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New Research

The woolly arctic moth caterpillar produces alcohols that allow it to avoid freezing at temperatures reaching -70 degrees F.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What Do Insects Do in Winter?

When winter comes, most bugs either migrate or time travel. But some get far more creative

World Health Organization workers gear up to go into an old Ebola isolation ward in Lagos, Nigeria.

New Research

Superspreaders Caused Much of the 2014 Ebola Epidemic

Just three percent of infected people caused two thirds of overall infections

Flowering quinoa

New Research

Genome Mapping Could Lead to Cheaper and More Abundant Quinoa

New data on the “superfood” could help breed varieties that require less processing and can thrive in poor soil conditions

This is wheat. And if Salish Blue has anything to do with it, it may one day become obsolete.

New Research

New Self-Sustaining “Wheat” Could Change the Farming Industry

It’s called Salish Blue, and it’s more than a science experiment

An infrared image of 47 Tucanae, a dense globular cluster of stars located roughly 16,000 light years from Earth. A new study has predicted that a black hole lies at its center.

Think Big

How Astrophysicists Found a Black Hole Where No One Else Could

A new method could help scientists peer inside universe’s densest star clusters to find undiscovered black holes

Just around the corner from the Great Barrier Reef, the ocean has been hiding a massive, ancient landslide.

New Research

Scientists Discovered a Gigantic, 300,000-Year-Old Landslide Under the Ocean

Long ago, an almost inconceivable amount of sand shifted, changing the surface of the sea floor

When it comes to reversible ways to prevent pregnancy, men have limited options—for now.

New Research

Contraceptive Gel Called the “IUD For Men” Makes It Through Monkey Trials

Vasalgel aims to make contraception for men as easy and effective as IUDs have for women

Geckolepis megalepis

New Research

New Species of Fish-Scaled Gecko Can (Literally) Jump Out of Its Skin

The creature sloughs its skin when predators attack, leaving it looking like a raw chicken tender

New Research

Science Is Falling Woefully Behind in Testing New Chemicals

Over 10 million new chemicals are synthesized each year, but with little funding science can’t keep up

This 195-million-year-old rib bone may still have bits of protein clinging to its crevices.

New Research

Meaty Finds: Two Studies Claim to Have Isolated Dinosaur Proteins

Scientists have long thought soft tissues couldn’t survive over millennia—but new research suggests that isn’t the case

A view into Flint drinking water pipes, showing various types of iron corrosion and rust.

New Research

Scientists Now Know Exactly How Lead Got Into Flint’s Water

New report points blames corrosion and warns that fixing lead poisoning nationwide will require more work than we hoped

New Research

Are “Education Genes” on the Decline?

People in Iceland with genes associated with educational attainment are having fewer children, which may be affecting the population’s smarts

New Research

Diet Deficiency Can Lead to Cannibal Hamsters

A new study may explain why the rodents are declining in western Europe

The beautiful Mauritius island may be hiding a chunk of continent.

New Research

Researchers Think They’ve Found a Mini Continent in the Indian Ocean

The island of Mauritius sits on a sunken piece of earth’s crust torn apart by plate tectonics

A new study on grey reef sharks turned up a few surprises.

New Research

Ocean Preserves Keep Fishing Boats Away from Grey Reef Sharks

Scientists tracked hundreds of reef sharks to find that massive marine refuges can work—with one caveat

Frogs have a sticky secret: spit.

New Research

Special Spit Helps Frogs Get a Grip on Insects

Secretly sticky spit snatches snacks, study shows

Gotcha! A frog's tongue can be five times faster than the blink of a human eye.

New Research

Inside Every Frog’s Mouth Is a Sticky, Grabby Bullet

Investigating frog tongues—and some human ones!—in the name of science

Chinese researchers have harnessed the power of deep learning to help doctors identify this rare disease.

New Research

Can Eagle-Eyed Artificial Intelligence Help Prevent Children From Going Blind?

Deep learning pinpoints cataracts more accurately than humans, and could help prevent this form of vision loss in children

The limestone carving of an aurochs

New Research

Dig This: Researchers Found a 38,000-Year-Old Engraving in France

Excavated from a rock shelter, the image of an aurochs covered in dots was made by the Aurignacians, the earliest group of modern humans in Europe

Aethiocarenus burmanicus

New Research

This 100-Million-Year-Old Insect Trapped in Amber Defines New Order

These now-extinct creatures are thought to have been able to secrete a chemical repellant and rotate their heads 180 degrees

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