The shelled sea butterfly Hyalocylis striata can be found in the warm surface waters of the ocean around the world.

Amazing Sea Butterflies Are the Ocean’s Canary in the Coal Mine

These delicate and stunning creatures are offering Smithsonian scientists a warning sign for the world’s waters turning more acidic

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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The Otherworldly Calm of Wolfgang Laib’s Glowing Beeswax Room

A German contemporary artist creates a meditative space—lined with beeswax—at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

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The (Natural) World, According to Our Photo Contest Finalists

From a caterpillar to the Milky Way, the ten finalists in the contest’s Natural World category capture the peculiar, the remarkable and the sublime

Red pandas receive state-of-the-art care at the Conservation Biology Institute.

A Visit to the Natonal Zoo’s “Ark of Life”

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough journeys to Front Royal, Virginia, to find out the latest in animal research

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Snakes in a Frame: Mark Laita’s Stunning Photographs of Slithering Beasts

In his new book, Serpentine, Mark Laita captures the colors, textures and sinuous forms of a variety of snake species

Male Paraphidippus aurantius (a species of jumping spider), by Thomas Shahan

Locking Eyes With Spiders and Insects

Macrophotographer Thomas Shahan takes portraits of spiders and insects in the hopes of turning your revulsion of the creatures into reverence

Mates for Life

A Valentine for Sci-Art Lovers

A clever print by designer Jacqueline Schmidt pays homage to 12 different species with one thing in common—they mate for life

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Outrageous Taxidermy, the Subject of a New Show on AMC

Former Smithsonian taxidermist Paul Rhymer is a judge on “Immortalized,” a TV competition that pits up-and-comers against superstars in the field

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The Year’s Most Outstanding Science Visualizations

A juried competition honors photographs, illustrations, videos, posters, games and apps that marry art and science in an evocative way

A leaf grasshopper (Phyllophorina kotoshoensis).

Honey, I Blew Up the Bugs

Italian artist Lorenzo Possenti created 16 enormous sculptures of giant insects, all scientifically accurate, now on display at an Oklahoma museum

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The Gory Details of Artist Katrina van Grouw’s Unfeathered Birds

A British artist, with experience in ornithology, explains how she created anatomical drawings of 200 different species of birds for a new book

Turkey feather

Beautiful Artwork Cut Out of Feathers

A clever artist uses a scalpel and tweezers to cut beautiful bird silhouettes out of feathers

Double-banded Argus, by Ralph Steadman

Bringing Extinct Birds Back to Life, One Cartoon at a Time

In his new book, Extinct Boids, artist Ralph Steadman introduces readers to a flock of birds that no longer live in the wild

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Seven Must-See Art-Meets-Science Exhibitions in 2013

Preview some of the top-notch shows—on anatomy, bioluminescence, water tanks and more—slated for the next year

Sparky, the electric eel, and his Christmas tree.

A Twinkling Christmas Tree, Powered by…an Electric Eel?

A Utah aquarium uses the charges emitted by an electric eel to trigger the lights on a nearby tree

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The Insane Amount of Biodiversity in One Cubic Foot

David Liittschwager travels to the world’s richest ecosystems, photographing all the critters that pass through his “biocube” in 24 hours

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Why Do We Hiccup? And Other Scientific Mysteries—Seen Through the Eyes of Artists

In a new book, 75 artists illustrate questions scientists haven’t fully answered yet

Beetles Invasion: One Artist’s Take on the Insect

A swarm of giant beetles, lovingly sculpted by Washington D.C.-based artist Joan Danziger, descends on the American University Museum

Black-headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)

Alan Dudley’s Wondrous Array of Animal Skulls

A new book delivers fascinating photographs of over 300 skulls from the British taxidermist’s personal collection—the largest in the world

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