Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Biology

The black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis) that sprayed venom into Wandege’s eye.

When Science Means Getting Cobra Venom Spat Into Your Eye

How a reptile mix-up and a fortuitous dose of breastmilk helped researchers tap into biodiversity in Africa’s eastern Congo

A Polar Bear’s Diet Consists of Anything Edible

In lieu of seal meat, polar bears will resort to eating anything that looks edible, including mineral-rich kelp. Here, one chows down on a fresh batch

Elderly Polar Bear Spars With Young Males

Polar bears will spar relentlessly with each other whenever they meet in summer. It’s friendly and sociable, but also a good way to establish hierarchy

To find the roots of an unlikely connection, researchers are untangling lemur microbiomes. Here, ring-tailed lemurs feast at Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Germany.

New Research

What Lemur Guts Can Tell Us About Human Bowel Disease

Similarities between us and the cuddly primates could help us understand the origins of human illnesses—and treat them

What's a dinosaur, anyways? The answer is in the evolutionary tree.

Ask Smithsonian

What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur?

The question may sound like a “duh,” but it gets to the heart of how we categorize and define nature

Glowing proteins produced by the modified E. coli.

New Research

DNA Code Gets Two New Synthetic Letters—And Uses Them to Create a New Protein

Researchers hope the advance is a step toward producing a range of new compounds, including designer drugs and biofuels

Transient killer whales, hunters extraordinaire, cruise by a sea lion haulout in the northeast Pacific.

A Tale of Two Killer Whales

Orca whales actually comprise two distinct types—and one may soon be destined to rise above the other

Polar Bear Goes After a Young Beluga Calf

A male polar bear stands on the edge of the ice waiting for potential prey. But he’s set his sights on something bigger than a seal today

Alpha Male Tiger Forces This Cub to Submit

A young tiger comes face-to-face with an encroaching male tiger, threatening to take over his father’s territory

This drug delivery system folds up to fit in a capsule, then would reopen in the stomach

Can Digital Pills and Drug Delivery Systems Get People to Take Their Meds?

They are among new approaches to dealing with a big problem in American health care

New Research

Your Brain Swells—Then Deflates—While You Learn

Researchers hypothesize that the brain “auditions” various cells that form, but only keeps the best of the best

The Next Pandemic

What Foods Are Most Likely to Make You Sick?

We put some common myths to rest—and help you tackle your next turkey dinner with confidence

Tigers Use Urine to Figure Out If They Have Chemistry

Young tiger Kumal is spellbound by a female tiger he encounters in a local stretch of forest. If she’s interested, she’ll signal her intent

There are good reasons why you won't see a Siamese fighting fish swimming this way in the wild.

The Evolutionary Reason Why Fish Don’t Swim Upside Down

It’s a natural question for animals that float, but few scientists have delved into the details

This Lion Couple Mates Over 100 Times a Day

A newly coupled lion and lioness head to the relative solitude of the higher grounds in their new kingdom of Rwanda

Crested pigeons make an awful racket when they take off—but where's it coming from?

New Research

Australian Pigeons Have a Specially Evolved Feather to Better Annoy the Heck Out of You With

Pinpointing the birds’ noisemakers could help researchers better understand why urban avians make so much dang noise

In her second book, The Sexes Throughout Nature, Blackwell argued that while male lions are physically larger and stronger, female lions were “more complex in structure and in functions” through their ability to reproduce and feed their young.

The Woman Who Challenged Darwin’s Sexism

How a preacher with no scientific training ended up writing the first feminist critique of Origins

Why Male Lions Need Lionesses to Help Them Survive

They might be earmarked as future kings of the jungle, but young male lions are lazy and lack survival skills. Their only hope is to attract a female

Since commercial harvesting of sea cucumbers began in British Columbia, indigenous people have grown more worried about the long-term sustainability of catching them.

Is the Mysterious Sea Cucumber Slipping Out of Our Grasp?

The slimy, tasty enigmas have long been over-harvested. An indigenous community in Canada could be close to finding a sustainable solution

Trending Today

Watch the Winners of the 2017 Dance Your Ph.D. Competition

From sea stars to mathematical braids, scientists translate their work into hot moves and killer choreography

Page 52 of 105