Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

New Research

A reservoir on the Snake River in Washington state

Future of Energy

Whoops—Dams and Reservoirs Release Tons of Greenhouse Gases

New study shows reservoirs are actually a major source of carbon emissions

A new study investigates booze in bars.

Loud Sounds Can Make Your Drink Seem Stronger

The scientific reason that clubbing and cocktails go hand in hand—but shouldn’t always

New Research

Welcome the First “Three-Parent” Baby Into the World

Fertility doctor John Zhang and his team transplanted DNA from one egg to another to prevent a fatal mitochondrial disease

New Research

Listen to the First Computer-Made Tune on Alan Turing’s Synthesizer

From code-breaker to musical innovator

This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off of Jupiter’s moon Europa.

New Research

Evidence Stacks Up for Icy Geysers Erupting on Europa

Possible water plumes could give researchers a way to study Jupiter’s moon without drilling

A new WHO report reveals that China has the most air pollution deaths per year.

New Research

Nine in Ten People Worldwide Breathe Dangerous Air Every Day

The WHO just released the most detailed air pollution report ever—and the results are sobering

Alive or dead? You'll won't know until you peek inside.

New Research

Scientists Catch Schrödinger’s Cat on Camera

No cats were harmed in the making of this science

New Research

New DNA Analysis Shows How Cats Spread Around the World

Felines spread in two waves including moving around Europe on Viking ships, according to researchers

New Research

Watch Acoustic Holograms Create Complex Shapes and Levitate Droplets

These mesmarizing effects are created using only a plastic 3-D printed plate and speaker

Aboriginal rock art at Ubirr in Kakadu National Park.

New Research

New DNA Analysis Shows Aboriginal Australians Are the World’s Oldest Society

The group was the first to split after a single wave of migration out of Africa took place between 51,000 and 72,000 years ago, study shows

Computer image of Triopticus skull overlaid on the field site where it was found.

Paleontologists Probe the Bonehead that Foreshadowed Domed Dinos

This striking skull shape evolved at least twice. But what was its purpose?

"Hey guys this sugar is great, but where can we find some morphine?"

Addict Ants Show That Insects Can Get Hooked on Drugs, Too

How researchers got a non-mammal hooked on drugs for the first time

Ramazzottius varieornatus, the tardigrade examined in the study

New Research

Water Bear Genes Could Help Protect Space Explorers From Radiation

A protein produced by tardigrades, a group of microscopic but hardy creatures, protects and repairs DNA damaged by X-rays

New Research

Blind People Can Use Visual Areas of the Brain to Solve Math Problems

The brain is a highly adaptable organ

The male brown widow spider may not be as unlucky in love as we once thought.

Male Widow Spiders Prefer Younger Ladies—So They Don’t Get Eaten

This strategy means they live to mate again, upending assumptions about these arachnids

The forces that formed Pluto's heart may not be romantic, but the feature was love at first sight for scientists.

New Research

Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Pluto Has That Icy Heart

The dwarf planet’s geography, atmosphere and chemistry helped form its most famous feature

Cool Finds

World’s Oldest Fish Hooks Discovered in Okinawa

The 23,000-year-old barbs are made from snail shell. The discovery shows that early people had the resources to survive on the isolated island

Do outdoor cats need to die?

The Moral Cost of Cats

A bird-loving scientist calls for an end to outdoor cats “once and for all”

Some hybrid thrushes varied their routes, suggesting that different genes may influence fall and spring migration.

Migratory Birds May Come Programmed With a Genetic Google Maps

These hybrid avians inherit some mixed directional messages

Archaeologists excavating the Antikythera Shipwreck skeletal remains.

New Research

Skeleton Pulled From the Antikythera Shipwreck Could Give Clues to Life Aboard the Vessel

Archaeologists hope to analyze DNA taken from a skeleton found among the wreckage

Page 185 of 301