Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Body

Luckily stress doesn’t do this to you!

How Your Body Reacts to Stress

A little tension can keep you on your toes. Too much can break down the system

This month, several news outlets misleadingly reported that women's birth control was causing "transgender" fish.

How One Bad Science Headline Can Echo Across the Internet

Recent articles claiming birth control causes “transgender” fish show how science communication can mislead—even when it relies on facts

Anna Morandi Manzolini (1714-1774), Italian anatomist and sculptor, from a drawing by Cesare Bettini.

The Lady Anatomist Who Brought Dead Bodies to Light

Anna Morandi was the brains and the skilled hand of an unusual husband-wife partnership

How Sunbathing Became a National Craze in the 1930s

Tanning was big business in the 1930s, as people sought to recreate the sun-kissed California beach look

No flush

How Fake, Lab-Made Poop Can Improve Sanitation

The, er, sludge replicates the properties of human waste to better understand sanitation in Bangladesh

The "abortion pill" (actually two separate medications) can be taken up to 10 weeks after pregnancy, according to the FDA.

The Science Behind the “Abortion Pill”

Legal or not, more American women are opting for abortion by medication. We asked doctors: How safe is it?

Trending Today

Famous Shriveled Toe Returned to Yukon Bar

The key ingredient in the Sourtoe Cocktail, the dried-out digit was mailed back on Thursday

Cyanobacteria, sometimes known as blue-green algae, are single-celled organisms that use photosynthesis to produce food just like plants do.

New Research

Need to Fix a Heart Attack? Try Photosynthesis

Injecting plant-like creatures into a rat’s heart can jumpstart the recovery process, study finds

In the past half-century, this tiny object has gone from feminist icon to dangerous villain to, incredibly, feminist icon once again. And no, we're not sure why the background is pink.

From Medical Pariah to Feminist Icon: The Story of the IUD

After decades of being shunned by women and doctors alike, this T-shaped device is enjoying a new surge of popularity

Leeuwenhoek's early microscopic observations of rabbit sperm (figs. 1-4) and dog sperm (figs. 5-8).

The Long, Winding Tale of Sperm Science

…and why it’s finally headed in the right direction

The tentacles of the Portuguese man o' war, (which is technically a siphonophore, a group related to jellyfish), contain harpoon-like cells called nematocysts that deliver painful doses of venom.

Forget What You’ve Heard About the Pee Cure, Here’s How to Really Fix a Jellyfish Sting

Scientists studied what to do and what not to do when stung by a jellyfish. The result? Folk remedies are bad.

Don’t skimp on the SPF

How Sunscreen Protects Your Skin’s DNA

The chemistry behind this protective lotion reflects a modern understanding of the danger of ultraviolet rays

This spine is the earliest intact reference for how humans' skeletons may have developed.

New Research

This 3.3-Million-Year-Old Hominin Toddler Was Kind of Like Us

Analysis of the ancient spine reveals tantalizing similarities—and questions about human evolution

Taste receptors for salty, sweet, bitter and sour are found all over the tongue.

The Taste Map of the Tongue You Learned in School Is All Wrong

Modern biology shows that taste receptors aren’t nearly as simple as that cordoned-off model would lead you to believe

Some studies have shown that humans can learn to track scents like canines.

New Research

In Some Ways, Your Sense of Smell Is Actually Better Than a Dog’s

Human noses are especially attuned to picking up odors in bananas, urine and human blood

Fruit bats are thought to be the natural host for the Ebola virus. Groups like USAID PREDICT regularly monitor such diseases in wildlife to prevent the jump from animal to humans.

The Next Pandemic

Can Saving Animals Prevent the Next Deadly Pandemic?

A global disease monitoring network is banking on the idea that healthier wildlife means healthier humans

Relaxing lap pool or urine-filled dystopia?

New Research

Scientists Found a Sweet New Way to Measure Pee in Pools

A common food additive reveals how much urine lurks in the lanes

From the tiniest to the most massive of poos, physics predicts we should all spend the same amount of time on the john.

New Research

A Grand Unified Theory of Pooping

Why you and an elephant spend the same amount of time on the john

Mmmmmm ... pretzels.

New Research

Salty Food Might Make You Drink Less, Not More

You can thank a future trip to Mars for a surprising new theory on how salt affects the body

A new study recommends that the peanut-allergic try consuming other nuts—but only under the supervision of a licensed allergist.

New Research

Tree Nut Allergies May Be Massively Overdiagnosed

But don’t go for the jar of almond butter just yet

Page 7 of 23