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Plants

Less conspicuous than the rugged Rocky, Cascade and Coast Mountain Ranges in this photograph are the markings of agriculture, in the bottom center.

It’s a Green, Green, Green, Green World

NASA and NOAA release satellite images of Earth and all its vegetation

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Your Fruits and Vegetables Can Tell Day from Night—and Even Get Jet Lag

New science shows that cabbage, carrots and blueberries experience circadian rhythms, with potential consequences for nutrition

White-tailed deer making do in a harsh winter wonderland.

Deer May Be Peeing Themselves Out of Their Favorite Winter Habitats

Special patches of trees shield deer from harsh winter weather, but deer urine stimulates growth of competitive plants in those havens

Emerging research indicates that low doses of the active chemical psilocybin can have positive psychiatric effects.

Could “Magic” Mushrooms Be Used to Treat Anxiety and Depression?

Emerging research indicates that low doses of the active chemical psilocybin, found in the fungi, can have positive psychiatric effects

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When Large Birds Disappear, Rainforests Suffer

A century after toucans and toucanets disappeared from patches of Brazilian jungle, trees have evolved to have smaller, weaker seeds

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Plants Frozen Under a Glacier for 400 Years Can Come Back to Life

Long-buried mosses recently exposed in the wake of a Canadian glacier’s retreat are sprouting new growth, a study shows

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Save the Amazon, Increase Malaria

People in Brazil living close to forests are 25 times more likely to catch malaria than those living near places where all the trees have been cut down

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Princeton University Celebrates the Art of Science

In a new exhibition, the university showcases 43 images rooted in scientific research that force viewers to contemplate the definition of art

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Scientists Finally Pinpoint the Pathogen That Caused the Irish Potato Famine

DNA analysis of 166-year-old potato plant leaves has revealed the disease strain that caused the starvation of millions

A side view of Lathyrus odoratus L. 2009-2012. By Macoto Murayama

Macoto Murayama’s Intricate Blueprints of Flowers

The Japanese artist depicts blossoms from various plant species in fastidious detail

Our bodies convert asparagusic acid into sulfur-containing chemicals that stink—but some of us are spared from the pungent aroma.

Ask Smithsonian

Why Asparagus Makes Your Urine Smell

Our bodies convert asparagusic acid into sulfur-containing chemicals that stink—but some of us are spared from the pungent odor

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Discussion

Discussion

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can produce diesel fuel from fat.

Genetically Modified E. Coli Bacteria Can Now Synthesize Diesel Fuel

By combining genes from different bacteria species, scientists created E. coli that can consume fat and excrete diesel fuel

ZnO Fall Flowers. Image by Audrey Forticaux, a graduate student in the Chemistry Department

Intriguing Science Art From the University of Wisconsin

From a fish’s dyed nerves to vapor strewn across the planet, images submitted to a contest at the university offer new perspectives of the natural world

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10 Things We’ve Learned About the Earth Since Last Earth Day

Pigeon-eating catfish, Antarctic trash, and more: A list of surprising, alarming and exciting discoveries about our planet from the past year

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Where Have the Trees of Guam Gone?

Scientists are investigating whether the obliteration of the island’s bird species is thinning the tree canopy and could alter the forests’ structure

This adult male bedbug wants to suck your blood.

Bean Leaves Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite by Using Tiny, Impaling Spikes

Researchers hope to design a new bedbug eradication method based upon a folk remedy of trapping the bloodsuckers as they creep

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What Makes Rain Smell So Good?

A mixture of plant oils, bacterial spores and ozone is responsible for the powerful scent of fresh rain

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The Greening of the Arctic is Underway

As the climate changes, trees and shrubs are poised to take over tundra and alter the Arctic’s ecosystems

The first-ever sequencing of the produce microbiome reveals that grapes, peaches and sprouts host the largest diversity of harmless bacteria.

A Survey of the 161 Bacterial Families That Live on Your Fruits and Veggies

The first-ever sequencing of the “produce microbiome” reveals that grapes, peaches and sprouts host the largest diversity of harmless bacteria

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