Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Science

None

Ask Smithsonian

Tiger vs. Lion—Who Would Win?

Lions are the king of the plains. Tigers rule the jungle. But face to face, which would win?

When hurricane Sandy made landfall on the east coast it wasn’t actually considered a hurricane anymore.

Batten Down the Hatches: Another Bad Hurricane Season Is on Its Way

Forecasters are predicting a hurricane season even more active than last year’s

German cockroach

Cockroaches Have Evolved to Avoid Our Traps

In just a few years, cockroaches evolved to avoid our poisons

Dreaming of Animals Might Augur the Onset of Diseases like Alzheimer’s

Research has shown that sleep disturbance might be one warning sign of neurodegeneration—like insomnia, sleep apnea, drowsiness and animal-packed dreams

Computers at Home Neither Help, Nor Hurt Students

Simply giving kids computers won’t suddenly make them do better in school

Bicycle Helmets Really Do Work, But You Have to Wear Them

Helmets accounted for an 88 percent lower risk of brain injury, but people still aren’t wearing them

Here’s How the Enhanced Fujita Scale Works, and This Is What It Looks Like

The Moore, Oklahoma tornado was upgraded to an EF-5 storm

A rhinovirus

Like Your Mother Warned, Chilly Winter Air Does Indeed Promote Colds

Colds proliferate when temperatures drop and cold air chills peoples’ upper respiratory tracts, giving rhinoviruses a chance to strike

Dawww

Bears That Have No Fish to Eat Eat Baby Elk Instead

The illegal introduction of lake trout in Yellowstone’s lakes is having wide-reaching consequences

FDA Sticks Its Nose Into Fecal Transplant Procedures

The new regulations may kick off a wave of do-it-yourself fecal transplants at home, which likely will not turn out well

How Puking Could Save the Endangered Marbled Murrelet

For the marbled murrelet the conservation plan is a little unusual: making their predators vomit

A map of tornado activity in the U.S., 1950 to 2011

How to Understand the Scale of the Oklahoma Tornado

In terms of size, speed and staying power the Oklahoma tornado was a force of nature

None

Lizards Appear to Be Hardier Astronauts Than Mice

Russian scientists say that this experiment represents that longest period animals have ever spent alone in space and been recovered alive

A crazy ant queen.

Invasive Crazy Ants Are Eating Up Invasive Fire Ants in the South

How ecosystems will function if fire ants suddenly disappear and are replaced by crazy ants remains an open but worrying question

Doctors Used to Use Live African Frogs As Pregnancy Tests

Now, those former test subjects may be spreading the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus around the world

For the first time in human history the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has reached 400 parts per million.

A Friendly Reminder From Pretty Much Every Climate Scientist in the World: Climate Change Is Real

Yes, climate change is real. Yes, we are causing it.

None

Dogs Experience a Runner’s High (But Ferrets Do Not)

Though the researchers didn’t include cats in the study, they suspect that felines, too, would experience a runner’s high

Climate Change Is Making the Whole Planet Tip

Climate change isn’t just making the North Pole warmer, it’s actually changing where the North Pole is located

The Hubble Space Telescope

A U.S. Spy Agency’s Leftover, Hubble-Sized Satellite Could Be on Its Way to Mars

What do you do with a spare world-class satellite?

E. coli Can Survive the Freezing Cold Winter Hidden in Manure

Even the harsh Canadian winter can’t kill these hardy bacteria

Page 520 of 544