Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Biology

None

Specially-Trained Honeybees Forage for Land Mines

With special training, these honeybees can sniff out TNT

None

Two-Thirds of the World Still Hates Lefties

For 2/3 of the world’s population, being born left handed is still met with distrust and stigma

None

Water Cut Off From the World for Billions of Years Is Bubbling From the Bottom of a Mine

1.5 miles down at the base of a Canadian mine life may have thrived

None

Why Do We Laugh?

What is the evolutionary purpose of laughter? Are we the only species that laughs?

None

This Carnivorous Plant Throws Out Its Junk DNA

Complex life is possible without excessive amounts of non-coding DNA

None

There Are Just Three Males of This Endangered Fish Left, And the London Zoo Is on a Global Hunt to Find a Lady

There are just three fish of this species left in the world, and they’re all males.

A new and improved model of the human tongue.

How Much Do We Really Know About Your Tongue?

This new model is the most complete guide for understanding the “complex interweaving” of our tongue muscles

Research shows that mothers are better than others at problem solving, handling stress and at completing certain memory tasks.

How Motherhood Makes You Smarter

New studies on rats show that being a mom does more than change her body, it may maximize her brainpower too

None

You Totally Would Have Wanted This Little Dome-Headed Dinosaur as a Pet

Just 90 pounds and 6 feet tall, this newly discovered dinosaur is the oldest of its kind

None

This New Drug Neutralizes Heroin Before Users Feel the High

By binding the psychoactive ingredients in the blood, heroin can’t affect the users’ brain

None

Sometimes Male Spiders Eat Their Mates, Too

Many female arthropods - black widows, praying mantises - eat their male mates, but sometimes the reverse is true

Cavemen Used Some of the Same Words We Do

Our modern language still has some remnants of the grunting cavemen who came before us

How Many Weddings Will the Cicadas Ruin This Summer?

Late spring is when the 17 year cicadas come out. It also happens to be a popular time for weddings

None

On the International Space Station, Glow-in-the-Dark Plants Let You Know When They’re Stressed

To fight climate change or to grow crops in space, we need to know how plants respond to stress

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg and her DNA-derived self-portrait.

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

Creepy or Cool? Portraits Derived From the DNA in Hair and Gum Found in Public Places

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg reconstructs the faces of strangers from genetic evidence she scavenges from the streets

None

The Cicadas are Coming, And So Are the Terrifying Spores That Eat Them Alive

The cicadas have been waiting for 17 years. This deadly fungus has been waiting for them

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Breast Milk Protein Could Help Fight Superbug

By delivering antibiotics alongside a protein found in breast milk, researchers could fight MRSA in mice

None

Want to See How an Artist Creates a Painting? There’s an App for That

The Repentir app reveals an artist’s creative process by allowing users to peel back layers of paint with the touch of their fingertips

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is in trouble because of colony collapse disorder.

High Fructose Corn Syrup May Be Partly Responsible for Bees’ Collapsing Colonies

High fructose corn syrup, the sugary compound in soda, is also fed to bees

None

Contributors

Page 89 of 107