Life
- 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.
- Animals
Watch the first sperm whale birth caught on video by scientists
The footage shows other sperm whales huddled around the mother, helping lift the newborn calf to the surface until it’s ready to swim.
- Health & Medicine
Positive thinking could help boost your immune system
With real-time feedback, people can learn to turn on a part of the brain that helps rev up the immune system, new data show.
- Life
Scientists Say: Spore
Patience is a virtue of these crafty, resilient little reproductive cells. Some bacterial spores have grown after lying dormant for a millennium.
- Animals
Physics explains how snakes climb and stand without limbs
Tree snakes can raise their body into the air without falling over. They keep their balance by bending their bodies close to their base.
- Plants
Perfect pitch? Scientists lay new grounds for World Cup ‘26
High-tech turfgrass carpets will be unrolled in 16 stadiums across North America — including five that must survive despite getting no natural sunlight.
- Life
Scientists Say: Biophoton
All living things glow with this mysterious light. But scientists need ultra-sensitive tools to detect it.
- Animals
Emperor penguins are on the march — toward extinction
Along with Antarctic fur seals, these iconic birds, the largest of all penguins, are now endangered by their continent’s warming.
- Ecosystems
Let’s learn about wetlands
Just how wet these lands are varies a lot — from seasonally soaked to permanently flooded.
- Brain
Brain scans offer clues to why math is harder for some kids
Kids with math learning disabilities process number symbols differently than numbers shown as dots.
