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Conservation

New Research

The Carcasses That Mountain Lions Leave Behind Power Entire Insect Ecosystems

A new study shows 215 species of beetles rely on the big cats’ leftovers

A drinking horn made from the horn of an aurochs bull.

Testing the DNA in Museum Artifacts Can Unlock New Natural History, but Is it Worth the Potential Damage?

Museums house a wealth of rare animal specimens, such as arctic clothing, medieval parchment and Viking drinking horns, but DNA testing can be destructive

A young boy talks to U.S. Army military police as the exhibit visited Toledo, Ohio.

Americans Flocked to See This Controversial Exhibit of Berlin’s Art Treasures in the Wake of World War II

Discovered in a salt mine in Nazi Germany, these artworks toured the United States in a questionable move that raised serious ethical concerns

Humans Are Destroying Chimpanzee Culture

A new study has found that chimps living in areas of high human impact are 88 percent less likely to engage in certain learned behaviors

The Lady K tow boat kicks up a wake full of green algae a few hundred feet from the city of Toledo's Water Intake on Lake Erie, for testing on Monday, August 4, 2014.

Trending Today

Toledo, Ohio, Just Granted Lake Erie the Same Legal Rights as People

A controversial referendum passed this week establishes a bill of rights for the Great Lake and grants it legal standing in suing polluters

Grand Canyon National Park

The Decades-Long Political Fight to Save the Grand Canyon

Americans had long known about the wonders of the southwestern landmark, but it wouldn’t be until 1919 that it would gain full federal protection

Wallace's giant bee is nearly four times larger than a European honeybee.

World’s Largest Bee Spotted for the First Time in Decades

The Wallace’s giant bee has been seen only a few times since its discovery in 1858; experts weren’t sure it still existed

Banksias, 2014

Art Meets Science

Dornith Doherty’s Mesmerizing Photos Capture the Contradictions of Seed Banking

“Archiving Eden,” now at the National Academy of Sciences, shows how guarding against an ecological catastrophe is both optimistic and pessimistic

New Research

Insects Are Dying Off at an Alarming Rate

Forty percent of insect populations have seen declines in recent years and will drop even more without immediate action

In 2018, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation published its midpoint assessment of the on-going restoration efforts for the country's largest estuary.

Checking In on the Health and Vigor of the Chesapeake Bay

As clean-up milestones are registered by a recent assessment of the nation’s largest estuary, a Smithsonian geographer drops in on the region

The Somali ostrich is prized for its meat, feathers, leather and eggs

Human Hunting Is Driving the World’s Biggest Animals Toward Extinction

A new analysis found that 70 percent of Earth’s largest creatures are decreasing in number, while 59 percent are at risk of extinction

Cool Finds

Drone Captures Thousands of Years of Archaeology on Remote Scottish Islands

A drone survey of Canna and Sanday Islands collected 420 million data points, creating what may be the most detailed 3-D map of islands yet

In the high altitudes of the Himalayas, many wolves have developed distinct traits from their gray wolf cousins.

Should the Himalayan Wolf Be Classified as a New Species?

Years of expeditions in the world’s tallest mountain range reveal that Himalayan wolves have developed genetic adaptations to living at high altitudes

Trending Today

Joshua Trees Could Take 200 to 300 Years to Recover From Shutdown Damage

A former park superintendent says it will take centuries to regrow some of the iconic plants destroyed during the 35-day furlough

The North American fox squirrel is one of eight species deemed very high-risk threats

These 66 Species Are Potential Biodiversity Threats to European Ecosystems

Northern snakehead, green seaweed, striped eel catfish and fox squirrel are amongst the most high-risk species

Trending Today

Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ Is No Longer Cleared for Takeoff

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam’s version has been deemed too fragile to travel

A series of brown spots dotting the tomb's wall paintings were thought to be microbes carried by modern visitors, but researchers found that the marks have actually been around since 1922 opening of the crypt

Decade-Long Restoration of Tutankhamun’s Tomb Finally Concludes

Conservators stabilized famed crypt’s wall paintings, introduced viewing platforms and barriers designed to limit visitor access to fragile areas

Uroplatus finaritra, a new species of leaf-tailed gecko.

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Leaf-Tailed Gecko From Madagascar Is Already Threatened by Pet Trade

The master of camouflage is about 4-inches-long and hides amid dead leaves

A harbor seal checks out one of the team's divers.

A High Schooler Discovered Thousands of Golf Balls Polluting California’s Coastal Waters

She is now the co-author of a study that seeks to quantify this underreported problem

New Study Showcases Three-Toed Sloth’s Unsung Adaptability

Juvenile members of the so-called “specialized” herbivore species draw on a more diverse diet than previously believed

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