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

Lendbreen, a pass high in the Norwegian mountains, was an important route from the Roman era until the late Middle Ages

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

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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

The story of what will happen in the coming decades and centuries is written in the geologic past

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 famous impact 66 million years ago kicked up soot into the atmosphere that played an even bigger role in blocking sunlight than experts had realized

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

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Smithsonian's "David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins" with some of the biggest discoveries in human evolution

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

Marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier discovered that visual storytelling, rather than data sets, allowed her to be a better advocate for the ocean

Meet the hugely influential polymath, who foretold of climate change and inspired artists, writers and even the founder of the Smithsonian

What lies inside the icy cavern seems more and more like a captive, rare animal, an Earth form that might soon be lost

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

According to many observations, certain virus infections may play a part in the autoimmune attack that leads to type 1 diabetes. Researchers have now produced a vaccine for these viruses in the hope that it could provide protection against the disease.

Computers, mobile phones and all other electronic devices contain thousands of transistors, linked together by thin films of metal. Scientists have developed a method that can use the electrons in a plasma to produce these films.

Repurposing existing medicines focused on known drug targets is likely to offer a more rapid hope of tackling COVID-19 than developing and manufacturing a vaccine, argue an international team of scientists.

The extent to which Brazilian soy production and trade contribute to climate change depends largely on the location where soybeans are grown, according to a new study. In some municipalities, carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the export of soybean and derivatives are more than 200 times higher than in others.

High-temperature superconductors have the potential to revolutionize today's technologies. 'Higgs spectroscopy' could bring about a watershed as it reveals the dynamics of paired electrons in superconductors. Remarkably, the dynamics also reveal typical precursors of superconductivity even above the critical temperature at which the materials investigated attain superconductivity.

Researchers analyzed patient data from 10 countries. The team found a correlation between low vitamin D levels and hyperactive immune systems. Vitamin D strengths innate immunity and prevents overactive immune responses. The finding could explain several mysteries, including why children are unlikely to die from COVID-19.

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.

Researchers find evidence of piezoelectricity in lab-grown, two-dimensional flakes of molybdenum dioxide.

Researchers have developed a safe and accurate 3D imaging method to identify sperm cells moving at a high speed. The new method has the potential to significantly improve IVF treatments.

Over the past quarter-century, changes in Antarctic sea-ice cover have had profound impacts on life on the ocean floor.

Hydrogen is a possible next generation energy solution, and it can be produced from sunlight and water using photocatalysts. A research group has now developed a strategy that greatly increases the amount of hydrogen produced using hematite photocatalysts. In addition to boosting the high efficiency of what is thought to be the world's highest performing photoanode, this strategy will be applied to artificial photosynthesis and solar water-splitting technologies via university-industry collaborations.

What kind of an effect do trees have on aerosol particle concentrations in cities? Modelling carried out at the University of Helsinki revealed that the air was cleanest on the street level with three rows of trees of variable height situated along boulevard-type city street canyons.

A new study has found an association between low average levels of vitamin D and high numbers of COVID-19 cases and mortality rates across 20 European countries.

A new method for reliably identifying the presence of beer or other malted foodstuffs in archaeological finds is described in a new study.

An international research team has conducted the first in-depth, wide-scale study of the genomic history of ancient civilizations in the central Andes mountains and coast before European contact. The findings reveal early genetic distinctions between groups in nearby regions, population mixing within and beyond the Andes, surprising genetic continuity amid cultural upheaval, and ancestral cosmopolitanism among some of the region's most well-known ancient civilizations.

A manually constructed 3D atlas offers a cellular-level view of the entire mouse brain. This reference brain, called the Allen Mouse Brain Common Coordinate Framework (CCFv3), is derived from serial two-photon tomography images of 1,675 mice.

People with body integrity dysphoria (BID) often feel as though one of their healthy limbs isn't meant to be a part of their bodies. They may act as though the limb is missing or even seek its amputation 'to feel complete.' Now, researchers have found that these feelings that a limb doesn't belong are mirrored in the brains of people with this condition.

Scientists have presented a non-contact method for detecting the state of charge and any defects in lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers have identified the single gene that determines how Cape honey bees reproduce without ever having sex. One gene, GB45239 on chromosome 11, is responsible for virgin births.