The renewable energy source has never quite lived up to its potential, but a new experiment in Nova Scotia could flip the script

The outbreak, and the travel bans and fears that come with it, have endangered long-running research projects

You’ve got questions, we’ve got experts

Yes, most infectious diseases are seasonal. But waiting for COVID-19 to wane on its own is a bad idea

Apollo 15 Command Module Pilot Alfred "Al" Worden, an aviator, engineer and storyteller passed away on March 18, 2020

With the COVID-19 coronavirus causing a global pandemic, a look back at the scientists who figured out viruses and their relationship to disease

The curious set of numbers shows up in nature and also in human activities.

Tasked with curbing a 1907 outbreak, Esther Pohl emphasized the importance of clean, vermin-free environments

It’s been 180 years since Charles Wilkes voyaged to the Antarctic continent and his journey has never been more relevant

An early childhood education expert provides tips about how to explain the ongoing pandemic to children

Dineobellator was a formidable predator and boasts the battle scars to prove it.

Debate over Earth’s oldest fossils fuels the search for our deepest origins

Though COVID-19 likely makes recovered patients immune, experts aren't sure how long protection lasts

Find a hobby, for starters, and don't forget the mission, say scientists who have worked at remote research stations

Past public health crises inspired innovations in infrastructure, education, fundraising and civic debate

So-called gynandromorphs are rare, but they can teach us a lot about development and evolution

Researchers suggest that the Humboldt squid uses bioluminescent backlighting for visual cues in the dark deep sea

One detects an active infection; another signals that the virus has already left the body. Both are critical for tracking the spread of disease

The pandemic has left many unable to leave harbor, creating a window for fishing grounds to recover from years of overfishing

Congratulations to first-time mother Echo the cheetah!

False information about the pandemic is rampant; here’s how experts say you can identify what news to trust and what might be faulty

The Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Summit will now stream online starting this Earth Day; tune in and be inspired

The containment practices of outbreaks past could have lessons for modern epidemics

These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one's thoughts amid a pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2 virus endures for days on plastic or metal but disintegrates soon after landing on copper surfaces. Here’s why

As a biological anthropologist focused on health, diseases are part of Sabrina Sholts' specialty

From teaching curious museumgoers to adding creativity to the scientific process, art thrives at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

No one knows exactly how the nocturnal hunters manage their whisper-soft flight, yet it's inspiring the design of quieter airplanes, fans and wind turbines

A new study of ancient climate has a dire warning about today's dry conditions

You've got questions. We've got experts

The fourth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

While the virus seems capable of infecting some pets and wild animals, these cases probably aren’t occurring often

Paleontologists seek the ancestors that could explain how bats became the only flying mammals.

An American doctor operating out of Philadelphia made clinical observations that where patients lived, not how they lived, was at the root of the problem

On April 22, 1970, Americans pledged environmental action for the planet. Here’s what scientists and we, the global community, have done since

A new study posits that groundwater pressure might have been a tipping point for the magma system near the eruption

The two-day virtual event will bring scientists and many other experts to highlight success stories in conservation

The Global Mangrove Alliance has a goal of increasing the world’s mangrove cover by 20 percent over the next decade

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III says: ‘It’s time to put our heads down, and work’

Smithsonian's Earth Optimism Summit features CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir

The bird, decimated by poachers and smugglers, is making a big comeback in the Central American rainforest

The outbreak was far deadlier than COVID-19, but the empire survived

Spencer's ideas laid the groundwork for social Darwinism, but scholars say there was much more to the Victorian Age thinker than that

A new title from Smithsonian Books highlights the diversity of Earth's 10 to 100 million insect species

A new book argues that controlling cancer is within reach if scientists are able to anticipate the evolution of resistance to traditional treatments

While COVID-19 stymies travel, help conserve those things—from cacti to manta rays—that will beckon you later

The sixth installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

The newfound 'invisible' object is only 1,000 light years from home

When a European intellectual snubbed the U.S., the well-known artist excavated the giant fossil as evidence of the new Republic’s strength and power

The geologic record is exactly that: a record. The strata of rock tell scientists about past environments, much like pages in an encyclopedia. Except this reference book has more pages missing than it has remaining. So geologists are tasked not only with understanding what is there, but also with figuring out what's not, and where it went.