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New Research

New Research

People’s Brain Chemistry May Reveal the Hour of Their Death

The tiny biological clocks ticking away inside the body stop when life ends, leaving a timestamp of sorts

New Research

This Pen Can Draw Electrical Circuits

A silver salt based ink lets users draw any circuit they can dream

The newly-named "Ninja Lanternshark."

New Research

A New Species of Shark Gives a Hat Tip to Both Jaws and Ninjas

Some lucky kids got to name this gnarly-looking fish

New Research

China’s Lunar Rover Discovered a New Kind of Moon Rock

The Yutu Rover has discovered a type of basalt unlike anything else ever found on the moon

Everybody Loves Lists

Our Top Ten Stories of 2015

From treasures buried in glaciers to the racial history of a vanished city in Oregon, here are the most-read stories on Smithsonian.com this year

This photo of two short-nosed sea snakes alerted researchers to the species' survival, even though they were thought to be extinct for 15 years.

New Research

They’re Back: Supposedly Extinct Sea Snakes Have Been Found in Australia

Nearly 15 years later and about 1,000 miles away from the last sighting, the snakes could be making a comeback

Yellow and red are the primary colors in this double rainbow.

New Research

Not All Rainbows Have Every Color

Depending on the angle of the sun, ROY G. BIV don’t all necessarily appear

New Research

How Do Hardworking Hummingbirds Keep Cool?

Special “windows” in the feathers covering their tiny bodies prevent overheating while hovering and flying

A cichlid fish swims in Lake Tanganyika. New research has shown new cichlid species coming to be in a much smaller crater lake in Tanzania.

New Research

Darwin’s “Puddle” Could Show How New Species Emerge in Close Quarters

A genetic study of cichlid fish in a small crater lake seems to support a debated evolutionary concept

New Research

These Parrots Use Pebbles as Tools to Grind up Seashells

Polly want a mineral supplement?

A beach closed during Lake Erie’s 2014 toxic algal bloom

New Research

Toxic Algae Blooms in Lake Erie Could Become the New Normal

Plans to reduce fertilizer runoff may not be enough to counter the blooms when climate change is taken into account

New Research

Shockingly, Pandas That Like Each Other Have More Babies Together

The deceptively simple discovery could revolutionize panda breeding

Does that book feel more like a doorstop? It's part of a growing trend.

New Research

Bestselling Books Are Getting Longer

But are they getting better?

A black-and-white snub-nosed monkey

New Research

Monkeys Like Full Red Lips, Too

In snub-nosed monkeys, male lips plump up and redden as they age, likely to signify reproductive availability and social status

The young researchers noted a sharp increase in silly science published during the British Medical Journal's Christmas issue.

New Research

Scientists Increasingly Describe Their Research As “Astounding”

The eyebrow-raising finding is just one of several papers published in the British Medical Journal’s traditionally lighthearted Christmas issue

New Research

Rainbow Collars Could Help Keep Cats From Wiping Out Birds

This colorful trick may stop Fluffy from murdering local songbirds

New Research

Is Global Warming Changing How Fast the Earth Spins?

New research suggests that as glaciers melt, the planet’s axis is shifting

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Terry Virts (right) work on a day’s task on board the International Space Station

New Research

How Much Space Do Astronauts Need?

The answer could help design spacecraft for one day taking people on the months-long trip to Mars

New Research

Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Could Help Fight Malaria

Two research groups offer two different solutions to one big problem

Robot, baby. Baby, robot.

New Research

New Robots Could Learn Like Children

A research team is teaching artificial minds to imitate and innovate like kids do during play

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