Life
- Animals
Mosquitoes may learn to like DEET, a common insect repellent
In lab tests, mosquitoes exposed to DEET while feeding learned to associate the chemical with food.
- Animals
This tree is the number one choice for forest mammals going number two
The strangler fig provides food and shelter for animals in the tropics. For at least 17 mammal species, it also serves as a toilet.
- Animals
The dawn of animal evolution saw a bizarre array of sea creatures
Newfound fossils turned up a strange zoo of often-complex creatures, including some suggesting that evolution of left-right symmetry occurred earlier than once though.
- Animals
Meet Bruce, the disabled kea parrot who is the boss of his flock
With half a beak, Bruce has developed a unique fighting style that has won him top status in his flock, videos and documented interactions reveal.
- Genetics
Caffeine may dial down genes crucial for brain development, teen finds
Data from animal studies point to a troubling possibility: Caffeine may alter brain development.
- Animals
Like living mood rings, these bees change color when it turns humid
Humidity makes North American sweat bees change color. This trait could be widespread among shiny insects, some biologists now suspect.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
