All Stories
- Brain
Imagination is not just replaying what we’ve seen and heard
New brain scans are helping sort out how our brains process imagined thoughts versus real sensations.
- Space
NASA’s DART spacecraft changed 2 asteroids’ orbit around the sun
In 2022, NASA smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid. New data show how that impact changed the orbit around the sun of this space rock — and its partner.
- Brain
Scientists Say: Synesthesia
This is a trait in which one kind of sensory input, such as sound, can trigger another sense, such as sight.
- Oceans
Explainer: What are corals?
Though they can look like rocks or plants, corals are animals. Most are made up of colonies of individuals called polyps.
- Life
Some of these Smithsonian secrets might just blow your mind
Millions of treasures stashed in this museum storage site — open only to select visitors — tell the history of Earth's inhabitants.
- Tech
Nature-inspired rocket-nozzle redesign stands by for liftoff
At the 2026 Regeneron ISEF competition, teens showed how they blasted past a problem that has limited use of super-efficient aerospike rocket engines.
- Humans
Some people use echolocation to get around. Here’s how it works
As expert echolocators make multiple clicking sounds, their brains process the echoes to help them perceive their surroundings.
- Plants
Scientists Say: Superbloom
These massive wildflower blooms create colorful carpets over desert landscapes during unusually rainy years.
- Archaeology
These 12,000-year-old Native American dice are the oldest in the world
A study of ancient artifacts suggests Native American dice games began thousands of years earlier than previously documented.
- Environment
Hawaii is turning fishnets and other plastic trash into roads
Scientists are testing whether plastic pollution from the ocean can be transformed into safe and durable highways.
- Earth
How hot can our planet get? Earth’s climate history holds clues
Learning from the Earth's past climate swings — what happened to life and when — can help us understand where we might be headed.
- Earth
Clouds come in all shapes and sizes
Here’s a basic breakdown of the different cloud types, as well as how clouds form and why they float.
