Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

This is an artist's impression of sauropod dinosaurs on the Isle of Skye.

New Research

Hundreds of Dinosaur Tracks Discovered Along the Scottish Coast

Giant sauropods once roamed the Isle of Skye

Male or female? Turns out there's no distinction.

New Research

There’s No Such Thing as a Male or Female Brain

When it comes to sex traits, brains are consistently inconsistent

Trending Today

Mount Everest’s Glaciers are Turning Into Lakes

Thousands of Himalayan glaciers could melt by the end of the century

Wisdom (front) and her mate

Cool Finds

The Oldest Known Seabird Is About to Lay Another Egg

Wisdom the Laysan albatross has lived at least 64 years and raised as many as 36 chicks

An Antarctic minke whale, the animal Japanese whaling vessels target

Trending Today

Japan Starts its Whale Hunt Again

Despite an international ruling, the Japanese fleet plans to harvest 333 minke whales

A map of human impacts around the globe where green areas show areas with the least amount of human influence and red and purple show the areas with the greatest.

Trending Today

Explore the Complexities of Climate Change with These Interactive Maps

Understanding the ins and outs requires some strong visualizations

Clouds of smoke pour from a smokestack

Age of Humans

Which Countries Are Most Open to Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

A new study shows large gaps between concern about climate change and the willingness to act

Trending Today

Happy Birthday to Schrödinger’s Cat

In the 80 years since Erwin Schrödinger first outlined a quantum mechanics thought experiment involving a cat, the feline’s popularity has only grown

Fire tornadoes, or fire devils, often arise during wildfires.

Cool Finds

Hypnotize Yourself With a Slow-Motion Fire Tornado

So hot, it’s cool

Study co-author Adam Townsend examines his research subject.

New Research

Chocolate Fountains are Great for Physics Lessons

Delicious, delicious physics

A juvenile Saccoglossus kowalevskii, a species of acorn worm, with it’s pharyngeal region in blue.

New Research

This Gross-looking Worm Gives Clues About Humans’ Ability to Breathe and Talk

Humans share about 70 percent of their genome with the lowly acorn worm, according to recent research

Cool Finds

Tennessee Locals Spot Half-Mile-Long Spider Webs

Ballooning baby spiders are making some residents of North Memphis cringe

New Research

A New Rose Is Part Plant, Part Color-Changing Machine

Innovation has never looked so pretty

Cool Finds

This Visualization of the World’s Carbon Emissions Is Chillingly Beautiful

A NASA simulation shows how carbon dioxide moves

The winning video featured hip hop dancers as farmers who put demands on the water supply

Trending Today

The Many Ways to “Dance Your Ph.D”

Once again, researchers get creative in a yearly dance competition to explain their Ph.D. thesis work

Nola poses for the camera earlier this fall

Trending Today

Northern White Rhinos Now Number Three

The 41-year-old Nola died this week, leaving only three northern white rhinos left in the world

A male Iandumoema smeagol, foraging in its cave.

New Research

Introducing Smeagol the Eyeless Arachnid

This newly discovered cave-dwelling daddy longlegs resembles the fictional Tolkien character

Cool Finds

A Gothic Chapel Is Transformed Into a Spectacular Sky

Staring at the ceiling has never been so inspiring

Trending Today

The NIH Lets Its Last Research Chimps Go

These 50 remaining chimpanzees are headed to sanctuaries to enjoy retirement

Category winner, Behavior: A school of tropical clupeid fish swim in sync, keeping a healthy distance from a teenage black-tip reef shark in the Rasdhoo Atoll, Republic of Maldives. Though the sharks cruise placidly for hours without so much as a glance at the fish, they strike suddenly, gobbling up a mouthful of fish.

Trending Today

A Tadpole’s Perspective and More “Life Through a Lens” Images

Ogle the images from winners of the Royal Society’s photography contest

Page 414 of 537