian’s watercolor of Einstein in his Princeton office.

Smithsonian Voices

Did Einstein Understand the Limitations of Testing?

Smithsonian fellow Kimberly Probolus looks into the past and future of knowledge tests

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

Smithsonian Voices

River Otters Take ‘Party Pooping’ to a New Level

Latrines keep otters up to date on who is around, how they are feeling, and who’s ready to have babies

A Centrosaurus skeleton in the mass dearth assemblage at the Royal Tyrrell Museum

Dinosaurs Suffered From Cancer, Too

A bone containing signs of cancer is the first of its kind found in the fossil record

Bat ticks (Ornithodoros) under a microscope. These parasites primarily feed on bats and were collected from bats roosting beneath a Mayan Temple in Belize. Very little is known about these ticks and many species are unknown to science.

Smithsonian Voices

Why We Need to Save the Parasites

Extinction will have lasting and far-reaching consequences for biodiversity, and subsequently for humans

A healthy coral reef in the South Pacific. Coral reefs may migrate to new area as the climate warms.

Should Plants and Animals That Relocate Because of Climate Change Be Considered Invasive?

Some researchers are calling for a more nuanced approach when it comes to flora and fauna that adjust their range to accommodate a warming world

Sperm swimming illusion when seen from above. The sperm tails seems to move symmetrically from one side to another. This view on how sperm moves was established since first observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1677, more than three centuries ago.

Researchers Discover How Human Sperm Really Swim

A new 3-D microscopy study overturns hundreds of years of reproductive science

Three dogs sit at attention

What a Crowdsourced Study Taught Us About How Dogs Learn

A new study looks at the genes that underlie traits from self control to communication

Jill Heinerth, a Canadian cave diver, underwater explorer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, shares stories from her expeditions in a live-streamed event on Aug. 12.

Smithsonian Voices

Exploring Underwater Caves and 22 Other Smithsonian Programs Streaming in August

Exploring Underwater Caves, Battle of Midway, Economics + Harry Potter. Don’t miss out

A scene of the wreckage left behind by a hurricane that swept through the Florida Keys in 1935.

How Hurricanes Have Shaped the Course of U.S. History

A new book examines the 500-year record of devastating storms affecting the nation’s trajectory

Perseverance, which has six wheels and is about the same size as a small car, looks very much like the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity.

Smithsonian Voices

Why NASA Is Headed Back to Mars With the Rover Perseverance

Find out why the next mission to Mars is so exciting on the National Air and Space Museum’s podcast AirSpace

An artist's rendering of the Perseverance rover on Mars

To Make Oxygen on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance Rover Needs MOXIE

A new tool from the space agency may produce the gas, completing the next step for planning a round trip voyage

Jewish doctors give medical examinations in the Warsaw Ghetto

Covid-19

How a Public Health Campaign in the Warsaw Ghetto Stemmed the Spread of Typhus

A new study shows how life-saving efforts by Jewish doctors helped curb an epidemic during World War II

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