Articles tagged as Biology | Smithsonian Magazine

Surveys show that 55 percent of reefs surveyed were severely affected by high water temperatures, with half of those expected to die

April 20, 2016

Workers in Sumatra process an oil palm harvest from the plantation on the left even as the remnants of the natural peat swamp forest in the distance are burned to make way for new plantations.

Journey to the Center of Earth

The Mad Dash to Figure Out the Fate of Peatlands

As the planet’s peat swamps come under threat, the destiny of their stored carbon remains a mystery

April 20, 2016

Some molecular motors in this “biocomputer” are made in the lab but copy those found in brains.

Can Proteins From Living Cells Solve Problems That Vex Supercomputers?

When nature knows best

May 2016

New Research

Do Insects Have Consciousness and Ego?

The brains of insects are similar to a structure in human brains, which could show a rudimentary form of consciousness

April 19, 2016

A study of baboons found that have an easy life when young can pay off years into the future.

For Baboons, a Tough Childhood Can Lead to a Short Life

Primates that grow up under tough conditions don’t live as long as those that have it easy

April 19, 2016

Cool Finds

The Northeast Prepares for Swarms of Cicadas This Spring

Billions of red-eyed cicadas will emerge from the earth in much of the northeast this spring, part of a 17-year-cycle

April 18, 2016

A giant mouse feeds on a dead seabird chick.

A Steady Diet of Seabird Chicks Makes Island Mice Huge

With no predators or competition, rodents can eat baby birds alive

April 18, 2016

New Research

Scientists Catalog Creatures in Every Corner of Los Angeles

In a huge citizen science project, scientists are turning to an urban environment to seek out biodiversity

April 18, 2016

The Anna’s hummingbird is one of many species of birds that attract females with sounds generated by their feathers.

These Birds Can Sing Using Only Their Feathers

When feathers meet air in just the right way, birds can create distinctive sounds

April 8, 2016

The Chilarchaea quellon trap-jaw spider can snap its long chelicerae shut in about a quarter of a millisecond.

Tiny Spiders Are the Fastest Known on Earth

Some trap-jaw spiders can snap their mouths shut with incredible force—in less than a millisecond

April 7, 2016

The fake egg looks and feels the same as a real vulture egg.

Scientists Are Using Electronic Eggs to Study Vultures

A sensor-packed egg, developed by a team at Microduino, could lead to clues about the birds’ livelihood

April 1, 2016

Cool Finds

Dog Owners Beware, DNA in Dog Poop Could Be Used to Track You Down

A Chicago apartment building is trying out a new scheme to catch four-legged offenders and their humans

March 30, 2016

New Research

Genes of Ancestral Peanuts May Help Feed the World

Researchers have sequenced the genome of peanuts and its ancient cousins, which could lead to disease and drought-resistant varieties

March 28, 2016

Future of Energy

Could Mold Power the Batteries of the Future?

Researchers have discovered how to use a fungus to create materials that could be used to make more sustainable lithium-ion batteries

March 23, 2016

The highly regular spacing of fairy circles in Australia becomes visible in dense vegetation. The grasses in the foreground of the image are patchy as they rebounding from fire.

New Research

Mysterious Fairy Circles Have Been Found in Western Australia

Once thought to exist only in Namibia, circles spotted 6,200 miles away are helping sort out how these odd features form

March 14, 2016

Cool Finds

Recently Discovered Spider Is Named After Physicist Brian Greene

About the size of the human palm, the “Brian” spider can swim and hunt fish

March 11, 2016

Elephants in Kenya's Tana River, Morgan's home territory

Meet Morgan, whose 3-week trek shows anti-poaching efforts could be working

March 11, 2016

Mini-organs grow around the tiny scaffolds (lower left). The magnified image (right) shows the hair-thin channels that serve as blood vessels.

How a Tiny, “Beating” Human Heart Was Created in a Lab

The device, filled with human heart cells, could dramatically reduce the time it takes to test new drugs and end testing on animals

March 11, 2016

Scientists studied Hydra vulgaris to determine how the animal opens its mouth

New Research

How Hydra Rip Open New Mouths at Every Meal

Scientists finally figured out how the tiny aquatic creature opens its mouth to eat

March 10, 2016

This psychedelic form is actually a map of pathways inside a human brain. The different colors show the ways various parts of the brain communicate—left with right sides in red, front with back in green, and the brain to the rest of the body in blue.

From winding brain pathways to sparkling moth scales, these evocative images both teach and amaze

March 8, 2016