Learn how analyzing “vowel-like” patterns in sperm whale clicks, uncovers one of the closest parallels to human language in the animal kingdom.
Learn more about the Lyrid Meteor Shower, which will begin on April 15, 2026, and will peak around April 21, 2026, and the best way to view it.
Learn more about new research that analyzed 16,000 ancient genomes and discovered that natural selection hasn’t slowed down.
Learn more about a newly observed insect behavior in which smaller ants clean larger ants.
Learn how Mount Etna stands apart from most volcanoes, having been formed by pockets of magma held in Earth's upper mantle.
Learn more about what we know — and don’t know — about the Carnian Pluvial Event.
Meet Lady Fatou, the world’s oldest living gorilla at Berlin Zoo, known for her record-breaking longevity in captivity.
Learn more about a Megalibgwilia owenii fossil, found around 120 years ago, that today fleshes out the extinct echidna’s extent.
Learn more about how 1st-century Roman painters in Hispania used a surprising technique to make their murals vibrant and long-lasting.
Learn how ground vibrations revealed a hidden magma reservoir beneath Tuscany, comparable in size to systems beneath Yellowstone and Lake Toba, and what it could mean for geothermal energy and critical minerals.
Discover the evolutionary history of this strange fish and its even stranger appendage.
Learn how starquakes, subtle vibrations inside stars, revealed hidden magnetic fields in red giants and how this stellar archaeology links white dwarf magnetism to earlier stages of star evolution.
Learn how small mutations in non-coding DNA can alter sex development in rodents.
As climate change reshapes the planet, new rituals help people process ecological grief. Learn more about glacier funerals.
Learn how ancient DNA and archaeogenetics are reshaping what we know about family and revealing that kinship in early societies was often built through shared lives, not just shared genes.
Learn how Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) disintegrated during its close solar pass, forming a “headless wonder,” and what this reveals about sungrazing comet breakups.
Learn how Linh Mai, the first Asian elephant calf born at the Smithsonian in 25 years, is strengthening genetic diversity in an endangered species.
Learn how lobsters treated with aspirin and lidocaine better withstand electric shocks, raising questions about more humane ways to kill them for consumption.
Learn about the future of NASA's Artemis program after Artemis II, including plans to land on the Moon and begin building a lunar base in 2028.
Learn how scientists are combining Medieval literature and modern scientific techniques to study space weather.